Have I ever been wronger in my life? Signs point to no.

This is a sad book. Its emotional range encompasses fear, dread, the lonely numbness that almost passes for contentment if you sit in it long enough, poisoned hope, the mixed relief and horror of a betrayal you knew was coming, bittersweetness, agony, and the grim, clenched-jaw despair that settles in when agony persists.

Plain Kate's father dies, and she is left an orphan in a village that barely tolerates her. She makes an unwise deal with a witch, thinks she has found a place to finally belong, and is very very wrong. She finds and loses friends in a way that would scab over even the softest heart. She saves thousands of lives, but isn't happy about it.

There's also a talking cat, which you would THINK might inject a level of lightheartedness. You would almost be right.

Three stars for the story, and one more for the impressively pervasive emotion.

Overall, this story presses your eye to a kaleidoscope of grief's many colors. It's clear that the author distilled her own wounded heart into it.