You should read this book. Sometimes, when I've read a dozen reviews that say such and such novel is so wonderful and fantastic and great, I end up less then loving it simply because it's been built up so much. Not so here. This is a gorgeous story. The characters are unbelievably vivid. And if it's any indication of the story's great ability to make me curious and keep me caring, as soon as I finished it I found myself flipping back to the beginning and searching through it for pieces to reread. Yes, I reread books, but pretty much never IMMEDIATELY upon finishing them! I cannot recommend this book enough. I'm planning to browbeat everyone I know into trying it. THAT INCLUDES YOU.