This book is an exceptional piece of YA fiction. The world building and characterizations are outstanding and nuanced. The author delved into so many heavy topics, like colonialism, ableism, racism, and homophobia, in ways that felt organic rather than shoehorned and clunky. I liked that the author avoided spoon feeding us every new vocabulary word’s definition. I might not immediately understand what a word meant and instead had to see it used somewhere down the line in a very specific context to fully grasp its meaning. 

Another huge plus for this novel was its portrayal of an unflinchingly brave, bold, and curious female teen protagonist. Anequs speaks her mind with barely any hesitation both with her peers and with authority figures. Her genuine thoughtfulness toward Sander, Theod, and Liberty was so endearing. And even though she often ended up thinking Anglish customs and traditions were silly or overly complicated, she genuinely tried to learn about the mores, holidays, lifestyles, etc. of her peers. 

I loved

Theod getting to find his family and slowly coming into his identity as a nackie individual after having been denied access to his people/culture all his young life. It wasn’t like he was magically just as bold and outspoken as Anequs cuz realistically he’s spent his existence up til that point feeling isolated and guarded so that’s not gonna just change overnight.

It’s been quite awhile since I’ve anticipated a sequel this fervently, but I’m really looking forward to the next book and could totally see this as a TV series!