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kirstenf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Grief, Emotional abuse, Murder, Classism, Physical abuse, and Slavery
Minor: Bullying, Vomit, War, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Sexual assault, and Religious bigotry
ashli's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Moderate: Slavery, Child death, Bullying, Colonisation, Abandonment, Grief, Animal death, and War
Minor: Torture, Domestic abuse, Suicide attempt, Police brutality, and Death
alyssasaurus's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The world is fascinating and dark, and the mysteries around how it became what it is kept me guessing throughout. The magic system is unusual. I love the method of attaining magic through tea!
Ibrahim clearly is a talented writer. When she is on point, her prose is lovely and poignant. She doesn’t overdo the language, steering clear of the flowery descriptors often present in epic fantasy stories. The result for me was an easy-to-read book with lots of passages highlighted.
Where this book excelled was in depicting the horrors of oppression and colonization. It’s clear from the beginning Imani is going to need to go through a paradigm shift to succeed on her journey. She has such deep-seeded trust in the messages she has been told her whole life, that she has no idea how others could have a different perspective. Her starting point in the novel promises huge opportunity for her to grapple with privilege and lack, and what happens when the powerful abuse their position. This is the most realistic and insightful conflict in the book. I’d love for people to read it if only to get a compelling perspective of a character interrogating her own beliefs she once thought irrefutable facts.
Where this book faltered for me was in the character development. The characters are oddly changeable…they seem to have a basic defined identity, but the book rushes them through conflict and all the ensuing emotions at an unnatural pace. The result was characters I liked most of the time behaving in completely confusing and nonsensical ways for their circumstances and who they seemed to be. And once you step away from the main cast of travelers, the supporting characters start to feel somewhat thin and left me wanting…Farida in particular felt like a thin copy of an archetype I’ve seen time and again in stories.
I think I will likely read the next one. I hope that the character development and behavior improves as Ibrahim continues to write, because she really has created a vibrant cast of characters. I would like to see them grow and continue on their adventures.
Graphic: Confinement, Animal death, Excrement, Torture, Hate crime, Classism, Death, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Grief, Gaslighting, Islamophobia, Medical content, Colonisation, Violence, Cancer, Genocide, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Vomit, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Child abuse, Police brutality, and Slavery