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naomiysl's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I really enjoyed this story! It was quite a bit longer than the children's books I usually read, but it didn't drag like some YA I could mention, and felt like the plot fully filled the pages. Characters were well developed and most experienced growth. The world building was for the most part worked into the story, no long history lessons or asides to bore us, and the science/magic was self-consistent and clearly had a logic and crucially, that logic wasn't explained in long boring detail. It was a nice touch that the betrayal was motivated by medical debt because that felt like a very true to life condemnation of a reality we live in. Very nice deft hand in bringing the plot to a conclusion while leaving ample room for the sequel.
I had been concerned before purchasing that the portrayal of a nonverbal autistic character by an allistic author would do a disservice to the people she represents. I reached out to the author with this concern, and she was very forthcoming about her process, which included expert advice and sensitivity readers, so I took the chance on it. While I am not someone who goes nonverbal and cannot speak to that experience, it feels well done and I am glad I took the chance. There is no disdain for disability, and in many ways this character is more powerful than any others, because of her neurodiversity rather than in spite of it. I appreciate that.
The only potential negative I can list is that it has the feel of a new author's first book, but I don't mind that. Every author needs to write a first book before they can write others, and I look forward to reading future Alongi books when she's even more come into her own voice as a writer.
Also, and I feel this goes without saying but I also can't end this review without saying it, flying wolves! SO COOL.
I had been concerned before purchasing that the portrayal of a nonverbal autistic character by an allistic author would do a disservice to the people she represents. I reached out to the author with this concern, and she was very forthcoming about her process, which included expert advice and sensitivity readers, so I took the chance on it. While I am not someone who goes nonverbal and cannot speak to that experience, it feels well done and I am glad I took the chance. There is no disdain for disability, and in many ways this character is more powerful than any others, because of her neurodiversity rather than in spite of it. I appreciate that.
The only potential negative I can list is that it has the feel of a new author's first book, but I don't mind that. Every author needs to write a first book before they can write others, and I look forward to reading future Alongi books when she's even more come into her own voice as a writer.
Also, and I feel this goes without saying but I also can't end this review without saying it, flying wolves! SO COOL.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Death of parent, War, Ableism, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Child death, and Violence
redheadsuperpowers's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This is a debut novel from an author I found via a Tiktok someone sent me. I actually started with her Blackwing novella series and quickly fell in love with her writing style. I managed to consume this book in about 3 1/2 hours, and loved every minute of it.
I was deeply appreciative of the writing style in this novel, making it feel very natural when I read. The non-verbal main character was written with sensitivity, and depth. A cast amount of diversity was offered among the cast, and all the relationships were very well thought out and felt so real. The world building was woven throughout the entire novel, and didn't feel like stage directions like so many novels do. I love the depth of description we get of the setting, and I could clearly imagine what the flooded forest looked like, and how crowded Citadel itself must be. We see a lot of connections between the cast, but I appreciate that it doesn't veer into romance, leaving us to walk Olivia's grief with her. As a prolific reader, I will be recommending this to people.
Olivia is a non-verbal autistic teen who just lost her boyfriend, Elias, on a hunt against the demons that keep their people confined to the Citadel. They have been fighting these demons for generations and slowly outgrowing their walls, as food shortages abound. They also follow a very strict religion that has no space for doubt, and regularly culls heretics for questioning the teachings. Olivia just wants to know why. Why did the demons kill Elias? Why do they attack humans on site? Why do they keep them from leaving the Citadel? So she sneaks away and enters the forest alone, and finds out more than she bargained for.
I was deeply appreciative of the writing style in this novel, making it feel very natural when I read. The non-verbal main character was written with sensitivity, and depth. A cast amount of diversity was offered among the cast, and all the relationships were very well thought out and felt so real. The world building was woven throughout the entire novel, and didn't feel like stage directions like so many novels do. I love the depth of description we get of the setting, and I could clearly imagine what the flooded forest looked like, and how crowded Citadel itself must be. We see a lot of connections between the cast, but I appreciate that it doesn't veer into romance, leaving us to walk Olivia's grief with her. As a prolific reader, I will be recommending this to people.
Olivia is a non-verbal autistic teen who just lost her boyfriend, Elias, on a hunt against the demons that keep their people confined to the Citadel. They have been fighting these demons for generations and slowly outgrowing their walls, as food shortages abound. They also follow a very strict religion that has no space for doubt, and regularly culls heretics for questioning the teachings. Olivia just wants to know why. Why did the demons kill Elias? Why do they attack humans on site? Why do they keep them from leaving the Citadel? So she sneaks away and enters the forest alone, and finds out more than she bargained for.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Ableism, Gaslighting, Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Alcoholism, Grief, Bullying, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Addiction, Confinement, and Gaslighting
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