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frantically's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Amani is definitely a great YA main character — she has the underdog vibes, the tragic back story, the cute new love interest — but rereading this four years after I read it first (yes I know) to finally read the sequel (y'know at least I'm reading it 😤), I really fell for Maram. She seems like such a bitch at first but there's so much more to her, so much nuance and pain and fear. Her heritage is conflicted, she herself the result of a peace treaty, hated by one side, mourned by the other, I was just so fascinated by her. She's definitely my highlight in this book and who I'm looking the most towards in the sequel. The audio book interview with the author was also really enjoyable and now that I know I've got a fellow historian/language enthusiast here, it just makes the reading experience so much more immersive and real.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Bullying, Classism, Kidnapping, Genocide, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Murder, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Xenophobia
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