This book hooked me as soon as I saw the cover, I know that you're not meant to judge a book by the cover but I am a huge visual person and if the cover ain't it, it generally won't end up coming home with me. I honestly struggled to put this book down, which is a good thing for the book but bad for my university assessments!
Before I began reading the book I read through some of the reviews, to get some idea of what to expect. It had a high overall rating which was promising but reading some of the conflicted reviews claiming it was full of racial prejudice and bias was concerning. However, I think that Laurie Forest was extremely powerful in her writing and her novel. When you consider that this book is a young adult novel and might be picked up by someone who is mid-early teens, it is subtly promoting questions. This novel is cleverly written to project the stigma and racial injustices of the book into our everyday lives - something which is extremely powerful. I think that Forest was really clever in her writing style and presents a unique dichotomy between fantasy and life. A reader is able to relate and establish familiarity between the injustices within the book and within real life.
The only reason why this book didn't get a full 5 star review was mainly because of how Elloren was written occasionally. I understand that her naivety and piousness is apart of her character but sometimes it was extremely tiring to read. I would have loved to see her break out of her shell a bit more, be a bit more bold and feisty - especially around Yvan.
Overall, I do recommend this book - and while there are moments when you cringe over the characters reactions to other creatures, it does provoke the right kind of questions.