I'll be honest, at first glance at the cover + title, I thought it was going to be fantasy. It just sounds like one of those YA fantasy series! However, when I started to read the summary and got a better look at the cover, I was actually quite surprised -- in a good way! I liked the summary, it shows some promise there and I would be interested in taking a peak in just based on this alone. After reading more of the content, I think it's a promising story with some academic vibes, which is popular right now. I'm glad to see the addition of BIPOC characters and author in this subgenre, which is really needed. Over all, despite not really being inclined normally to read YA, I would give this a go for sure.