wow. honestly, i flew through this. despite it being pretty chunky, this was so well-done, so fun to read, and it felt really unique. I haven’t read a pan-African fantasy yet and i feel like this matched up to all the well-deserved hype it’s been receiving. I’m already itching for book 2 because that ending made my jaw drop and I’m already obsessed with the world. my only complaint is that i felt that this book went by a little TOO quickly — the pacing was super fast and i wish we had gotten more character development and more time in the jungle with Ekon and Koffi. this was a true YA fantasy and it’s one that i feel like the market needed right now. the YA fantasy genre has been lacking and leaning towards new adult and BOP is exactly what the YA fantasy genre should embody. it’s so easy to paint the world of BOP in your head and Gray does a fantastic job of world building. all in all, i highly recommend!