From the moment this story opens, the story of Vera, Ana, and other girls whose mothers are ‘gone’ is spellbinding. Reading the first 30 pages only made me want to read more. Where do the girls’ mothers disappear to? Why are all the streets of this isolated town in the mountains named in a language no one knows? Why do all the girls of the town wear their hair in long braids with silver pins that they use in intriguing ways? I loved the originality of this near-dystopian novel and look forward eagerly to reading more!