I did not expect to be as intrigued as I was based on the cover. I know we are not supposed to judge a book by its cover but we all do it even if we don't all admit it. This story is very interesting and I love the setting. I am all for New York in the late 60's and early 70's. It sounds dangerous and magical all at the same time. My main issue though is the description of Varya. I felt a bit uncomfortable with the description as it was talking about a very young girl just entering into puberty. Also some of the description almost sounded like it was describing an animal rather than a young girl. If I skip over that part though the rest of the story that I read held my attention. Th writing is very good.