This was a good read! I really enjoyed the characters Leelo and Jaren. Their relationship going from complete strangers and then evolving into something more.
This book is basically about a girl with magical abilities that grows up on a reclusive island. She is constantly told how the outside world is evil and the forest is good and protects them. Over the course of the story, we learn about Leelo's life, and a little more about the forest and how it protects the people on the island. We also learn about Leelo's relationships with her family and friends and watch a new relationship develop with Jaren, an outsider from the other side of the lake. Throughout the story we get to see how toxic some of the people are in Leelo's life, and even though she has grown up with this toxicity, she still maintains a kind and considerate heart.
I don't want to write spoilers, but I feel like this will be a bit spoilery.
One thing we don't get is a lot of backstory about the forest. I still want to know more about it like where did it come from? Was it made for protection from an ancient people? Did it evolve over time? There is some mention of how the forest came to be on the island but no real history about it as a lot of the islanders don't really know much themselves.
One thing I loved about this book was the realization of how people are told lies to protect them from the truth but in reality, those lies can become corrosive.