this books had it's strengths in it's characters, without a weak plot. One of the strongest things is the fmc being autistic, because it is written in a very natural way that is effectively impossible to find in other novels, much less in fantasy novels, and it felt refreshing to read a neurodivergent character that didn't feel like a caricature (probably because the author is autistic, and she could use her own experiences). I also really loved how all of the characters were written, because they all felt human and dynamic. It was also really nice to see autism seen as a depiction of something magical without it receiving the superpower dynamic, where it's written as something that is only positive, because that tends to be something that overlooks a lot of the problems, and this book is very neutral about the autistic traits, with them being treated as neither good or bad, just part of the person. Also magic is great.