I enjoyed this book, but didn't love it. It kept my attention as I read it but I wasn't really continuing to think about it after I put it down. I only finished a few days ago but already I've forgotten what my favorite parts were, what drew me in and what didn't. I liked the plot the most out of anything--seeing what Ximena was going to do as the world changed around her. The characters were fine, but nothing I felt super compelled to root for or against.
Maybe this is a good wake-up call for me to leave YA fantasy in the past, but my biggest complaint about this book is that it felt like I was having my hand held through the entire story. I didn't ever feel like the author was giving me permission to make assumptions about what was going on on my own: if I wanted to have an idea about the plot, it seemed to always be qualified by the narrator's own thoughts. I know that's kind of a strange way to put it and maybe I'm not really making sense but I don't know--I just felt really held down by the book, and not really allowed to explore the world as a whole.
Maybe this is a good wake-up call for me to leave YA fantasy in the past, but my biggest complaint about this book is that it felt like I was having my hand held through the entire story. I didn't ever feel like the author was giving me permission to make assumptions about what was going on on my own: if I wanted to have an idea about the plot, it seemed to always be qualified by the narrator's own thoughts. I know that's kind of a strange way to put it and maybe I'm not really making sense but I don't know--I just felt really held down by the book, and not really allowed to explore the world as a whole.