Beautifully written, not what I was looking for.

I think that this book is really important with its Hispanic influences. However, this important aspect of the book also made it hard for myself as a reader with little knowledge of Hispanic culture to connect with the characters and the story. I think that the author, Isabel Ibanez, did an amazing job writing a beautiful and colorful world with interesting characters and an interesting story, but the racial commentary felt a little heavy handed at times. It's something that needs to be discussed and represented in literature, but is not something I tend to seek out in books that I am reading for pleasure. Overall, this was a solid book but wasn't quite what I was looking for in a YA fantasy novel.