This excerpt took me back to reading Gail Carson Levine's beloved fairytales. Ibanez immediately builds strong, capable, and brave female characters while weaving a story that hooks you in from the first paragraph. What is unique about Ibanez's setting is that it encapsulates a narrative rarely told in literature-- the Bolivian narrative. While this is fantasy fiction, many young readers of Hispanic origin will be able to look up to characters that look like them, come from families like them, and experience similar heritage and culture to them. The importance of Hispanic heritage being reflected in fairytales, princesses, and fantasy is huge and Ibanez weaves all of this together flawlessly.