This book was incredibly intelligent. I wasn't wholly surprised (having watched the vlogbrothers), but it's not often that a book revolving around cancer drives me to laugh, cry, and turn each page praying for more. It reminded me of My Sister's Keeper, but it was better in every way.

The premise, magic system, characters, and world creation are really good. It reads very quickly with chapters that are around 6 pages each; this makes sense considering that it was first written on WattPad. I was sometimes annoyed at how short each chapter was and the cliffhanger style endings, but I look forward to the sequel. It felt original enough that it was novel and fun but not so out there that it was difficult to pick up.

By the way, it’s great for younger teens too. No cursing, sexy stuff, or inappropriate content. Mostly alluding to bloody scenes but there was nothing graphic.

The book starts slowly, but the writing kept me going. Slatter’s style is unapologetically intelligent and descriptive, building a clear world and characters who are as flawed and real as I have ever read. I appreciated that Slatter skipped parts of the character’s experience, making allusions to intimate scenes in order to progress the story. I savored this book, and I will read more by the author because of it.