⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ 

☀️I thought the first part was really strong, and I was engaged really early on, which rarely happens with me when I read fantasy, though I did find myself slightly less engaged as the book went on.
☀️I wish we got more of the found family aspect. Like found family is one of the core principles of the book but we pretty much only got to meet 4 of the council.
☀️The romance didn’t play a big part, but I thought it was sweet nonetheless. 
☀️I loved the incorporation of songs and music and I can definitely appreciate the detail that has gone into building this world.

4.5 out of 5

WOW. Now that’s what I call a stunning and original YA fantasy book. From the very beginning I was swept off my feet into the wonderful world Jordan Ifueko created. I’m so in love with everything that the book had to offer.

First, the concept: just stunning. The Ray is just so fascinating to read about and how it affects all of the characters. To be that close to 11 other individuals, sharing your emotions and thoughts, to fully depends on them at all times but at the same time remaining independent, is an idea that is very attractive to me. Every little information we got about it I ate it up. It added such a dimensionality to all major character interactions. I really hope to see more of it in the next books because I think we have so many areas that we could explore with it.

The characters were so enjoyable to read. Tarisai is such a well-rounded main female character. She is tough but kind, vulnerable but brave. Considering this is targeted to YA audiences primarily, so many little girls, especially black girls, can and will most likely look up to someone like her. We see just a diverse cast of characters from so many backgrounds that you can connect to our own world, which really helps to have a more emotional investment to the characters. No one is truly bad or truly good; they all fall within a gray area that makes each character multi-dimensional in personality and actions.

There were so many themes woven into the story seamlessly that plays such key roles for the development of the plot. I was in awe. One of the was how misogyny, patriarchy and sexism robs girls from fulfilling their true potential. Another one was how assimilation is truly a destructive force and doesn’t allow for individuality to thrive. Ifueko really gives us wonderful commentary about these from beginning to end. It never felt like she was beating over the head with these themes rather they were truly engrained into the core of this book and added so much valuable insight to the story.

The thing I do feel the book struggles with is pacing. Part 1 was great. Part 2 was somewhat okay with a few hiccups in the end. And in Part 3 is when things started to fall apart for me. Everything started to feel rushed since the passage of time jumped so erratically. In a couple of chapters we would be weeks ahead, then in others it would be just a few days, and then somehow months had passed. It really took me out of the book at times, that by the time I reached Part 4, I found myself a bit exhausted with the constant shifting of pace. Once we reached the climax things did sort of smooth out into the end. It felt like the book started with a lot of steam, lost majority of it halfway, and gathered just enough to end with a grand finale.

I really hope that more people pick this book up. I rarely see YA books this whimsical and magical anymore, and this deserves as much, or even more, love as the most popular YA series of the past 2-3 years. This is a book targeted to young adults and it reads like one, and I loved it for it. This book is a perfect example of what we mean when we say that by having diverse authors bringing in their own voice into YA, it completely reimagines what this genre can achieve.