The first 4 chapters were really difficult to get through. The story then picks up but there is a lot of back and forth and sidetracked thoughts throughout the chapters. The story also takes place in a world where there are similar countries to ours but not really. This fact is irrelevant to the main plot of the story- simply confusing. I wanted to put down this book on more than one occasion but the style is easy flowing so after some skimming, I was back on track with the big picture.