In some ways, this was mostly a slow-moving book, but in a way that I just enjoyed the story as it came. At first, I wasn't sure what to think about it, because it was totally typical of YA fantasies with people treating those considered "other" badly. But then the author switched to Elin's time with Joeun and I became hooked. I absolutely loved watching her relationship with him develop and the patience he showed with her, knowing that she must have gone through something very traumatic. In many ways, the way he interacted with her was the way she ended up interacting with the Palace Beasts. I also loved watching her relationship with Leelan grow and change, for good and for bad. Even her time with the school and her relationship with the head of school was interesting to follow. I think the strength of this book was in the relationships between the different characters, as well as the information about man vs. animals. In many ways, I think this would almost be an adult book, partly because of all the information as well as some of the violence (the book essentially opens with the brutal death of her mother) of man and beast. But I think if they were to make it into a movie (anime), it could be done in such a way that younger kids could also enjoy it. Either way, I found it fascinating. The only reason I did not give it 5 stars is because it took some time for it to find its paces, and also because the end left me wanting a lot more. There was definitely an ending, but I had to read it a couple of times, feeling somewhat confused about what it all meant. I feel that if the author had spent a few more paragraphs, I could have felt like there was more direction to the ending. Either way, it definitely leaves me wanting to read ahead to the next book (which is really books 2-4, I think).