Both books in this series are super character driven, this one a little less so - I really love a "we must investigate" plot personally, but it's a little silly which I think could turn people off. (This school has a very loose understanding of child welfare laws, tbh.) I think Damon's experience as an Indigenous man adopted to a White family was very moving, and

his desire to give their adopted Indigenous children a closer tie to their community while knowing it was likely something he wouldn't be able to achieve very tender, and a way to kind of skirt perhaps some inherent ickiness in adoption

. I remain very frustrated with this duology's refusal to address safe sex practices.