This was fun!

I was surprised at how dark the themes were, and how the author included complex topics such as complicated relationships, political intrigue, and advanced world-building for a middle-grade novel. It's the perfect high fantasy for younger kids. 

I found the writing to be a little too on-the-nose at times; I know it's written for elementary schoolers but I think there were some bits that could be entrusted to the reader to discern. Despite that, the author included a huge amount of foreshadowing which I was impressed with, it makes for a fun read with some interesting twists, and I think there are still some twists to come in the later books. Great pacing, though some plot beats felt a bit unbelievable and convenient.

The dialogue was off, it felt stilted and cringey. Again, I know it's for elementary schoolers but the dialogue left a lot to be desired. It also had the issue of being too on-the-nose, pointing out things that I think the readers (even young ones) could be trusted to figure out themselves. 

For such a high fantasy setting, the book sometimes lacked description and sometimes had the issue of "white room syndrome", where it felt like the characters just kind of existed and interacted in a void.

Still a super fun read and any elementary aged fantasy lover will absolutely devour this.