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Initially, this felt like the Middle Grade I look for - those odd Dahl-esque stories where the world feels like our own but not quite, and the story did remind me a lot of Angel and Bavar. Unfortunately, the second half was a let down, and the story started to feel more like 'let's see what would happen if I threw this in' rather a predetermined conclusion.

It was also strangely lacking in emotion. The grief of a dying Grandmother, the potential loss of Cassie's best friend, the loneliness of her existence around two distant parents and the later loss of a close family member, the whole story should have felt raw with grief. And yet somehow I never felt that.

I liked the idea of this story, and the little we saw of the world, but I didn't feel like it was fully fleshed out enough to really connect with, or be memorable. While the characters felt vivid, I was never able to connect with them or understand them, and this really let the story down.