This was such a good read, there was the perfect amount of intrigue and drama to keep my attentiom. You could see the influence from other works that in my opinion added to the experience. The characters were well developed and their actions and thoughts were extremely fitting for the age they were which can be easy to forget as an adult reading middle grade, when you consider your behaviour when you were the same age, it is a lot more relatable than most adults remember. I've never read from the author before but this was a solid first read for me and I will continue the series and look into the authors other works as it was a well written novel so I'd be interested to see the writing leading up to this point. This was a magical, captivating story that also highlighted injustice and prejudice in a way that will be important for children to read and reflect on.