The Unbalancing is a strange entity, but one absolutely packed with meaning. It explores a queer society, and what it means to be non-binary; it depicts autism, and neurodivergence more broadly, with detail and understanding; and it clearly uses the magical crisis to explore real-world calamity and collective action. All of this is beautiful, but the book does feel a bit caught between novella and novel: it is not quite the stripped back beauty of The Four Profound Weaves, but neither is it a fully-fleshed narrative. The relationships are cute and heartfelt, but can feel a little rushed, and there's a weird mixture of worldbuilding elements that are underexplained with those that get repeated exposition. I don't feel like this book came together into its full potential, but the themes and emotions at its heart make it a nonetheless worthy read.