This book is fantastic - both in the sense that it has fantasy elements and in the sense that it is excellent. It is classified as YA fantasy. I don't have a lot of experience with YA although I keep hearing how it's changing fast and not what it used to be, but this feels (in a good way) like a book I would have read and enjoyed as a teenager. As someone who is well past being a teenager I enjoyed it as a story. It terms of the other fantastic elements, these moved the story along, but were not really the point, at least the way I read the book. It was refreshing to read about Islanders in a very different way from how this cultural group is often addressed. This book has many themes - family, ethics, friendship, culture which would make it a great book to study at school, or in a book group. Mostly though it was a rollicking good read with strong characters, complex relationships and some action as well.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for a free e0arc in exchange for an honest review.

I found it so affirming to read a culturally diverse story like this, particularly as I am also First Nations. The fantasy elements were fascinating and the mystery was compelling and kept me hooked!