I couldn't finish this book in good spirits or hopes. To say this is a believable representation of African or Polynesian folklore, as the back cover review states, is pretty near-sighted and insulting. I almost made it halfway, and I was ignoring the bad writing, inconsistencies, over-telling versus showing, weird sentences structure all throughout; but the stereotyping and the inauthenticity of the narrative put the nail in the coffin for me. I stopped right at Chapter 15, after Jala (and don't get me started on the names) realized the stolen book she was gifted was sacred to the people invading and thought to herself, paraphrasing: "It doesn't feel sacred. If it's so important, why don't they make another book?" Really!?

Please support authors of color trying to give you REAL diverse narratives. This isn't it.