This reminded me a lot of 1984 and Brave New World. And not just because of the crazy society where not everyone is equal. We also get protagonists who are very representative of the average person, showing "this would happen to you and people you know if you lived in a world like this."
The "equals", as the people who are exempt from slavery are called, are identified by their magical abilities called "skill." We are told more than shown what these abilities can do, but I feel like that is intentional. It shows that the equals are terrifying, and the fact that we aren't told the specifics of their abilities makes so many situations throughout the book much creepier.
The only thing I felt like this book was missing was some more background into why society functioned that way, and when it started. That would have added more depth to the story. But maybe we will get that in the rest of the series.