This was an interesting read that made a lot more sense when I saw it was published in 2000. It's fast enough paced; the main character is relatively reactive/passive for much of the story and it gets much more interesting when she has to act for herself. At the same time, it makes sense since she's ten years old.

The world-building is interesting and the author never infodumps. You just pick things up as the story progresses. There are several hints of a larger world, references to places that exist but don't show up in the story, that sort. It makes for a more immersive sense of the world. Unfortunately some of the pacing was... sub-excellent. Adding a character in 75% of the way through who's meant to seem significant by the end? The truth is, she did seem significant, but that only made it worse that she shows up so late.

Some things may be related to translation. It's a bit of a solid read as far as prose is concerned. Whether that's stylistic or to do with language, I can't say. But what really bothered me was how casually misogynistic was. There's a lot of casually calling someone a bitch, whore, or slut--in a book about a ten year old. It made me wonder who this is intended for. Or maybe that wasn't there in the original, and for some reason the translator felt that it added something. (It does not.) (Or rather it does but nothing good.)

Basically, it doesn't fit very well. The character is too young to do much, but the book is very slow to engage most readers of that age or thereabouts, and there are some pretty crude terms for that age, too.

But in the end, I enjoyed reading this book. It was between 2 and 3 for me, and I finished it, which is NOT a given! So to me, it deserves the three stars.