The Library of the Dead by T.L. Huchu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Really interesting world building and a main character with great narration. It took me a while to adjust to her way of speaking at the beginning of the story, but once I caught up, her use of slang and ways of describing situations added a lot to my enjoyment of the story.
The pacing of this book was odd, but I didn't mind it at all. It felt a lot like reading a season of television, with plots appearing and resolving and new settings and characters showing up out of nowhere, all the way to the very end. For some people this may be annoying or confusing, but I thought it was a lot of fun. I never once knew what was going to happen next in the story, and that kept me consistently engaged and excited to find out what WOULD happen next.
The magic system in this world is really cool, as well. I like how it is based heavily in math and science, and that only very wealthy people with access to prestigious schools have access to it. I think that adds a lot to the world, which is defined by its wide gaps in socioeconomic class.
I only wish that we could have seen more of the world in this first book. But I think that's true of most first books in a series; now that the main characters have been established, there will be a lot more room for exposition in the stories to come. Ever since all the stuff with J.K.Rowling, there's been a hole in my heart that Harry Potter once filled. This book fills that hole.
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