So much of this book was impressive but what stands out so brightly to me is the excellent character development Renshaw exhibits for his characters. The depth of Aedan’s brokenness is astounding to read. And it’s not just him. Aedan’s friends are each seen as having a moral core but they've all got some serious vices, such as racism and kleptomania. There are always 2 sides to a coin and Renshaw never fails to show us both. Even the villains are given moments to reveal something other than villainy. Aedan was frowning, lost in thought. “Kalry,” he said, “if he hadn’t been wearing that uniform, would you still have thought he was from Rinwold?”

But he couldn’t tell her. Not about this. When a tree was being ruined from inside, the bark would hide its shame, at least for a time. Aedan had kept his bark wrapped tight. He wanted none to know, least of all Kalry. I also highly recommend the audio! Tim Gerard Reynolds does a world-class job of narrating and I know I wouldn’t have enjoyed this book as much without him. Chris Dax, Jeff Thompson, Vernon Mitchell, Roy Miller, Bill Inman, Spencer Johnson, Glen Chung, Kiki Leon and Brenton Gabeler.Among the older listeners with longer memories, there were deeply worried faces, and some of the younger children were crying. By the end of the book we are seeing more mystical things occur, and Aeden has gone from being 12 at the beginning of the book to 16. He's preparing to be sent as an infiltrator to the land of the people who stole the villager he cared so much about, and lamented about for much of the book. Aedan at times seems like your stereotypical chosen one, but it turns out there is a lot more going on than meets the eye initially. I thought the supporting cast was really good. You have your typical school bullies and enemy turned ally tropes, but I seem to just eat that up. I liked his lab partner in medical class the best, although I don't recall her name because I'm terrible at names. Executive Summary: Started and ended really strong with a few lulls in the middles that cost it from possibly being a 5 star read for me.

Glavni lik je dvanaestogodišnji Aedan, dečkić bujne mašte, pustolovnog duha i strateškog uma (wait, what?), sin oca šumara (a kasnije doznajemo da je zapravo opaki kriminalni lord (wtf??)) ups, spoiler) i majke pisarice koja ovdje nije uopće važna. No, Aedanov otac ponekad, je li, opsjednut demonom Mladena Grdovića, priušti Aedanu nekoliko modrica i posjekotina, čime se ovaj mora cijelo vrijeme nositi, a mnogo kasnije kad se opet susretnu, Aedan mu pokazuje kako „bota ima dva kraja.“ Hah! I’ll kill you twice.” He panted and coughed up an impressive quantity of river. “I’m going to hang you and after that I’ll skin you alive.” One theme that this book kind of explored that I did really like was physical abuse and how the victim is effected even after the abuse has stopped. I really didn’t expect that going into this story but really enjoyed that aspect of it and how it explored that recovery from being abused is a long road and is not something you magically get better from as soon as the abuse stops. The momentum and pace is start-and-stop. Aiden sees something quite strange and frightening, but then... life goes on. This occurs several times.But what I enjoyed most was the story. Renshaw tells a stunning story. One scene in particular I vividly remembered as being an extraordinarily empowering and inspiring. Aedan’s struggles with his trauma and his prejudices really drive home a powerful message and it adds a spectacular wow factor to the book. The path of a hero's journey may be a well-trodden one but, for me, it's this that happens along the way that makes this book unique.