XEOHE

What I liked most about this book, aside from the amazing world-building and gorgeous illustrations, was Eva Nine's characterization. She's portrayed as an 11-to-12-year-old girl (confused; I rememeber reading 12, but the Web site says 11?) and she actually acts like it; she gets scared, was initially dependent on parental figures, and is privy to actions you would relate to a kid like sticking her feet in puddles and talking to stuffed animals. Books like the Percy Jackson series have well-rounded characters, but for me they act and think like teenagers well into puberty when they're barely thirteen.

I could say the pacing was kind of slow, and I could say it kind of dragged on in some parts, but I can't really complain; it felt like watching a movie, and was never hard to follow even if there were gaps between when I last picked it up and resumed reading. I enjoyed this immensely.