Really torn on this
4 stars
I've read this book many times. I really like the strong female lead (and several of the other female characters). I love the power/gravitas that the POC characters have. But, I always cringe because in this alternate version of the US, there are no native people. They don't exist, and presumably never existed. I understand intellectually that part of the conceit of the book is that North America is a dangerous place to live because of magical monsters, so on the one hand there can't have been inhabitants when the "Avrupan" (European) settlers came. But, I can't help but feel that the author has erased a complete set of people.
I've read this book many times. I really like the strong female lead (and several of the other female characters). I love the power/gravitas that the POC characters have. But, I always cringe because in this alternate version of the US, there are no native people. They don't exist, and presumably never existed. I understand intellectually that part of the conceit of the book is that North America is a dangerous place to live because of magical monsters, so on the one hand there can't have been inhabitants when the "Avrupan" (European) settlers came. But, I can't help but feel that the author has erased a complete set of people.