I wanted some light reading after my trip to Burkina Faso, and Leslie had checked this fantasy novel out of the library. I enjoyed the good writing, and the deep character development. But the mixing of realistic shtetl Jews in a fantasy novel just bugged me throughout. Seemed like she needed to invent a comparable imaginary group like the European Jews. Not actually have the exact same culture in a fantasy novel! Still, what do I know? Reviewers from Vox and New York Times really liked the novel.