The language is pretty, but the story is lacking. It could've been--should've been--longer in order to let the reader get a full sense of the story. Block's shorter books just don't have the same impact as her longer books and I think it's because she doesn't take the time to fully develop the characters and plot.

The sudden reference to AIDS, 9-11, the tsunami (she even mentions Petra Nemcova, the supermodel who was saved by clinging to a palm tree while her photographer boyfriend was swept out to sea) feel so random in a book that has a very sleepy, fairy tale tone. I didn't know what to make of it. I've noticed that these references, save the tsunami, appear in a lot of Block's books and I feel like she's using them too much. Like she's just randomly tossing them in, but I also get this weird sense of a political undertone. Like Block is slyly inserting her political beliefs into a YA book, but I feel like a YA book isn't necessarily the place for that. I don't know, but those references really threw me off.