This book was phenomenal! Deka is a great main character and her growth throughout the book is so interesting to read. This book is a really smart commentary on how western societies will use religion, specifically purity, to oppress women and how that contradicts with lots of indigenous ideologies wherein women were treasured leaders.

Especially when we learn about the true history at the end of the book and how the women were brought down and the religion was in fact created so that they wouldn't have power.

One of my favorite parts of the book was the character relationships. First we get such strong bonds between the girls. They bond over shared circumstances but grow into such close friends and the relationship, especially between Deka and Britta, is full of such strong love. I loved seeing the comparison that Deka made between her feelings for Keita and those for Britta. The development of Deka and Keita's relationship was also very well done. Seeing them develop a friendship and trust before even beginning to consider romantic feelings was so nice to read. This was the best type of development because we got intimate moments between the two of them as partners but it wasn't just instantaneous love.

The part where Keita has to kill Deka to protect her was so powerful. He sacrifices himself and goes through the trauma of killing the person he loves just to give her a chance to escape. It really shows how the trust that they have built up over the book transcends the hate and fear instilled in them by their culture.

While it was hard to get into due to pain that the main character had to go through and the self-hatred that she has to overcome, once Deka starts accepting who she is I couldn't put it down. I cannot wait for the next book to see how the characters grow from here and to see how the world building grows. An awesome read!