Elatsoe

This reminded me a bit of Garth Nix' Sabriel: a 17ish teenage girl who's got necromancer-y skills, but clearly on the side of good (not evil). Elatsoe does all of it in a lite version. A family member dies, but in true YA sense, it never really touches themes like grief and loss on a heavy scale. There's a bit or lite murder mystery going on, and teenagers with relentless curiousity and rebellion in the mix. There are cute ghost animal companions, the book has some gorgeous illustrations.

All in all, a very good read. I am not the right person to talk about asexual representation (but I did find it refreshing that teenage romance crushing wasn't a theme, thank you!) or indigenous representation... But if those are themes you want in your fantasy reads, definitely pick up Elatsoe.

3.5*