I loved every (often emotionally painful) minute of this book.

N K Jemisin did a masterful job at creating a fantasy world where people, called Orogenes, have amazing abilities, but are kept in a state of subservience by those without powers, referred to as "stills," with the aid of mysterious in-between folk, known as Guardians. The book recounts the events that led up to the most recent Fifth Season, or world-ending event. Every chapter left me wanting to continue on to the next in order to find out more about what happened to the protagonists and how they'd persevere through such bleak obstacles. There were many moments that paralleled the darker parts of real life and I found the parts where Syenite was learning how much of the history she accepted as fact was really a revisionist version particularly salient.

The story is told in a non-linear fashion, though it isn't clear until well into the book the true order of events. That's a tactic that can often go wrong, but I believe Jemisin proves herself quite capable of clearly telling each part of the story while simultaneously weaving them together intricately. The story is told from the perspective of three voices, one of which is in second person, a point of view I'm not used to, but thoroughly enjoyed. It was a unique way of drawing me into the story.

This is one I will be recommending to the book lovers in my life!