Thomcat
4/21/2022
Folklore set in a near-future world; the fear of things unknown or different; coming of age for a young girl with an awful burden - there's a lot here.
The first chapter is perfectly done. The story then flashes back to an origin story, which wasn't as compelling for me. The lost girl protagonist then wanders and is eventually drawn to her origin. Beyond that, the book stalled as she was encouraged to settle down and become "normal".
I loved the near-future, never directly described but instead hinted at in background descriptions. There is a thread of an external corporation, likely evil, called LifeGen. This plus an abrupt ending lead many readers to think this is the opening to another story, perhaps a series. If there was subtle message in the ending, I missed it - but I still enjoyed the story.