This is the kind of YA that wins major literary prizes and makes English teachers excited—which means it's genuinely good but also genuinely challenging. The magical tree concept is brilliant and original, and Hardinge's prose is legitimately beautiful. Faith is a compelling protagonist navigating Victorian sexism while solving her father's murder.

But let's be real: parent reviews confirm what the synopsis suggests—this is a slow starter that doesn't really catch fire until the last third. If your kid needs action and fast pacing, this will sit unfinished on their nightstand. It's also dark: murder, grief, lies, and the messiness of discovering your idolized parent was deeply flawed.

For the right reader—patient, literary-minded, interested in historical settings and moral complexity—this is excellent. For everyone else, it's going to feel like homework. The 4.2 Amazon rating reflects this divide: people either love the literary merit or bail because it's too slow.