Alina Starkov is an orphan, minding her own business in the army, when BOOM she finds out she has magical powers. And not just any magical powers. She's the one and only Sun Summoner, who (legend has it) has the ability to destroy the Shadow Fold, a really creepy, dangerous, and, duh, dark area that has plagued her homeland for centuries. So she is spirited away to a boarding school (of sorts) where she can learn to harness her powers and become protegee to the mysterious Darkling.
Sound a bit familiar? Yeah, this has some definite Harry Potter-esque moments (the teens in the magical school even sit in four tables, separated by the colors of their powers; there's an uneasy alliance between the school and the official government that will certainly erupt in future books; oh, and of course that whole orphan-who-doesn't-know-their-powers thing), but it has a lot more in common with dystopian YA than your typical teen fantasy, though that's definitely where this would be categorized. Alina's part of a weird love triangle (of course), and her powers make her highly sought after by the government, though she's not too comfy with that role.
I liked that this book had an Asian (well, fantasy Asian) setting rather than the typical American or British feel, though some of the official names for things were a bit grating, with too many "-nik"s and "-ski"s added to the end of English words. One thing I didn't like, however, was that Alina does something toward the end of the book that is simply shocking, considering her actions over the previous 340 pages. I'll continue to read this series, in part because I want to know if she redeems herself for this action.
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