La Seizième clé

I haven't read a YA novel since I was myself a teenager... and it didn't convinced me to read more sci-fi ya books.

We follow the story a young boy alone in a mansion, surrounded by a full team of servants and teachers, all ready to serve him and enrich his life. When he's not studying or stealing chocolate cakes from the kitchen, he loves writing poetry and offering his arts to any passing by. But life is not that simple, and the world might not be as it seems, especially when things start disappearing around him...

The novel has a satisfying ending that answered all of my questions (rare enough). I feel like the middle of the book was long and repetitive, and could have been shortened.

I disagree with the use of animal suffering to help the main characters escape.

I disagree with the use of the term “exotic” to describe the skin color of the female main character.

I didn't like that one character was once called “the blind person”, even after having been well introduced in the story.

I feel like the pacing and the dialogue were just okay, that some of the character's development was not deep enough, but that the plot itself was quite interesting.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review