I struggled to make my way through this one, nearly giving up several times. I felt no connection to the main character, Oli, perhaps because this book was packed with more characters than an epic fantasy. It was hard to keep track of who was who, and what side of the war they were on. It just felt like a bit of a mess of characters, people who seemed important at one point were never heard from again, then someone else became a huge character. It just seemed like endless character introductions, introductions to different factions of the war, and I wasn't always clear what side they were on.
It was just too much crammed into not a very long book.

I really enjoyed this book. Oli was a great protagonist, I liked how brave and adventerous she was, and how she consistently stood up for what she thought was right. The magic system was interesting and unique, and I liked the narrative of portals being much more common in the past, but with less believers, the number of portals dwindled. Although this is marketed as children's fiction, it deals with darker themes and political strife, and is entertaining for any age.