This is and it isn't my type of book, but I really enjoyed it all the same. I enjoyed the action and adventure- always fun. A young girl is the heroine, and she is a kick-butt-I'll-protect-you type of gal. Set in the Ghengis Khan era and culture (hence the impetus to the creation of the story), she's not your normal save the world person. What was a bit different for me was the inclusion of the demons. That's who she usually fought to protect her cousin and next emperor. But then the coup of an evil friend made life more difficult. I respect Ellen Oh's killing off some main characters. It was tough, but as another author-friend said, "It has to be done". Plus, there is a bit of softness to these seemingly hard characters, and the dichotomy of the monks who also know how to wield a sword as well as the soldiers.
My students will truly enjoy this book, those who enjoy action, multicultural, and of course, those who, like me, just really think Ellen Oh is pretty cool.