I'd call this book for kids 12+, depending on their maturity. I found nothing objectionable, and I'm a bit cautious. The story is about two societies that inhabit a pre-Industrial (feudal-era?) Earth-like world, one is the conquered and serve as workers for the conquerors. The conquerors have magic to keep them in power, but the conquered have a secret bond with some small wise creatures that serves to change their world. A servant boy, his sister, a princess of the conquerors and her brother work together to foil the plans of the powerful sorceror. I felt the characters and story were extremely well developed and am very glad I found this author. The cover illustration is interesting, though maybe a little inaccurate, but the story is an engaging adventure--kids will think about what it would be like to be a servant vs. what it could be like to be powerful and what obligations might go with it. How can two young people change/unite their divided world?
