The Demon Tide (Laurie Forest) - ★★★★★
I didn't think I'd actually like this book, but I did. Forest has come such a long way as an author. The previous three books were about a spoiled, racist girl and her journey towards being a little less racist. This book is... amazing. It's an exploration of hatred and fear towards people who are different from us and how easy it is for pretty much anyone to succumb to that. One of its most powerful moments is when Forest draws parallels between the Gardnerians' (the original racists) hate speech and the Vu Trins' (the country that's supposed to be the good guys) racist behavior towards refugees who look Gardnerian. I love how Forest doesn't just say, here are the racist people and here are the non-racist people, but shows that people of all cultures and religions (even those who seem like the 'good guys' or 'bad guys) are capable of both hatred and kindness. Honestly, it feels like a breath of fresh air reading a book about race (and yes, it i...