"Aza Ray," he says. "You hold no horrors for me."
With all this death talk, one would imagine Aza to be a sullen mess, but she was unapologetically sassy, and still tried to embrace and experience life as much as she could. Her partner for these escapades was her best friend Jason. Oh, how I loved Jason. He was a quirky genius and a veritable Wikipedia. The interactions between Jason and Aza were some of my favorite parts. One can only hope to have a friend with a fraction of the dedication of Jason. Their's was a beautiful friendship.
I'm a dying man looking at the bouncing sunlight, but no, because sunlight just rang my doorbell and pounded on my front door. Sunlight is staring at me and pursing her lips.
Aza also had a wonderful family. My heart went out to these people, who had to be ready for Aza's death at any time. They had their letters of love and apology ready for when the end was near. Yes! So sad! But, Headley tempered all this sad by sharing so many sweet and fun memories of the family with us.
But it doesn't matter. I can't imagine a universe in which I try to unlove her.
The fantasy aspect was a little odd. A sea faring type bird people who live in the clouds. It was strange, but it was interesting too. According to mythology, Magonia is a "cloud realm", where the denizens work with magical creatures, who can manipulate the weather in order for them to steal crops from earthbound farmers. I thought Headley did a great job building this world for the reader to enjoy. It was quite vivid and well illustrated. I also thought the bits of social commentary, though not in your face, were provoking.
Overall: I really enjoyed this romp in the clouds. The writing style was a definite plus for me, and the introduction to a mythology I was unfamiliar with kept me interested.