I get people’s annoyance with the amount of focus on Zach.
I didn’t like Zach before. The first book makes him feel like a sore loser that along with others chose to attack Ryun instead of leaving him alone and getting stronger by themselves. That, I realize now, is by design.
This book shows that Zach has depth and reasons.
By the end of this book I’m not sure which is my favorite anymore but it makes it clear that it is a tragic story and it shows that the real villain is the system and its creators.