This author and book were both new to me, and I am glad that I listened to Amasai Rising by Stevie Ray Causey. I enjoyed the book a great deal. It did take a little getting used to the POV being a little whiny, like a young child, but I think that was a purposeful choice and soon became a non-issue. The storyline has a lot of background and history woven in, sometimes done with different character’s POV, but it is skillfully woven in with the action to make a compelling story. The character development, which can make or break a story for me, was well written. 

It’s interesting that the narrator is able to do such a good job of sounding like a whining child. I look forward to reading more.

This is clearly written as Book one in a series as there is a lot of building in this story. We quickly start to develop an understanding of the main character but the mother is a slower build. Stevie Ray Causey does a great job of giving a us a quick amount of background to locate us in a setting, but then steadily world builds with more history and greater understanding of society. 

I absolutely recommend this as YA fantasy and would feel comfortable offering it in my middle school classroom or any public library.