Norman makes smart use of the disguise-as-boy trope — Viktor isn’t just a plot device, it’s a vehicle for examining how identity, danger, and freedom intersect in ways that wouldn’t be available to the character as herself. That’s the kind of structural thinking that elevates genre fiction.

The mystery of Anna Stenberg is genuinely well-constructed. Norman parcels out information at exactly the right rate — you’re always curious without feeling strung along. The supernatural elements in the second half shift the tone but don’t rupture it.

What I noticed most was Norman’s handling of the friendship between the narrator and Anna. The relationship does the real emotional work of the book, and it’s earned through specific scenes rather than asserted by the narration.

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