An Ember in the Ashes

Sabaa gives us an external tragedy in Laia - a girl out to do something, to save what matters most to her - and an internal tragedy in Elias - a boy who does not want to become what he is being made into. Both of them face impossible odds but keep up a spirit of hope.
On top of a gripping young adventure/is this love? tale, we get magic, mythology, and new fantastical beings.

I was a little put off at first by the simplified groupings of peoples: Martials (killers), Scholars (mostly slaves), Mariners, etc. But, I think the author decided to go with that and finish her book rather than come up with some other separation of peoples. Also, besides keeping the already beaten down Scholars in check, it is not entirely obvious in this book why the Martials are so, er, Martial. The current politics are not given (or I missed it).