Oh, that's good. Unsurprisingly - it is M.C.A. Hogarth, writing as Maggie Hogarth, because this is (her first, I think) children's/YA book. A variation on the "magic school" story, though with a lot of fascinating twists - it's more a paladin school than a mage one, though knight is only one of the roles to be filled (and not the protagonist's). The setting is amazing - the world has (literally) been shattered into separate islands, each of which can maintain life (some, even on the underside). The Companions are trained by the school to help put things back together - sometimes literally, sometimes more metaphorically by helping people. Marda hasn't gotten that far by the end of this book - she's finished her first year, found her team, gained an advisor...and an antagonist (I love how she handles Wilfred). It manages not to be a preachy story by giving all the good advice to individual, rich, complex characters who are trying to figure things out (definitely a coming-of-age story). I really want to read the next one! ( )