3.5 stars 
 This book is good. It really is. If you're into this genre, then go for it. I have some minor issues which I will explain in this review, but it might spoil some things for you, without being direct spoilers.. If that makes sense. Here goes! 
 I must say, at first, that some of my issues might have to do with the last book I read before this one; I've just finished The Children's Book and that one is historical fiction with nothing out of place or sci-fi-ish or fantastic. It was a long, hard book as well. I had really gotten into that world, so switching to this whirlwind of a narrative with multiple worlds and fantastic creatures was perhaps a bad choice right away ;) 
 At first I felt Headley was trying too hard to make Aza witty and edgy, to make her character interesting. There was heavy emphasis on how she was NOT like other main characters, and it shone through the text. After a while, however, it started to feel more natural and I stopped focusing on the author behind the voice. Aza got really interesting, and the fragmented way in which her thoughts were presented made for a more complicated and thrilling read. 
 Ok, so I already mentioned the difficulty with switching between the all too real fiction and the all too fantasy fiction. On of my minor issues with Magonia is the desire to throw as much in there as possible. First Maganwetar are the bad guys, because of the way they treat the rest of Magonia (kind of reminds me of the Capitol in The Hunger Games), giving the book a beginning to its plot, but then we are presented with the consequences humanity's pollution of the earth has for Magonian flora and fauna, suddenly making the novel into one about environmental issues - not only that, but now we have two 'bad guys'. How are we going to fix that? Zal has her own solution, of course, but the one she tells Aza will only fix one of the problems, and the one she keeps hidden has a weird reason. Why she is so angry with the 'drowners' is not really that evident. She mentions something about 'all they have done to you (Aza) and me', although the 'drowners' themselves have not really done anything to either of the characters directly. 
 *SPOILER BELOW* Proceed at your own risk! 
 The last thing that really bugs me is that we never really get an explanation of HOW Aza and Heyward are switched. HOW do her parents decide to change the name of their baby, so it suddenly fits with the changeling? If Ley wanted to get rid of the child, and not give Zal any clues to where she was, why would she make the parents rename her? Oh well. Maybe the next book holds all the answers! 
 Despite all this, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It's a fast and exciting read, and ever since I read The Golden Compass for the first time, I have always been fond of the idea of a beyond-the-living-world bond with a soulmate animal of a sort. That's how I view the canwr anyway. 
 Read it!!