I've been agonizing over this for a few days because I was enjoying the read and I got the sense from many other reviews that I shouldn't have enjoyed this book. But I think a big part of criticism is recognizing that I can like something without liking all aspects of it. So, here goes. 
 I had an econ professor who graded partially based on improvement, and I loved that because without it, I probably wouldn't have done very well in that class. As a reader, I enjoyed Divergent, thought Insurgent did not live up to its potential, and just kind of went, "WTF?" with Allegiant. So I was pleasantly surprised by Roth's improvement as a writer. The comma usage is still iffy, but the sentences were nice and the reading experience was smooth. As a writer, I'm just kind of happy for Veronica Roth. Like, hey, good job! 
 I also simply enjoyed the story. Nowadays, it takes a lot for a book to capture my interest. I liked Cyra, I liked Akos, I liked the slower pacing, and I liked what Roth tried to do with a story about the tension between two different cultures. The world-building was a little thin for my tastes, and at some points, the setting seemed to skew more fantasy than science-fiction, but I was okay with that. I did want a little bit more about the current and the characters from Thuvhe, especially Isae and Cisi, but I understand the limitations of POV and I expect the second book will provide more of this. 
 My understanding is that the Thuvhe and Shotet both include people with lighter skin and people with darker skin. Because the POV is so limited to the action in Shotet, there's not enough counterpoint from Thuvhe to show if they're all less violent or if it's just Akos (and based on Sifa and Isae, it's just Akos). I'm intrigued by the idea of two cultures seeing each other not as they are but as they want to, but obviously, Roth wasn't as successful in this as she needed to be. As far as ableism goes, even though the world refers to Cyra's and Akos's powers as "currentgifts," it's clear they don't see them that way, and neither do most of the rest of the characters who have fates and gifts. It's especially clear that Cyra views her pain as a curse until late in the book. 
 I'm not saying this to excuse the racism and ableism. I'm only saying it's less cut-and-dried than some reviews have suggested. I'm happy that Roth has grown as a writer, and I'm happy that she really tried to inject inclusion into this book. I'm upset that publishing is so white that there are undoubtedly a lot of authors of color out there who aren't getting the chances to publish inclusive fiction. But I'm allowed to be both of those things at once, and I'm allowed to like this book while acknowledging its shortcomings.