3.5 / 5 What would the world have been like if the Indigenous peoples on what we now call the US' land were left in possession of the west? The East has become a corporate construct that make the days of company towns look like child's play. Barely even trying to pretend to be a paternalistic society, unions never flourished and monopoly laws never set, residents are stuck not just in the rigid rules and classes of society but tied to contracts of indenture. Traditional medicines, or indeed any non-sanctioned item, are contraband. You are not even guaranteed the assigned housing. Or even the person you marry. Ruby Roth's childhood ended as soon as she was recruited to work in the area's employer and owner, the poultry processor. With the death of her father, the unknown status of her mother, she only has her grandmother. Who is dying. Complicating this rigid and taxing existence is an ability she keeps to herself and has only the slightest guidance on. She can take in people's emotions and some of the memories attached to them. The only solace she has is the gentle guidance of the spiritual order initiates that run a local community clinic. When what little security and autonomy she has is in peril, Ruby gets an opportunity to try to escape into the west. Her success means more than her life. It could mean hope for those stuck in these conditions. In the west, where borders stretch down into Central American, indigenous methods, morals, and social structures have formed society into something far more flexible. Nature and traditional languages have thrived. But not being cut out of the global structure or economies, technologies and reformation of different careers and practices have been integrated. A young warrior, burdened by the loss of her brother and her mother's terminal illness, desperately seeks answers for events in their lives that seem suspicious. Her plans have to shift when she is reassigned and a new leader comes into command. Now Kaileh must continue her own investigation while also working with representatives responsible for international diplomacy and border patrol. I find "The Binding" difficult to review as there are parts of this book I adore. At the same time, it has subjective flaws that hindered my personal reading experience but might not be the same for others. Let's start with the positive. If these are the things that motivate you, this might be your ticket. While there is strong character building to be appreciated, the element I was most intrigued by was the world itself. Prominent figures in US history, as well as events, have subtle to radical positions in this timeline while staying true to the opinions of the corresponding figures as best can be assumed from casual mentions. The West in particular was fascinating to imagine. It was also slightly surprising as it was not presented as a utopia. There were flaws. There was government secrecy and some prejudices. They were as fervent about their borders and immigrants in the same way that draws some modern criticism. But there was also community support, gender equality, and representation of lgbt and gender expression being embraced. Ancient languages thrived with it being fashionable not just to know your regional tongue but others and even the colonial Spanish that still came in. The east on the other hand was quite familiar to those who had seen a dystopia or two. Still, it was curious to see how this particular system functions, their regulations, and how people thrived in spite of it. This is also part of my first frustration. We spend a significant portion of this book in this area going over elements being rehashed for what I assume was to fit a timeline. At some point it felt like a drag. It isn't until the 'action' starts that I started becoming engaged again not only because of the pace but because we started exploring the world again. Those here for the fantasy hook will be disappointed. The abilities are skimmed over. While their manifestation and role is significant we just never learn enough about them for my taste. This is true of so many other things. There are a lot of juicy tidbits, a lot of information, but the experience was more of lack of resolution for me than anticipation builder. And the elements that did come full circle at some point became a little predictable. That's the heart of my conflict. "The Binding" was an incredibly long winded introduction. We have very interesting building blocks. I absolutely loved the world presented to us. The multitude of interesting social, international, and mystical elements would be hard to recap to allow a reader just to bite into the next book. It's not necessarily bad. I'm just not fond of circumstances where if feels like the point of the book is more to get to the next part of the story.