In some ways this isn't an unusual novel at all: I mean, the 'choose your own adventure' is an established format, and the motifs that abound are intertexts that link into fairy tales, myths and other popular narratives: the Red Shoes from Hans Christian Anderson via the Moira Shearer ballet film to The Wizard of Oz; the Demon Lover/Fairy Godmother (great juxtaposition!), magic mirrors that show you who you really are (or do they?). But travelling is a fraught concept these days, bound up with privilege and rights, and set against 'migration' where defining words police who can and can't be seen to be legitimately travelling. Amidst this politicised subtext, there's also the tension between moving forward to turning back, and the options to choose remain with the reader. I think what I'm saying is that there are interesting contemporary ideas at play here but at the story level, this can be a bit dull to read: very 'told', there's minimal drama and dialogue, and the interest is in the figurative subtext. Clever, for sure, though.