“‘You look confused,’ he observed. ‘Well, it’s like you’re saying, “Hey, Sophie, take everything you’ve ever learned about anything and throw it away.”’ ‘Actually, that is what I’m saying.’ He flashed a smug grin. ‘Humans do the best they can—but their minds can’t begin to comprehend the complexities of reality.’ ‘And what, elves’ minds are better?’ ‘Of course. Why do you think you’re so far ahead of your class? The slowest elf can still trump a human—even one with no proper education.’”

This “welcome to your new world” passage introduces Sophie to a much vaster and more appealing realm that the human one in which she has lived, unawares, for her entire childhood. Her real species consists of elves, not humans. Already she knows about her telepathic abilities, and she’s super-smart, but these can only take her so far as she struggles to comprehend the vastly different world that is her birthright. The rest of her understanding must come with patience and experience.

“‘It’s not safe to stand out in this world—you never know what some weirdo is going to try to do once they know where they can find you.’ No one understood the dangers of standing out better than Sophie. She’d been teased and tormented and bullied her whole life.”

Sophie’s excursion to the elf realm with Fitz gets her into trouble with her mother because she disappears from school to do so. Only Fitz knows that she’s been haunted by other people’s thoughts for most of her life, and, adding in the ill treatment she receives from older kids who resent her extreme intelligence, she knows perfectly well that it’s wise for her to remain anonymous. Still, her mom’s advice is words to the wise for anyone: Fame of any sort can attract bad people to one’s doorstep.