I don't know if I've read anything quite this fantastical before. Where does this inspiration for a world like this even come from. A world where there are awe-inspiring and fear-inducing ladies that rule over a palace the size of a small country. A world with a lot of references to flowers and bees. A world where honey is a precious substance with magical powers. Where regular old humans of "simple flesh" are a distinct minority and there are absolutely no rules about what someone needs to look like. 

At its core The West Passage is a coming of age story of two protagonists on separate but interconnected quests and the trials they must encounter and changes they endure along the way. All of this is prompted by signs that an ancient threat is beginning to wake up and will threaten the palace again soon. 

Read this if you want a book to make you feel like Alice after she falls through the looking glass, are in the mood for a solid fantasy story set in a medieval-esque setting and/or think it would be funny if the talking flowers in Alice In Wonderland swore. (There is a scene on a train where a flowered-bodied person drops the f-bomb a number of times and I found it hilarious.) 

Don't read this if you mind some violence in your fantasy, will get upset if people switch gender or can't deal with reading a book where it might take a few re-reads to really grasp the weirdness of it all.