"Books are the plane, and the train, and the road. They are the destination, and the journey. They are home."
- Anna Quindlen
I am liking this a lot so far, though there isn't yet anything particularly special about it. It's just got nice writing, nice characterization, nice worldbuilding. And it harkens back to the type of light, well-crafted, sociological, female-authored science fiction* of the 80's and 90's that I've really missed. SF doesn't need to be flashy or meta or self-consciously literary all the time - sometimes it's nice to just read a good story.
*... Although now I'm arguing with myself over whether Olondria is SF or fantasy. It definitely takes place in a world that isn't ours, but there hasn't been any magic yet. So I think I'll go with the theory that we're on another planet.