“Just because you don’t remember hearing them doesn’t mean they’ve stopped talking. It means you’ve stopped listening.”

A super fun, imaginative MG with a focus on self-identity and a celebration of mythology/culture.

This would work so well as an animated TV show! I could visualize everything so vividly while reading and my brain kept translating it to a show. I loved the focus on Lei finding herself, feeling caught between worlds, as well as the fun of reconnecting with nature.

This is a very... solitary book, meaning that for most of the journey it is just the main character and a talking animal companion. That did lead to some parts of it feeling a bit sluggish, as the pacing was a bit off, which could be a struggle for certain younger readers but! I also appreciated that it gave us time for the main character to rediscover the world around her (mostly) on her own.

Overall, a fun time that would be good for fans of PJO or Aru Shah.