I have only read a few books by Pintip Dunn, but I really enjoyed them. So I was very excited when I heard about this one and was happy to get a copy from the publisher to read! While I’ve categorized it as a fantasy for the title of this blog post, it almost had some sci-fi and magical realism to it instead, or as well. The authors took different folktales from I believe Thailand or maybe some other Asian cultures that are similar, and then kind of cherry picked bits and pieces to create the different abilities the characters might acquire while on this magical island. But it was more than just the abilities, all of it fed into different situations from the folktales woven from these bits and pieces.

The science fiction aspect comes from the fact that it is a scientist holding them on this island and studying to see how they will develop the powers/abilities, and then trying to use it to bring someone back from the dead, as well as possibly other things. While I had a feeling about one person who does betray at some point, I didn’t see some of the other things that came, or that there would be more than one betrayal, or was it really? I’ve seen the complaints in the reviews, and I guess I do see their point that it isn’t really comparable to some of the things it was suggested to be like. But in the end I quite enjoyed it. It was a bit long for me overall at 400 pages, but again, I will definitely look for more books by this author, and her daughter, together or on their own!