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4.25 AVERAGE
4.25 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
Moderate: Death
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
I loved this so much! Ramya's story is beautiful and touching. I loved that her dyspraxia was shown with the positive things it brings to her life and how the book challenges misconceptions about neurodiversity. I loved her family and the direction their story takes. I'm excited to see what's in store for the next book.
The world in this books is very exciting with so many magical creatures. Ramya's search to discover them all and then to save everyone from the sirens was thrilling.
I listened to the audiobook, I liked the narration for Ramya but most other characters sounded quite creepy, even the friendly ones.
I listened to the audiobook, I liked the narration for Ramya but most other characters sounded quite creepy, even the friendly ones.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The best BEST part of this book for me was the disability rep. I felt SO SEEN. I don't have dyspraxia like Ramya does, but I could relate to SO MANY things Ramya described going through. My favourite quote was:
"I became a measuring stick for people's characters. For their patience, their compassion, their empathy. You get tired of it after a while."
I also liked the simple sentence "I am resilience." Because we are resilience itself, not just acting with resilience. McNicoll absolutely nailed this rep at every turn. I also thought it was fantastic that dyspraxia was represented in an MC, as I have never seen this done before and it is so important to get that rep out there.
Speaking of MCs, Ramya is a great one! She's a fierce advocate for herself, because no-one else in her life is. Her moral compass is so strong. She gives so much love, even though she thinks she doesn't, even though she doesn't get a lot of it in return. I loved learning about the magical underworld of Edinburgh alongside her; all the magical creatures, what they looked like, and where they lived and worked.
I also loved how this story showed the power of community, how it can both prevent disaster and also guide you through one. I'm really looking forward to seeing where this theme goes in the sequel. Another great theme was about choice. The book really drove home personal accountability; that you choose what to do with the power given to you, you choose what to do in response to how you are treated, you choose the role you are going to play. There is no shifting the blame.
The only things I struggled with were that the side characters could feel a little one-dimensional, and the plot was a little wandering at times. Aside from that, this was a fantastic, enjoyable read!
"I became a measuring stick for people's characters. For their patience, their compassion, their empathy. You get tired of it after a while."
I also liked the simple sentence "I am resilience." Because we are resilience itself, not just acting with resilience. McNicoll absolutely nailed this rep at every turn. I also thought it was fantastic that dyspraxia was represented in an MC, as I have never seen this done before and it is so important to get that rep out there.
Speaking of MCs, Ramya is a great one! She's a fierce advocate for herself, because no-one else in her life is. Her moral compass is so strong. She gives so much love, even though she thinks she doesn't, even though she doesn't get a lot of it in return. I loved learning about the magical underworld of Edinburgh alongside her; all the magical creatures, what they looked like, and where they lived and worked.
I also loved how this story showed the power of community, how it can both prevent disaster and also guide you through one. I'm really looking forward to seeing where this theme goes in the sequel. Another great theme was about choice. The book really drove home personal accountability; that you choose what to do with the power given to you, you choose what to do in response to how you are treated, you choose the role you are going to play. There is no shifting the blame.
The only things I struggled with were that the side characters could feel a little one-dimensional, and the plot was a little wandering at times. Aside from that, this was a fantastic, enjoyable read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
Moderate: Death, Violence, Grief
Minor: Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Physical abuse, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting
Moderate: loss of a loved one, mind control
Minor: drowning, sick loved one
4.4 Provides a precious glimpse into what it's like to be neurodivergent. Feels good to read that, to know I'm not alone.
Some bits were a little heavy-handed or just hand-waved away (like the school inspector).
Some bits were a little heavy-handed or just hand-waved away (like the school inspector).
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Reading this was like watching the Eurovision movie. Edinburgh but not Edinburgh.
As someone who lives in the city this book was set in, it’s a bit jarring to find there are small errors. The worst one was the reference to “sixth form” which doesn’t exist in Scottish schools as a rule. I’m also not sure where the Mum and Dad work as the all the media HQs and studios are in Glasgow... (Not sure I believe where the characters live, and what school they’re at is murky, but that’s forgivable.)
All told it’s disappointing that neither the author nor the editor seems to have spent significant time in Edinburgh and so it made it harder to enjoy what was otherwise a good middle grade book with a pacey plot and positive diversity.
As someone who lives in the city this book was set in, it’s a bit jarring to find there are small errors. The worst one was the reference to “sixth form” which doesn’t exist in Scottish schools as a rule. I’m also not sure where the Mum and Dad work as the all the media HQs and studios are in Glasgow... (Not sure I believe where the characters live, and what school they’re at is murky, but that’s forgivable.)
All told it’s disappointing that neither the author nor the editor seems to have spent significant time in Edinburgh and so it made it harder to enjoy what was otherwise a good middle grade book with a pacey plot and positive diversity.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No