Reviews

Dunkle Schatten by Elizabeth Lim

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mom_educator_reader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

3.0

Ping (or Mulan) has a tough road ahead. On the one hand, Mulan needs to continue to disguise her true identity as a girl while fighting as a soldier. On the other hand, Ping has discovered the leader, Captain Shang has been mortally wounded and has been sent to Diyu, the Underworld. Mulan must navigate the Underworld, face many obstacles, engage with ancestors, all while hiding who she really is. If she doesn’t find Shang, she becomes a permanent resident of the Underworld herself.

Mulan is one of my favorite stories. I love the growth of confidence and self-identity throughout the original story. The basic story was still there - Mulan hiding her true identity to protect her father and doing whatever she can to help Captain Shang. Listening to Reflection was harder than I expected, which I attribute to the names and cultural terms throughout the book. I didn’t feel the same character growth in this version, but I could hear the personal struggle Mulan had throughout the book. I did like how Mulan and Shang worked together to succeed, though. Overall, it was a good twist on the original story but it did not speak to me in the same way.

kothira's review against another edition

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adventurous reflective medium-paced

4.0

vivianague's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

bobbyebeans's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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

4.0

lumberjill314's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This wasn't quite what I was expecting. It was written for a younger crowd than I thought but it had it's moments. Because Mulan is my favorite Disney movie I was hoping it would be better. The premise and story was great, I think it was the writing style that did me in.