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spookyaz's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Listen, I ended up liking this better than I thought I would. It starts off very slowly. That being said, the characters are flat, the brother constantly acts terribly without any consequences, and the author seems to have this....weird...kinda fetishistic...fixation on East Asian women?? Also, the majority of the magical creatures are very definitively "good" or "evil" without nuance which is...honestly boring and disappointing. I love complex morally grey witches especially, and I know this is a book for younger children but you can definitely have those kinds of witches (and fantasy creatures in general) in stories written for that age range! Overall I would not recommend this book. There is plenty of better middle-grade fantasy to read out there.
Content Warnings
Minor: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Body horror
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