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apierlessbridge's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
ljg765's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Child death
becca_willie04's review
adventurous
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
purplepenning's review
4.0
I love a good portal fantasy / pocket universe story, and this one was excellent! Southern Indian traditions and Hindu mythologies provide the tapestry of the tale that our anxious young artist Kiki brings to life — literally.
Drawing in her sketch book is sometimes the only thing that quiets the voice of nearly uncontrollable worry in Kiki's head. She has spent many recent hours pouring her anxious energy into drawing the Indian myths and legends she loves. That's all well and good until a violent, vengeful god from those stories takes control of her sketchbook world — and wants to use it to get to this one too. Kiki knows she's not the hero they need, but she has to do something! She joins a quirky cast of mostly kid characters to try to help free her sketchbook world from the evil god and his demons.
With lots of humor, a beautiful and clever arc about anxiety, some gasp-out-loud moments in an active adventure, gorgeous world-building, high stakes steps and missteps, a celebration of diversity in strengths and abilities, and another book coming to continue the series, Kiki Kallira deserves a Rick Riordan-level of readership. In fact, it's perfect for fans of Riordan, the Riordan Presents line (including Aru Shah and Tristan Strong), and bookish fantasies like Pages & Co. Bookwanderers, the Land of Stories, and Inkheart.
[I switched back and forth between the paper book and the excellent audiobook for this one, which was a great way to learn some of the pronunciations and also helped me keep the characters straight.]
Drawing in her sketch book is sometimes the only thing that quiets the voice of nearly uncontrollable worry in Kiki's head. She has spent many recent hours pouring her anxious energy into drawing the Indian myths and legends she loves. That's all well and good until a violent, vengeful god from those stories takes control of her sketchbook world — and wants to use it to get to this one too. Kiki knows she's not the hero they need, but she has to do something! She joins a quirky cast of mostly kid characters to try to help free her sketchbook world from the evil god and his demons.
With lots of humor, a beautiful and clever arc about anxiety, some gasp-out-loud moments in an active adventure, gorgeous world-building, high stakes steps and missteps, a celebration of diversity in strengths and abilities, and another book coming to continue the series, Kiki Kallira deserves a Rick Riordan-level of readership. In fact, it's perfect for fans of Riordan, the Riordan Presents line (including Aru Shah and Tristan Strong), and bookish fantasies like Pages & Co. Bookwanderers, the Land of Stories, and Inkheart.
[I switched back and forth between the paper book and the excellent audiobook for this one, which was a great way to learn some of the pronunciations and also helped me keep the characters straight.]
allison_on_a_book_break's review
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-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
3.0
tammym's review
adventurous
funny
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? Yes
4.75
annette45's review
4.0
This was a unique and fun MG read. It was about Indian Mythology, which I'm a big Mythology lover so love learning about all Mythology. This was a bit different than other stories in that it addresses anxiety/OCD and what it might look like for a young girl and I can relate to that and think it's great that this is being shown/talked about in the story.
It was a pretty quick, fun, and easy read too. It's about a girl, Kiki, who discovers she has the ability to draw things and have them come to life/existence when she finds herself in the magical world she drew with a band of rebel kids and an evil ancient deity that wants to take over her mystical world. Kiki has to overcome her fears and anxiety to stop the bad guy and save both the real world and the magical world.
It's very much like other MG reads such as the Aru Shah and Serpent's Secret series and has cool Indian Mythology in it as well. If you're into Mythology/Indian Mythology, like the Aru Shah books or the Rick Riordan Mythology books, you'll like this one.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers Group for letting me read and review this book. All opinions are my own.
It was a pretty quick, fun, and easy read too. It's about a girl, Kiki, who discovers she has the ability to draw things and have them come to life/existence when she finds herself in the magical world she drew with a band of rebel kids and an evil ancient deity that wants to take over her mystical world. Kiki has to overcome her fears and anxiety to stop the bad guy and save both the real world and the magical world.
It's very much like other MG reads such as the Aru Shah and Serpent's Secret series and has cool Indian Mythology in it as well. If you're into Mythology/Indian Mythology, like the Aru Shah books or the Rick Riordan Mythology books, you'll like this one.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers Group for letting me read and review this book. All opinions are my own.
cathy_acasefullofbooks's review
4.0
This was a delightful read about a girl with anxiety who draws and sketches to help her cope. But one day she discovers that the world she's been drawing is real. And she has created a terrible monster for them to deal with. She has to learn to face her fears and learn to accept that her anxiety does not make her any less of a person to help them defeat the monster.
The anxiety representation in this book was fantastic! I love how they didn't make it something for her to overcome, but something for her to accept about herself.
I know my kids will love this one. The idea of your own imagined world being a real place that you can visit? That's just amazing.
The anxiety representation in this book was fantastic! I love how they didn't make it something for her to overcome, but something for her to accept about herself.
I know my kids will love this one. The idea of your own imagined world being a real place that you can visit? That's just amazing.
navsy's review
3.0
If I had read a book like this when I was a kid, I would have definitely gotten into making my own world of demons and heroes. It’s a well paced book with great character arc, speaks on anxiety and makes mental illness a non taboo topic for young children growing up. Definitely a good read!