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A review by purplepenning
Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom by Sangu Mandanna
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.]