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A review by ezwolf
Momo Arashima Steals the Sword of the Wind by Misa Sugiura
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Momo Arashima Steals the Sword of the Wind is an adventurous and magical story about a young girl fighting to save her mother.
I am pleased to see more middle grade adventure stories with diverse characters and cultural influences. I thought this was a great introduction to important figures in Japanese mythology.
Momo and Danny both experience racism and “otherness” but in different ways and I think it’s a good to have examples of being bullied for your race/culture in Momo’s case and in Danny’s, being adopted by white parents.
Unfortunately I disliked all of the main characters. Momo, Danny, and Niko were all incredibly annoying in a way that made it hard for me to get attached to any of them and root for their success. Danny is/was a bully and spends most of the book saying or doing mean things and then apologizing and rinse repeat. Momo is never sure if he’s genuinely her friend even at the very end of the book. At one point she apologizes to him for judging him even though at that point he’s still done and said things that made him irredeemable in my eyes. Maybe in future books that will change. Niko was also unhelpful and even though he was the one to explain things to Momo and Danny (and the audience) half the time he didn’t know the answer or would dodge the question. And even though Momo is twelve and still a kid so it’s somewhat understandable, I found her to be whiny and pessimistic through her whole journey. But she was the least annoying of the three.
On the whole I think this was a good example of “preteen goes on an adventure and discovers magical powers/heritage and saves the world”.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for making this available in exchange for an honest review.
I am pleased to see more middle grade adventure stories with diverse characters and cultural influences. I thought this was a great introduction to important figures in Japanese mythology.
Momo and Danny both experience racism and “otherness” but in different ways and I think it’s a good to have examples of being bullied for your race/culture in Momo’s case and in Danny’s, being adopted by white parents.
Unfortunately I disliked all of the main characters. Momo, Danny, and Niko were all incredibly annoying in a way that made it hard for me to get attached to any of them and root for their success. Danny is/was a bully and spends most of the book saying or doing mean things and then apologizing and rinse repeat. Momo is never sure if he’s genuinely her friend even at the very end of the book. At one point she apologizes to him for judging him even though at that point he’s still done and said things that made him irredeemable in my eyes. Maybe in future books that will change. Niko was also unhelpful and even though he was the one to explain things to Momo and Danny (and the audience) half the time he didn’t know the answer or would dodge the question. And even though Momo is twelve and still a kid so it’s somewhat understandable, I found her to be whiny and pessimistic through her whole journey. But she was the least annoying of the three.
On the whole I think this was a good example of “preteen goes on an adventure and discovers magical powers/heritage and saves the world”.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for making this available in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Racism, Violence
Minor: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment