I will start off by saying that I am going to be continuing this series, so recognize that my complaints about this book do not outweigh the good or the overall experience I had with my read. I did end up enjoying this as a whole.

The Labyrinth of Lost and Found has a lot of good things going for it. The world is very interesting and intriguing and the plot has some incredibly good kernels of wisdom. There is good character development and there are underlying themes which get some good exploration.

That being said...though I did find enjoyment in the read, I struggled through it a bit. The pacing is a slow, which is to its detriment as a middle grade read. It's hard to stay focused when there aren't a lot of exciting things happening along the way. (Also, just a heads up to parents that this is a darker middle grade read, so be prepared for your young reader to struggle with some of the themes as this is heavy on grief, death, and other dark elements.)

There is good world-building and character development in place of plot speed, but it just felt like it needed a bit more balance. The characters finally started to reveal themselves as the story moved on, but I will admit that they were hard to like in the beginning, particularly Elizabella. She was so angry and rude that she rubbed me the wrong way for quite a bit of the story. But I persisted, and it did pay off.

I'm interested in seeing where the series takes things now that the scene has been fully set. I feel like the basis for the world has been captured and the characters are really ready to run with the adventure. This may be one of those rare series that gains a higher review on the sequel...fingers crossed.