This was way more gruesome than I had expected from a Middle-Grade book. But I did find the story somewhat interesting.
I did enjoy the diversity in personality and character style.

In my mind, I have this book classified as Planet of The Apes, Except with Cats and Hamsters.

THE CHARACTER DESIGN IN THIS IS AMAZING!
With every page, I wanted to show it to my friends so they could be brought into this gorgeous world with me as well.

The story was also enticing, and the ending honestly was not what I had expected but was not the least amazing.

I loved the art style of this book. But that is all I found for enjoyment in it, I don't clearly remember if I read The Secret Garden or not when I was a child. So I went into this with only the vaguest of knowledge as to when The Secret Garden was.

I didn't find much enjoyment in it overall honestly and am not sure who I would recommend this to besides those who enjoyed the original.

Is Scales & Scoundrels, a play on Dungeons and Dragons? Yes.
It was a BLAST!

Lu is the type of protagonist that makes every page a joy to read. And there is so much going on!

I ended this with so may questions and so excited to open the next book. Because I need to know EVERYTHING!

If you like D&D or D&D type things you will enjoy this.

This started in a very grounded place and it DID NOT stay there. It yeeted itself into a level of crazy I wasnt expecting.

First and foremost this is a story about grief. But outside that it is a trip that honestly can only be experienced.

Is it about some form of mental illness? Is it about cults? I dunno it's your call to make.

I hadn't known that Canada had, had such a similar policy as America in regards to the treatment of their Japanese citizens during WW 2.
It's heartbreaking but not unsurprising given what we are finding out about the Residential Schools

This is very much from the perspective of a child's, based in the concerns a child would have. But it was compelling in its own way

THIS HAS CORGIS!!!! IT'S AWESOME!

This manga gives me similar vibes to Ouran High School Host Club, but instead, they are all loner bad boys.

I enjoyed reading this incredible and I am honestly looking forward to learning more about these guys and watching them develop throughout this series.

I don't think I've ever seen this trope before in manga or anime. But I'm here for this Freaky Friday situation.

I was really sure that I would hate this initially, so certain that I almost put this down because I found Azusa just so annoying.

But I am glad that I didn't put it aside because once we get into the plot, Azusa's obsessiveness tones down and becomes a genuinely good piece of humor that I didn't find myself cracking a smile to.

I will definitely be continuing with this manga.

I didn't love all of the stories in this book but I loved a fair number of them. The last one having me tear up at the end (The one the Title comes from). My favorite was Phosphorous, a story about the Phosphorous Girls of London.

I found the references to Alice in Wonderland incredibly interesting as they would always appear when I least expected them.

There were takes on tales I've heard before, as well as tales I hadn't (or at least didn't make a direct connection from one to the other).

I would definitely recommend this, even if you're just checking it out from the library for reading on individual time I would recommend it.

It is also gay, and being gay never seems to be anything out of the ordinary. Which I LOVE.

Humans, Fae, Vampires, and Chimera?
Chimera definitely not what one would typically consider to round out the list but it made for a very interesting and gorgeous side characters. It is a world I am way more interested in,

This book feels really fast paced and I inhaled it in one sitting and when I had to pause it, I was devastated because I didn't want to step away from this book. Because I was so wrapped up in Eva's world and growth.

I will say that this book ends in one of the steepest Cliff Hanger's I have ever encountered. I have a stack of other books to jump on, but I think I may have to dive into the sequel immediately.