isabookabel's Reviews (299)

A warm hug of a book. Low stakes and high fantasy is the perfect tag line. A very cozy read. 

Had to hand back to the library before I'd finished taking notes.

Such an emotional book. I really enjoyed reading this and appreciate the effort which went into trying to make this book inclusive. Themes including friendship, grief, deportation, immigration, isolation, animal welfare and autism were all woven through this book. 

My only critique is that I felt Mateo read as a bit of a stereotype and I would have loved it if he had been more fleshed out as a character. Similarly some of Silas neurotypical narrative made me feel that at times it was almost more that she was putting up with his quirks instead of celebrating them. Mateo came across as a little 2D as a character, which made it feel at times as if he was there for representations sake. I would have loved it if there had been more nuance to his character.

Overall though a very moving story with lots to love which would introduce kids to a broad range of topics for discussion. I would happily read again and brought me to tears several times throughout. 

Perfect for it's target audience. Can see myself recommending to lots of students.