This one piqued my interest a while back when I first saw it in German bookstores. While the first two books have been translated into English, Germany has (as far as I know) covered the entire series plus a few spinoffs, and I wanted to practice my German anyways, so I picked up a German copy of the first book. Spoilers ahead.
Dilah is a young Arctic fox, whose parents both die. His mother leaves him one object: a mysterious artifact known as the moonstone. When he learns that this moonstone might be able to aid in turning him human, Dilah goes on a quest to succeed in this goal and meets all sorts of colorful characters along the way. But soon he finds out there are others after the moonstone: a fox named Carl and his band of blue foxes and hyenas is intent on capturing and using the stone.
This was a very enjoyable read. Yes, it's for a younger audience, but it definitely takes them seriously and doesn't shy away from showing the darker aspects of life, either. Not to the point it becomes inappropriate, but I do recommend that very young children read this with their parents as there are a few sad deaths in this.
The book itself just felt like a great and whimsical journey. Not all of it is equally fun and pretty, but the world feels rich and imaginative. While humans are present, the focus lies mostly on the animals and many of the critters we come across have their own customs, culture and lore. From wild horses who take big pride in being wild, to cunning and thieving weasels, to rabbits who believe firmly in tradition, to of course the lore of Dilah's own foxkind. Jiatong doesn't go super in-depth int all of the animal's cultures, but just enough to really paint a picture that this world is bigger than we know of, and that's enough for me.
The characters were also fun. My favorite was probably Anselm (called Ankel in the English editions) the weasel, who is cunning but also friendly and soon becomes Dilah's best friend. There were also a few characters who have less focus but still leave an impact, such as a rabbit with a skill in medicine and a captured feral horse who wants to retake her place in the wild. There's also Carl, who makes for a threatening antagonist, and in the last chapter or so we get the reveal that Dilah has a brother as well, though said brother isn't exactly a pleasant character.
Dilah himself is also a neat character, and while he doesn't have the biggest arc in the world (yet), you do feel for him and root for him to go on his journey. He's also just genuinely a nice guy which is neat, he manages to make friends left and right even with species that would otherwise be his prey or enemy. As far as protagonists go he's pretty strong.
The story ends on a cliffhanger and I for one can't wait to find out where Dilah's journey leads next. I will definitely eventually be checking out other books in the series. It's a fun, exciting and imaginative tale with memorable characters.
Rating: 5/5
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