Saw this one at the bookstore and I thought the cover looked appealing. So I picked up a copy from the library. Spoilers ahead.
Emba Oak is an unusual girl: She was born with yellow eyes and a scaly skin. She grew up in a cave, together with her adopted brother and best friend Odolf. Here, she was raised by an elderly woman known as Fred. But when Fred one day disappears, Emba and Odolf go on a quest to look for her. While doing so Emba slowly learns more about her mysterious origins, and the terrible villain who kidnapped her adoptive mother.
While not the most unique middle grade fantasy I've ever read, I genuinely had a great time with this one. It has some neat world-building and the story kept me consistently engaged.
What really made this story for me though, is the two main characters. Emba and Odolf both are both just genuinely enjoyable to read, but moreover they feel like realistic kids and their bond feels genuine. Like, I didn't have trouble buying for a second that these two are adopted siblings and best friends. I could just tell from their interactions and characterization in an instant. They both also go through some genuinely great development across the story. They feel like actual people, which is something I don't often get from middle grade fantasy. I loved these characters and I loved reading their story.
Fred also is pretty darn great, though she isn't in the book much. She's a bit kooky and superstitious, but also a genuinely good mother to Emba and Odolf. I hope we see more of her in the next book, but her first impressions are good.
If I do have a criticism I guess that the main villain isn't all that unique or interesting. He's fine, he's functional, I don't hate or even really dislike him from a writing point of view, but he doesn't really stand out in any particular way. His relationship with Emba (him being her father) has the potential to be interesting in future installments, but it's not really explored here so I don't have much to say about it (yet).
But the rest of the book is just genuinely really neat. Sure, it's not the most unique story out there, but to me the neat world-building but especially the likable and realistic main characters really made the book.
Rating: 4/5
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