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A review by lovelylloyd
The Mossheart's Promise by Rebecca Mix
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Thank you NetGalley, Harpercollins Childrens Books and Rebecca Mix for providing me with a copy of A Mossheart's Promise for review.
4.5/5 rounded up - Available 5 September 2023
This is an outstanding middle grade fantasy book. I loved it. Stick with me here, it is as if Mix went to a writing class/group and the writing prompt was 'terrarium fantasy' and BAM! A Mossheart's Promise was born.
Canary is brilliant. She is the perfect MG MC with a nice blend between the Chosen One and the Reluctant Hero tropes. I always believed in her and I always wanted her to succeed just because of the kindness that she kept throughout her journey.
The ragtag mix of friends/found family trope is also beautiful. I loved what each side character brought along and the journey that each of them took with our MC, Ary.
I also think that we need to highlight how the queerness of this story is presented. The normality of heterosexual attraction for tween characters is rampant throughout sooooo much MG and young readers material. This story presents the same level of 'MC stunned by beautiful/hot/cute character' as any heterosexual literature but just does it beautifully in a way that allows a young queer reader to have their love interest moment like everyone else. There is no discussion or exploration as to whether homophobia exists in this fantasy world and so I will choose to believe that it doesn't :)
4.5/5 rounded up - Available 5 September 2023
This is an outstanding middle grade fantasy book. I loved it. Stick with me here, it is as if Mix went to a writing class/group and the writing prompt was 'terrarium fantasy' and BAM! A Mossheart's Promise was born.
Canary is brilliant. She is the perfect MG MC with a nice blend between the Chosen One and the Reluctant Hero tropes. I always believed in her and I always wanted her to succeed just because of the kindness that she kept throughout her journey.
The ragtag mix of friends/found family trope is also beautiful. I loved what each side character brought along and the journey that each of them took with our MC, Ary.
I also think that we need to highlight how the queerness of this story is presented. The normality of heterosexual attraction for tween characters is rampant throughout sooooo much MG and young readers material. This story presents the same level of 'MC stunned by beautiful/hot/cute character' as any heterosexual literature but just does it beautifully in a way that allows a young queer reader to have their love interest moment like everyone else. There is no discussion or exploration as to whether homophobia exists in this fantasy world and so I will choose to believe that it doesn't :)