A great middle grade read for fans of Katherine Arden and Lindsay Currie.
Welcome!
I won an e-copy of this book in a Goodreads Giveaway in exchange for my honest thoughts and opinions.
Mia’s story reminded me a lot of a book I read and reviewed earlier this year by Jenny Goebel called Fortune Falls.
It was also about a young girl growing up in a world where she and others like her faced persecution and condemnation for things beyond their control.
It’s not a fairy tale, but if you’re looking for a quick read that’s perfect for the spooky season, this middle-grade dark fantasy is worth getting lost in.
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Mia Evers and the Demon’s Curse by Angela Guajardo
Publication date: August 1, 2023
First line: “This school is probably not the best place for your daughter, Mr. Evers,” the principal said with a slight frown.”
Characters: Mia’s endearing, determined, rash, and so very young—the others? I found unlikable, they’re behavior inexcusable.
Storyline: Heartbreaking. Compelling. Bittersweet.
Pace: Steady throughout.
Writing: Absorbing. It draws you in and keeps you turning pages until the very end.
Cover: 3.5/5
POVs
One: Mia
Four Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
My Review:
People in this world, at the age of five, align with one of seven elements.
Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Light, Dark, and Kindred.
They balance one another and Kindred balances them all. The only ones feared, though, are those aligned with Dark.
Eleven-year-old Mia Evers is a Dark growing up in a world that equates Darks with evil, feared for their ability to communicate with the dead and other, darker things.
Her own parents, unsettled by her gift, treat her with the same caution and fear that everyone does, as if the judgment and contempt of others wasn’t hard enough.
Desperate for acceptance, this sweet, young girl feels like it’s her duty as a Dark, a daughter, a student, and a friend, to take on Dark problems alone—and this brings her face to face with a demon.
This book broke my heart. Mia just wants her family to be whole again, like it was before they discovered she was a Dark and started to treat her differently. So she moves through a world that despises her for something she did not choose and can not change.
It’s not a happy story, nor without its faults, but it’s well written and fills you with hope—hope that Mia finds the acceptance and love that should have been hers all along, hope that she can push back the evil that stalks her, hope that there’s a happy ending for our young heroine.
It’s not a happy story.. but it is a good one.
That’s all for now.
Thank you for stopping by, I hope you found my review helpful.
Whether it be love, fear, sympathy, etc—kids in books tend to elicit strong feelings in me.
What makes a story hit you hard?
Glad you liked this one, it seems a while since I read any ya fiction.