Reader Score
79%
79% of readers
recommend this book
"A grand adventure." --Brandon Mull, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Fablehaven
"A wild ride of a novel...hilarious." --Sayantani DasGupta, New York Times bestselling author of The Kingdom Beyond
All Momo wants for her twelfth birthday is an ordinary life--like everyone else's. At home, she has to take care of her absentminded widowed mother. At school, kids ridicule her for mixing up reality with the magical stories her mother used to tell her.
But then Momo's mother falls gravely ill, and a death hag straight out of those childhood stories attacks Momo at the mall, where she's rescued by a talking fox . . . and "ordinary" goes out the window. It turns out that Momo's mother is a banished Shinto goddess who used to protect a long-forgotten passageway to Yomi--a.k.a. the land of the dead. That passageway is now under attack, and countless evil spirits threaten to escape and wreak havoc across the earth.
Joined by Niko the fox and Danny--her former best friend turned popular jerk, whom she never planned to speak to again, much less save the world with--Momo must embrace her (definitely not "ordinary") identity as half human, half goddess to unlock her divine powers, save her mother's life, and force the demons back to Yomi.
"With vivid descriptions, relatable characters, and colorful figures from Japanese mythology, Misa Sugiura takes readers on a grand adventure."
--Brandon Mull, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Fablehaven
★ "A page-turning, emotion packed adventure that draws on Japanese-inspired folklore to explore themes of family, friendship, and identity." --Booklist, starred review
This hilarious, high-spirited tale blends Japanese legends, mythical creatures, and deities. Alongside the fantastical romps, themes of fear, anger, loneliness, belonging, friendship, and inner strength are thoughtfully explored. Funny, relatable, and full of adventure."
--Kirkus Reviews
"Culturally specific details imbue this roller-coaster-feeling magical plot with authenticity and intrigue, while Momo's smart, funny narration and slowly reforming relationship with Danny ground their adventure in a thoughtful friendship tale." --Publishers Weekly