Review by Booklist Review
Though orphaned at a young age, Plum has enjoyed her quiet childhood with loving grandparents on a small island. She spends her days tending their lush garden and communing with local animals; but her quiet existence is interrupted by an unexpected invitation to attend the prestigious Guardian Academy on Lotus Island. The school has long existed to train future Guardians, a select set of magically endowed humans capable of transforming into mystical creatures and charged with protecting the natural world. With her affinity for flora and fauna, it seems only natural that Plum would conjure such a power. However, she has only a month to train for her first exam, and there's no magic to be found--she worries she may not have what it takes to become a Guardian after all. The first installment in the new series is effortlessly entertaining and atmospheric, and the new Thai-adjacent world is teeming with magical life and gentle mystery. Additionally, Hong's imaginative manga-style illustrations and the book's shorter length will easily draw in younger readers. An enchanting eco-fable sure to intrigue and delight.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Soontornvat (The Tryout) deftly combines a Thai-inspired setting, familiar fantasy tropes, and themes of nature conservation to craft a mystical series kickoff. Tween Plum, who's grown up on her grandparents' farm in the Santipap Islands, can hardly believe that she has been chosen to become a Guardian, part of a group of magical animalian shape-shifters who protect and nurture the natural world. She's soon sent to Guardian Academy on Lotus Island to train for her first test: discovering her animal shape. At school, Plum faces bullying based on her rural upbringing, and forges an immediate friendship with knowledgeable, take-charge classmate Cherry. Despite her quickly improving abilities, however, Plum is unsure whether she will be able to unleash her inner power. Plum's struggles with her self-worth are compassionately wrought, and her unique ability to communicate with animals and plants suitably plays into the narrative's focus on environmentalism. Descriptive scene setting and humorous dialogue offer a solid foundation for interpersonal conflicts, while Hong's animated grayscale illustrations elevate Soontornvat's leisurely unfolding, intriguing Guardian mythos. Ages 8--12. Agent: Stephanie Fretwell-Hill, Red Fox Literary. (Mar.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Does Plum have what it takes to become a shape-shifting Guardian? Raised by her grandparents since her parents died in a boating accident, Plum has spent her childhood learning about plants and animals. She hasn't ventured far from her island home, part of the Santipap Islands, but when she is accepted into the prestigious Guardian Academy, where she will train to become a Guardian along with other children from all walks of life, her grandparents encourage her to go, certain that her future holds more than their little island can provide. At the Academy, Plum's tendency to talk to plants and animals strikes some of the students as strange, though she also begins to make friends. In the Santipap Islands, Guardians have the power to shift into an animal shape to better protect the land, and Plum's first test is to find her own animal shape--but will she succeed, or will she be forced to return home a failure? With a Thailand-inspired setting, magic rooted in nature and the environment, and whimsical illustrations, this is a promising beginning to a series ready to introduce readers to both the fantasy genre and a beautiful and mysterious new world. All characters are somewhat loosely implied to be Thai due to character and place names. Themes of friendship and environmentalism combine in this magical school story. (map) (Fantasy. 7-11) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
