I’ve never been into graphic novels or anime; I haven’t read DiTerlizzi’s very popular series The Spiderwick Chronicles. It might seem like I’m the wrong person to review this book, but I loved it. The mood is set with fabulous illustrations that are scattered throughout the rest of the book. I can’t describe them, but I can tell you that they give a sense of a strange and beautiful world and of a young girl on her own. The story begins with Eva Nine living with her robot-caretaker, Muthr, in a sort of space station below ground, but things quickly escalate when she has to go out in to the upper world alone. What she discovers there is what makes this book wonderful. There are fantastical creatures and villains, friendship, peril, sacrifice, success, a quest - everything a great story needs. It reminded me at times of one of my favorite movies, Spirited Away. I’ll certainly read the other two books in the trilogy when they come out.
(Roughly for ages 9 and up, but could be ok for younger as a read-aloud.) ~Lillian