Information
Goodreads: The Spirt Glass
Series: None
Age Category: Middle Grade
Source: Purchased
Published: September 2023
Official Summary
Corazon yearns to finally start training as a babaylan (a mystical healer and spirit guide) under her powerful guardian, Aunt Tina. As soon as her magic awakens, Corazon plans to bring her parents back from the dead and no longer have to rely on a soul key to allow visits with her their ghosts for a few hours every Saturday night.
But when a vengeful ghost steals Corazon's precious key, the fragile balance between the human world and the spirit world is thrown out of whack. Aunt Tina reveals that if Corazon wants her magic to awaken, then she just lay the ghost to rest by fashioning a new soul key.
With her rather bloodthirsty gecko companion, Saso, Corazon embarks on a quest through the spirit realms. But they must move quickly, for if the ghost gets through the spirit glass, all hope will be lost.
Roshani Chokshi pays tribute to her Filipino heritage in this book that has all the magic, sparkle, and heart that made her Aru Shah series a fantasy classic.
Review
The Spirit Glass is a fun middle grade adventure with all the fantasy elements one could hope for: a magic house, an enigmatic family member who has taken in the protagonist after her parents' deaths, a charming sidekick friend, a list of little quests the protagonist must complete for their quest. And while it seems strange to call the book "fun" when, yes, the protagonist's parents are dead, the book never seems to look at that fact too closely, even though it's a main theme, so the reader can refrain from becoming mired in too many emotions about that, as well. The goal is simple: complete these tasks while meeting legendary creates and save the world. All in a day's work in middle grade fantasy.
And beyond that . . . I don't have much to say about the book. It's fine. I enjoyed it. Corazon's familiar is sure to be a hit with many readers as he says ludicrously inappropriate things in various situations. I just . . . wasn't overly invested in much of what was happening. I could tell where the plot was going with Corazon's parents since the beginning, and then of course the main plot about saving the world is certain to work out. Chokshi never manages to build in much tension there. Even when Corazon encounters obstacles, one imagines her just brushing them away like cobwebs, just a little bump on the road to ultimate success, so no need to worry.
I think the target audience will like it. The melding of Filipino mythology into the adventure helps it stand apart, as does really leaning into the dead parents aspect, with literal ghosts and an afterlife. (Of course, with the afterlife being the typical deal where it seems to be a preliminary afterlife. We so rarely get the "real" or "final" afterlife in media, as if artists are afraid to depict it.) I didn't connect with it personally, but it's a solid book.
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