Thanks to NetGalley and Disney Books for this free digital copy in exchange for an honest review. This book is out 4/5!
Shinji Takahashi and the Mark of the Coatl by Julie Kagawa is the newest member of the Rick Riordan Presents line (ya’ll know how much I love these) and it was so fast-paced and adventurous! It had so many exciting aspects–a super shady organization out for world domination, a super secret organization called “The Society of Explorers and Adventurers” (S.E.A.), and of course, some mythology twists running throughout.
I FLEW through this book. I will say, I do wish we had a little more time with Shinji and saw a little more to his character, but that’s primarily because I really liked him as a main character. He definitely struggled a lot with trusting others and you do get to the root of it in this story, but I do think there is room for more discussion of this. I really hope to see more books! The S.E.A. is such a fun concept and the members introduced in this story are just begging for more backstory and space. I loved that throughout the book, a huge emphasis was placed on protecting the environment and basically, not taking what doesn’t belong to us. This is seen and discussed primarily regarding artifacts, but is seen in other areas too. I would love to continue to see these themes in more children’s/middle-grade books.
If you are a middle-grade fan, or you (or a young person you know) enjoy fast-paced, adventurous stories, this is for you! Also…if you are a Disney/Disney Parks fan, this story is based on “The Society of Explorers and Adventurers” legends/stories that are present throughout the various parks. I was doing some research and it is SO fun. 🙂 Click here for some more backstory, if you are interested!
The Bookish Bird 