To be honest, the title of the book is a bit misleading as I initially read this book hoping that it would be about magic or something mystical. There is actually no such thing and it deals with the harsh life of common people in rural China. However, I still read this book because it interested me. However, I feel like the topic is too sad and raw to appeal to middle grade readers and wished that the author has write a more uplifting story at least. Overall, I would have enjoyed this book if it was more complex targeting an older audience.

A fantastical new middle grade novel set in rural Asia. When Kai's mother leaves him with his grandmother and goes to work in the city, he discovers a magic tree that will make him question how far he will go to get the thing he desires most.

While I enjoyed the overall concept, and learning new things about Asian families and culture, at times I had trouble following the story. However, the fact that the author has pledged to give 25% of her royalties to a charity to help left-behind children is, in my opinion, enough motivation to buy a copy and give it chance.

I was fortunate to receive a free ARC of this book from Netgalley. The above thoughts, insights, or recommendations are my own meek musings.

Secrets of the Great Fire tree is the story of Kai, a little Chinese boy who is left behind in his village when his parents have to move to the city to find work. Having recently seen a documentary on the self-same topic, I was most favorably disposed towards this story line. As it happens, I ended up loving this book. There is no magic or no fire-breathing dragons in this book but the very fact of all the characters in this story being common, everyday people made it that much special. The story is told in an engaging yet simple manner that is always egging the reader on to believe in something better coming around the bend. 

It is written in simple language while introducing the reader to a culture that is not so different from our own. As a children’s story it works brilliantly to bring to attention the helplessness of the parents who are trying their best and that of the child trying to understand all the upheaval in his life and trying to make both sides agree see each other's points of views. It also highlights the everyday bravery of many such families like Kai's who must choose to make hard decisions in order to survive this life.

The village life that the author describes seems a bit too idyllic at times and the fact that everyone is so nice to each other, while lovely to read about, seems a bit too sugar-coated. However, one also feels that it is required in order to give some hope to the little boy who would otherwise certainly have simply sunk into a deep depression. There is also the point that we never really know which tree the author is referring to in this story. Is it a real tree or a made-up one? And the part where everyone calls the tree by different names is so true in India as well, where it is sometimes impossible to pin down which tree/ shrub someone is talking about unless you have a horticulturist to help you out. Even Google may fail you at such times.

Also, the fact that the author has subtly managed to convey how a child should always try and share his/her misgivings and problems with elders and trust them to understand and help him/her out. Things don’t always turn out so hunky-dory in real life, but it is nice sometimes to just read about characters who do everything just right. And seen from a young reader’s perspective it is certainly a very good book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and finished it in one go. Will not lie though, I was expecting some kind of fire-breathing dragon to make an appearance at some point of the story or something even more tragic to happen at some other points in the narrative, but I was very glad that the author did not succumb to including these tropes to make the story more darker and morose.

This book had a lot of promise, but I stopped partway through because I know that my students would not even get that far.

I gave up on this one at about fifty percent in because the story was so badly letting down the exciting title that I couldn't stand it. If you're going to title your middle-grade novel 'secrets of' something, and include the phrase, 'Great Fire Tree', then you had better have something thrilling to back it up with, and this novel did not. It was pedantic and boring, and just seemed to ramble on in diverse directions paradoxically without really getting anywhere. Instead of Asian fantasy we got a mundane school bullying story, and a farming story. I gave up on it because I could see no hope of it improving and I was bored to tears. I can't commend it based on the fifty percent that I managed to get through.

The story is of Kai, who is left largely on his own when his mother is forced to go and work in the city. It's just him and his pet pig - that's really being fattened for the kill. He gets the idea that if he can unlock the secrets of the Fire Tree, he can bring his mother back home. I was willing to set aside what might have been a more interesting story of Kai growing and learning how to handle things without magic, but when instead I was expecting a good Asian fantasy and didn't get one, I was disappointed.

I've read and enjoyed Asian fantasies before, so I do get that eastern fantasy isn't the same as western fantasy, but even within that context, the story seemed to take forever to get anywhere, and even when it was going places, it seemed to be all over the place - everywhere in fact, except the magical world promised by the blurb. By the time I quit this tale, not only had any secrets failed to materialize, story failed to even look like it would impart any. My patience can only be stretched so far, and this one exceeded it. I cannot commend it based on what I read.

This is not really the story of a magical tree, as the description of the book says. There is no magic that happens in this book. There is sadness, though.

As the consequence of a poor harvest, Kai's mother must leave him to work in the city, as his father has all ready done. Kai doesn't want them to leave, but like many rural children in China, he has no choice. Work is more lucrative in the city.

He is left with his pig and the jade pendent that has been passed down in the family. The curse of the necklace is that if someone steals it, they will die, and the necklace will return to its owner.

Oh, and there is also a tree that has fruit that not even the birds eat, and yet a priest has said that it will cure consumption, or just about any decease if you treat the pods, if you boil them, and then bury them.

Kai is young, so he is constantly missing his mother. His mother misses him, so what can she do?

It is a sad story. But it gets a little confusing at time, and I only managed to finish it because I got curious as to how it would end.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.