An excellent fantasy/action/adventure story that brings out the beauty of Hmong storytelling in a way that children can engage with and learn about another culture. The adventure of the story is enjoyable and children will want to read this story to the end.

Another delightful addition to the Rick Riordan presents collection of other mythologies. Pahua unknowningly get releases a bridge spirit that sends her brother into the Spirit Realm. Now Pahua must confront who she really is and go into the Spirit Ream to save her brother. An interesting look into the Hmong culture.
#PahuaandtheSoulStealer #NetGalley

Pahua is a 11-year-old Hmong girl with the ability to see spirits. Her father left their family years ago, and her mother works hard to support Pahua and her brother Matt, so Pahua looks after her little brother. When her brother's spirit is stolen by a spirit that was haunting a bridge, Pahua knows she needs help, but her mother refuses to believe that Matt is anything other than sick. Pahua returns to the bridge to try to fix things, but only ends up summoning a demon. Thankfully another Hmong girl named Zhong appears to defeat the demon. Zhong agrees to help Pahua rescue her brother's spirit, but only because she was sent on a quest by her shaman warrior school to investigate the bridge spirit. With her friend the spirit kitten Miv, Pahua enters the spirit world with Zhong, and so begins a crazy adventure learning about Hmong culture and legends and self-discovery.

This book is amazing! I loved Pahua and her journey to more confidence in herself. She's a great kid who feels invisible. I was happy to see that her transformations will be gradual with obstacles and stumbles, giving all readers a chance to see themselves in her successes as well as her failures. She takes responsibility and works to make amends.
I'm super excited about the next (2?) books in the series. This is setting up for some great adventures with Miv and Zhong. Plus, the laugh out loud moments were great! I love the bits of humor that balanced the sadness and tension. Such great writing!
I also really enjoyed the exposure to Hmong culture. While oral storytelling is hard to pinpoint, Lee did an excellent job weaving details throughout the story so the reader, who will most likely have no exposure to these stories the ability to understand and appreciate them.

I'm ashamed I hadn't heard of the Hmong community before now. This book was eye opening and caught attention from the first chapter. I like how she uses her brain to think through problems. Eagerly anticipating a sequel!

Pahua Moua is an 11-year-old Hmong girl who doesn't fit in at school, spends all her free time looking after her little brother Matt, and can see spirits. When she accidentally sets a bridge spirit free one afternoon, the bridge spirit steals Matt's soul and hides in the spirit world. Pahua is determined to find Matt's soul and bring it home, but in doing so, she calls a demon and must be rescued by Zhong, a shaman-in-training. Despite their obvious differences and rough start, Pahua and Zhong must learn to work together to save Matt before his soul turns into a demon. The adventures they have together as they travel through the different dimensions is a lot of fun.

I have enjoyed everything I've read from the Rick Riordan Presents Disney imprint, but I was particularly interested in this one because I recently read the book <i>The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down</i> by Anne Fadiman. Fadiman tells the true story of Lia Lee, a Hmong child born here in the US who develops epilepsy and the incredible conflict and misunderstanding between US culture and Hmong culture and between modern western medicine and traditional Hmong shaman medicine and spiritual beliefs. There's a fair bit of Hmong history and Hmong mythology in Fadiman's book, too, so I jumped at the chance to read about this mythology by an #OwnVoices author.

Pahua and Zhong are both strong characters in their own right, but they have their weaknesses and worries, just like everybody else. I enjoyed their relationship and how it progressed. I enjoyed the adventure and especially the strength they found to solve their problems. I loved the lessons from the book in being true to ourselves and recognizing our own talents and weaknesses. There is a lot of good stuff to enjoy here!

The Hmong believe in a LOT of different spirits and it was hard for me to keep track of them all. The spelling of the Hmong words is confusing (an nothing is pronounced the way it's written!), but nothing can be done about that so be sure to check the glossary at the back for help. Even with the background I have of recently reading a non-fiction book all about Hmong beliefs and culture, I still had a hard time keeping all the spirits straight so I think the target audience for this book (middle grade) will have a hard time with it, too. Hence, I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 5 because the mythology did get a bit overwhelming to keep track of as the book progressed.

Still, I definitely recommend this book and look forward to the sequel! (Please tell me there will be a sequel!!)

Disclaimer: I received a free electronic copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed learning about the folk tales of the Hmong culture! Pahua is going to be such a hero for girls to look up to. I'm excited about this book's release. It has an adventure story worthy of the Rick Riordan name and lots of amazing folk spirits from the Hmong pantheon. Easy to read and never boring, it's a book I will recommend to all my local libraries!

I was lucky to be on the NetGalley ARC team for this book.

Part of the Rick Riordan Presents' series, <i>Pahua and the Soul Stealer</i> follows the adventures of 11-year-old Pahua Moua, a Hmong American. Pahua's father is gone and her mother is busy with both her factory job and her work as a discount Hmong shaman. As a result, Pahua's life is largely focused on her younger brother, Matt, and her friendships with the spirits and ghosts only she can see and communicate with. Pahua is considered a bit of a weirdo at school (in part because of that whole seeing-creatures-no-one-else-can-see thing), so when she's invited to join a group of cool girls in hanging out on a derelict bridge she goes along where she discovers the bridge isn't just derelict -- it is also haunted by the spirit of a child. This discovery kicks off a series of adventures that include demons, gods, flying horses, shamans, prophecies, and the biggest frog you've ever seen. Along the way Pahua fights to save her little brother's stolen soul, learns about her own hidden heritage, and discovers she is more than the quiet Hmong girl at the back of the class. This is the first book in the Rick Riordan Presents line where I was completely unfamiliar with the relevant legends, religions, and culture. Lee does an excellent job incorporating explanations in ways that don't stifle the narrative flow. It seems likely that this might be the start of a series -- I certainly hope so, because I'm already a big Pahua fan!

This one failed to build suspense or me. But I appreciate its unique story and that it's going to introduce so many readers to the Hmong culture.

Another satisfying book from Riordan presents. I truly enjoyed Pahua and her adventures. I am looking forward to the sequel and learning more about the Hmong culture.

I LOVED THIS BOOK! it was amazing. I love the author now! The characters were not american which I liked.

This was an entertaining and fascinating romp through Hmong culture and traditions! I loved Pahua's voice and attitude and her friendship with Miv. I'm very intrigued to find out what will happen with her in the next book!

Another fantastic entry in the Rick Riordan Presents series. Thank you, author Lori Lee for helping young readers to be seen and heard, and to see and hear more possibilities in books like this. This book belongs in classroom and school libraries. It’s intriguing, engaging, and opens up yet another door in mythology.

Very entertaining, the author does an excellent job or introducing the reader to Hmong culture, and it leaves you wanting to know more/learn more about it. When we are first introduced to Pahua, she feels like any other middle grade girl trying to fit in. As the story continues, and it escalates to the mission at hand, we learn of what types of abilities Pahua has, and how it can make her fit in- but in a different way.
Any Rick Riordan presents book has the same feeling of culture/mythology, and a quest that enraptures the reader into following along. While they all come across as cut from the same cloth, each one teaches the reader about new cultures and identities, with a better understanding of the make of our world.

Very enjoyable read! I had never heard of the Hmong culture before and it was a great introduction to read about it in this text. Pahua is a sixth grader struggling with feelings of belonging in her school and accidentally sets off a chain of events that lead to her brother being kidnapped and a long imprisoned god in danger of escaping. There are twists and turns in the story, but the best part for me is that Pahua always finds an unusual way to solve problems and often surprises even herself. She's a very resourceful and insightful protagonist and I enjoyed watching her grow throughout the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Rick Riordan Presents for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My opinion was not affected by the free copy.

I know when I see Uncle Rick's seal of approval, I'm going to be in for some great adventure while learning about beliefs and a culture to which I'm unfamiliar. This book was so amazing and enjoyable, and I loved learning more about the Hmong language, the shaman rituals, and so forth. Even though I'm outside the target age and I'm not a part of that community, I still found the main character relateable in many ways. I thought her journey, both physically and emotionally, was written and paced well. I admit I was crying at the end-- but don't worry, they were good tears!

I like that for the most part this book didn't depend on referencing current pop culture. This was especially nice once they started interacting with spirits and going through the other realms, because those references would have taken me out of the experience. In Percy Jackson the modern pop-culture references is part of the humor, but I think here it would've ruined the timeless feel that came from the Spirit Realm and the beings who lived there. There isn't a lot of humor in this, but again I don't see that as a bad thing. The book's tone is perfect the way it is, and adding extra humor would've just ruined it.

I don't have too much to complain about. The one thing that bugged me was when Zhong was explaining her backstory to Pahua, and then Pahua summarizes what Zhong just expressed, I know this is meant for a younger audience than myself, but that still read as "in case you missed it, this is how Zhong was feeling and thinking". There are also some things that are left unanswered, but I'm guessing that's going to be touched on in future books.

This book deals with feeling unwanted, abandoned, not good enough, unaccepted, and lonely. There are some wonderful scenes dealing with those subjects. I don't want to go into details and ruin anyone's reading experience, but I will say there's one in the end that is making me tear up (in a good way) just thinking about it. Like I said, I personally found it very relateable and I'm sure others will as well.

To put it simply, I loved this book. I thought it was a great start to a series and I can't wait to see where Pahua goes from here.

I cannot wait to introduce this funny, magical and completely unputdownable book to my tween students. They are going to fall in love with the eleven year old main character-- Hmong girl, Pahua--and the cast of unforgettable characters in this unique fantasy story inspired by Southeast Asian mythology.

With themes like courage, family, oral traditions, and mythology, this book can be tied into ELA curriculum and is sure to be a popular selection in the classroom and school libraries.

Perfect for Grades 4-7

This book is as if the Harry Potter series and the whimsy and magic of studio Ghibli had a baby with Hmong parents. Great story telling, an action adventure fantasy novel.. Elements of Hmong mythology is what really made it unique. Fantastic would totally recommend!

THEY WERE PELTED WITH KNOWLEDGE! Omg I can’t even. Best line. :-) There were many amusing, whimsical, unique and intense moments that focused on family, belonging, and a sense of self. Strongly recommend for all young readers.

Lori Lee’s family immigrated from Southeast Asia to the US when she was a baby. While I don’t have first hand experience or knowledge of the culture, her story seems to give a realistic, interesting, and overall a fabulous portrayal. Thank you for sharing this story.