Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an eARC via NetGalley for an honest review.

CWs: death of animals (cats), bullying, car accident, death

This was a really intriguing middle grade fantasy. The writing style was easy to get into, and Omega had a really authentic voice. Being in her head while reading, I really felt that the character was young, and it didn’t feel like an adult trying to write as a middle schooler.
Omega’s family isn’t really normal, and Omega feels like a bit of an outsider. She’s the only one who’s half-human, and it means that her empathic abilities aren’t the same as everyone else’s. This created friction between her and her family at times, and I liked seeing Omega learn about her powers and how to control them. The different empathic abilities were interesting, and I would have loved to learn more about them.
I thought the pacing was good. The story moved along well, and there were some really exciting and action-packed scenes. It was a bit repetitive at times with Omega searching for answers and then finding out her family was lying to her, but I liked the fantasy elements. I had hoped that the legend of La Lechuza would provide a creepy and spooky element to the story, and there were hints of it, but it wasn’t as much as I had thought there would be.
One thing that I didn’t love was how Omega’s mom handled her being bullied. After a scene where Abby draws on Omega’s face with permanent marker after Omega has passed out in the bathroom, Omega’s mom tells her to forgive her and get over it because the bullying will make her stronger. This just bothered me because her mom knew that she was being bullied and yet she didn’t bother doing anything to help Omega out.
Overall, I thought this was a successful middle grade fantasy with good characters and interesting magic.

Self realization at its best!

Omega Morales and the Legend of La Lechuza by Laekan Zea Kemp was fun and exciting. Omega is a typical middle school girl, except she comes from a magical family of empaths. Some are super strong while others are still developing their skills. Omega on the other hand, hasn’t quite come fully into her power yet. Due to her family’s gifts, the people of her town don’t really like them nor understand them, so they tend to bully them, one way or another. Although she doesn’t have the friends you’d expect, she has her favorite people surrounding her, Clau (a ghost), Carlitos (her cousin), and a cat (ghost cat). When Lechuza shows up out of nowhere, Omega and crew have to dive into the legend of La Lechuza and figure out what’s going on all while Omega tries to come into her own power.

Laekan created such a thought provoking yet fun, mysterious, exciting, and fantastical story! With a combination of supernatural powers, familial magic (generational), an odd trio (empath, cousin empath, & ghost), witches and transformational magic, there’s so much to explore and dive into. It was amazing to see Mexican folklore mixed in and being the main point of the story, I’m talking about you Lechuza!

There were many themes that came up throughout the story as well, such as family, friendship, frenemies/bullying, and even more so, coming to self. As an empathic girl, you’d think Omega would be able to get to her own self and power, but it’s a struggle for her. Her biggest struggle is the theme of trusting the instincts of others vs trusting in herself.

Vanessa Morales enhanced the novel with her illustrations. There were not a lot, but just enough. It makes this book a great transitional book for young readers. The illustrations were also added to the story to enhance it.

I’d highly recommend this for 9-11+ yr olds. This is fun for all ages and families! If you are into magic, adventure, an odd trio, and transformations, this is for you!

I’m excited for another adventure with Omega!

*This was an honest review for a complimentary copy of Omega Morales and the Legend of La Lechuza from Laekan Zea Kemp via NetGalley