"Tzia" presents a mixed bag of elements that left me with conflicted feelings. On one hand, the vivid descriptions of the setting transported me to a richly imagined world, evoking a sense of wonder and intrigue. The author's attention to detail in crafting the cultural nuances and landscapes was commendable and added depth to the story. However, despite the promising backdrop, some readers found the pacing to be uneven, with certain sections dragging while others felt rushed. Additionally, while the characters showed potential for complexity, they often fell into predictable tropes, making it challenging to fully invest in their arcs. Despite its flaws, "Tzia" offers moments of genuine beauty and imagination that may appeal to fans of atmospheric storytelling, but falls short of reaching its full potential.

This is the first in what is likely to be a promising series about Theo, an apparently ordinary girl who turns out to be anything but. Keen to find out more about her family of origin, she is on her way to Greece to discover what she can.

On the plane, she meets a mysterious old woman who claims that she is her grandmother and that she was present when Theo was born. She is willing to tell Theo more about her heritage, but only at a price. Quite a high price, as it turns out...

What follows is a fantastical adventure involving good versus evil witches, talking creatures, immense danger, a lion who will determine Theo's destiny, and the mythical world of Tzia.

The world building is done quite well here, but the pacing could definitely be better. The first part is a slow burn, and there are some bits in the book that could be edited out to improve the flow and sharpen the focus of the story telling.

But this book is also full of creative ideas and high adventure, so it is likely to be enjoyed by readers in the target age group, and those who have enjoyed classic fantasy tales Like The Chronicles of Narnia.

Thanks @netgalley for this review copy in return of an honest review.

Theo ends up sitting to a really scary mouse lady on the plane. The woman claims that she was present at Theo’s birth. Where Theo’s mom died. It seems she is het grandmother.
Theo is on the plane because her adoption parents gave her a ticket to visit her mother’s grave. Grandma knows why Theo’s real father had to run. But if she wants to hear the story, she has to give up her whole life and stay with her real family.
What is she gonna do?

This book was really awesome. A bit like chronicles of Narnia/Alice in Wonderland.
The story was very good. And interesting. A real classic fantasy story. And that in modern times! I was impressed. A real fairytale!
Everything was described so well, that if wasn’t difficult to imagine.

The book is a bit random sometimes with all the different situations, but it made it an adventure.

Loved the beautiful illustrations!

This book was a success for me and I would absolutely recommend!

I really want to be able to rate this higher, but it’s so disjointed and needs a lot of cleaning up. I admire the author’s imagination, but the plot is all over the place and tries to include way too many elements. Also, the writing style is just a little bit odd, enough to tilt your head in confusion often. Again, I wanted to like it, but, ultimately, it’s not for me.

A beautifully written fantasy novel about family, identity and discovery. Fourteen year old Theo boards an airplane to Greece with the hopes of finding her long lost family. On board the plane, she encounters a strange old women who tells Theo (through the wonderful use of caterpillar type creatures) about her heritage and about a quest she must take in order to save her world. This book reminded me A LOT of the Chronicles of Narnia. Descriptive language, a young protagonist, and a lion who will determine the fate of not only Theo but her ancestors, descendants and the mythical world of Tzia.
A wonderful addition to any classroom library, a book club recommendation, read aloud or class study.
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the free copy.

Theo has never known her true family. On a journey to visit her mother's grave she finds her grandmother and is drawn into an insanely dark battle between good and evil witches, many of whom she is related to. The story also features a number of adorable talking animals and a goodly amount of peril. It is fast paced, fun, a bit creepy, and I can't wait to read the next volume. I loved Theo's quirky grandmother and greatly enjoyed Pum Pum. The illustrations add much to the story and it is overall a great introduction to fantasy and world building to a younger reader.

This book grabbed me and I cannot wait to read the next one! There is a lot of names to keep track of but it’s a good read for older middle grade kids.

I really enjoyed the unique magic and family connections.

I've been reading this one out loud with my ten-year-old son, but it's a long, slow process so I decided to read ahead a bit ... or, you know, all the way to the end. (Shh, I won't tell if you won't.) Tzia is an enjoyable middle grade fantasy novel, reminiscent of several classic fantasy novels (everything from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland to The Neverending Story) meshed together into something new and completely different.

This bildungsroman starts out as a rather slow burn but picks up quite a bit in the second half. It begins with an “ordinary” young girl boarding an airplane and eventually progresses to talking cats, witches, magical doors with riddles to solve (which must have been strongly inspired by a scene from the film Labyrinth), and a quest to save a world in danger. It was engaging and fun, and my son has really enjoyed it so far (together we're around the 40% mark). The characters are well-written and likable (well, the ones who are supposed to be likable, anyway) and the world-building is fantastic.

Be forewarned, however, that this book ends in a major cliff-hanger with the main character's story yet to be told. That's probably to be expected considering it's labeled as a “Part One,” but it does mean that those of us without patience will have to wait for the next part of the tale to be written. Bummer. But, still, an excellent read so far – I look forward to reading more about Theodora and her adventures!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book to review.

Overall I enjoyed this, though I struggled to get into it for the 1st half. It took me quite a while to realise I wasn't getting any of Theo's story, and this has left me a bit frustrated but that's my misunderstanding, not the book! (and tbf the 'not getting into it' is almost certainly my ADHD and nothing to do with the pacing)

I'd happily give this to an eager middle grade reader, there's just enough peril to keep them engaged, without it being overly scary

I'll be keeping an eye out for Theo's story!

I received an advance copy for free from NetGalley, on the expectation that I would provide an honest review.

Tzia: The Book of Galatéa is a wonderful fantasy novel. The world building was fun and believable, and the side characters added to the adventure. There were some surprising twists and some parts that were darker than I expected. I also loved the drawings throughout the book. Overall, I enjoyed my time reading this novel, and am looking forward to reading more about Theo's adventures!

An interesting story about a peculiar island and a unique lineage of women. Kind of eerie and dark, but at the same time sweet. I really enjoyed it.

This was a wonderfully done epic fantasy novel, it had a great fairy tale element going on. I enjoyed going on this journey and thought it worked well overall. The characters were what I was looking for and worked well in this universe. Mister Sanamon does a great job in creating everything that I was hoping for and look forward to more.