Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

Rating: 4.5/5
Genre: Fantasy
Thank you HarperCollins for providing an e-copy through NetGalley.

Summary:
Lulu has always felt like an outsider in her Filipino community. Her sister and adoptive mom are a perfect match, but she looks nothing like them. Her epileptic episodes has made her an outcast at school as well. Luckily, her sister Kitty and best friend Bart are always there, even supporting her in reenacting her favorite Tagalog legends. And Lulu can’t wait to spend Christmas break with them and the neighborhood. So when strange things start to happen around her, Lulu grows concerned. First, the food vendor and his customer get possessed, spewing around world domination. Then there is an earthquake on her street. Then she stops a truck from flattering her sister with her bare hands, which now glow blue. The final straw is when her mother gets kidnapped by a wakwak - a birdlike vampire creature straight from Tagalong mythology. When Lulu demands answers, she learns that her whole street is under a Balabal - a veil - hiding from evil eyes and concealing mythical creatures, actual gods, and, most importantly, Lulu herself. She is the Salamangkero, a protector of the Three Realms, with divine strength at her disposal. The Tagalog gods and goddesses are real, and they need her help: A powerful spirit named the Maligno is rising from the dead and desperately wants Lulu’s power for himself. To save her mother (and the world), Lulu, Kitty, and Bart must make the perilous journey across the realms, encountering dangerous fiends, tricky obstacles, and unruly gods along the way. Can Lulu save her mother and everyone she loves before the Maligno destroys the world? Or will she uncover a secret history, one that involves the Tagalog gods, creatures, and herself, that will create even more chaos?

What I Liked:
Lulu Sinagtala and the City of Noble Warriors is an awesome, action-packed, and adventurous mythology story of a super strong girl, her loyal sister, and dog companion racing across realms to save their mother and the world. Tagalog mythology is so fascinating with its many unique gods, all of whom have distinct personalities in the story, and its vast catalog of folkloric and legendary creatures that range from benign, difficult, mischievous, or stuff of nightmares. Seeing with god/beast/entity popped out next and the stories behind them is a treat, and readers will learn so much of Filipino culture in general with this exciting book. The setting is varied and wondrous, taking our adventurers across different mythical landscapes that will explode your imagination. Lulu is a strong (literally) protagonist, who takes charge even in great danger and who will do anything to protect her family. Kitty is a great addition to the team - though powerless herself, she adds insight and sees a different perspective from her sister, getting them out of tough situations with Lulu’s stumped. Bart also acts as a fantastic supporting character with his more logical thinking and knowledge of the magical world. Overall, this is a fantastic addition to the mythology-adventure stories in middle-grade fiction, so I definitely recommend it for anyone who likes the genre.

What I Didn’t Like: Nothing!

Recommend to: Kids who love mythology adventures and Filipino folklore and culture. Marikit and the Ocean of Stars by Caris Avendano Cruz, The Spirit Glass by Roshani Chokshi, Shadow Prince by David Anthony Durham, and The Last Fallen Star by Graci Kim are good read-alikes.

Review Date: March 5, 2024

I really do love that I’m getting to see more Filipino lore and history in middle grade reads! It’s something I think elementary school Alexa would have enjoyed seeing tremendously, and something that even now, as an adult, I still find pretty cool.

Villanueva’s story is jam-packed with all sorts of Filipino touches, from language to legendary figures to food. It also has a fast-paced plot with plenty of action and witty comments. This book is also led by a refreshing main character… who I unfortunately didn’t end up strongly connecting to or feeling emotionally invested in, and neither did I feel particularly attached to any of the secondary cast. Still, as with a lot of middle grade books, I was content to let the story play out till the end and I generally enjoyed my time with it.

I really enjoyed this book. It was fun and fast. Very educational to me. I enjoy any other cultures. I would recommend this
10/10

Lulu lives with her sister, Kitty, and their mother, Jenalyn - adopted, she knows, because she doesn't really look like either one, but she's been with them her whole life. Neither her father nor her sister's father are anywhere in evidence, but her mother has friends up and down their street in Manila, an extended family of aunts and uncles who have taken care of them all their lives. Then one day, everything changes, when a wakwak - a creature out of Tagalog mythology - appears, and Lulu and Kitty find out that magical beings are all around them, and searching for Lulu, and they've taken the girls' mother to get her out of the street that's been enchanted for safety.

This is a fun novel, full of Tagalog mythology, a quest, and some references to current pop culture. Lulu and Kitty, and their friend Bart, go off on a quest to save, Jenalyn, meeting a wide range of mythical beings and deities along the way. It will appeal to readers of all ages, although sometimes Lulu sounds older than her give age of 11, and the vocabulary may be a little difficult for younger readers - but it would be a great novel to use as a read-aloud or shared reading book.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

An action-packed fantasy adventure filled with fascinating creatures and a main character that young readers will root for. All of the BTS references were fun too. Highly recommended!

Lulu has always felt as though she doesn't fit in with her loving family. She discovers that she is adopted when things begin to change in her seemingly normal neighborhood. Things are not what they seem as those who cared for her are gods from Tagalog Mythology. Lu discovers her true family when she battles gods determined to destroy realms in their quest for domination.

The book is well written with short explanations of Tagalog Mythology throughout the story. Gail D. Villanueva provides humor to inspire laughter as Lulu encounters various characters throughout her quest.

A recommended read as readers will enjoy the zany characters and Tagalog Mythology.

This is essentially Percy Jackson remixed to be Filipino AF! I just know that if I was a kid this would be one of my most treasured reads. Tagalog gods and mythological creatures abound, and I can see children loving this adventurous tale.

As an adult reader, it's hard not to be critical of some things though. For one, as someone who read and loved Percy Jackson, it's impossible to read the first quarter of this book and not see the DIRECT correlation to The Lightning Thief (down to the very chapter titles too). It's not subtle, and it feels more rip-off than inspired. Thankfully, Lulu's tale becomes her own eventually. The pacing throughout this book felt erratic, making more emotional and poignant moments impossible to believe in.

Overall, I'm curious to see how the rest of this series progresses. I have faith this can turn into something special, especially for young Filipino readers everywhere!

Actual rating: 2.5

Not gonna lie, so much about this book did not work for me.

I didn't like how much of a Percy Jackson ripoff the first quarter was. You can literally map out comparisons between this book and the Lightning Thief even down to one of the chapter titles. It didn't feel organic or even like a nod to honor Riordan's work. It straight up felt like cheap fanfic.

I also found the main character insufferably annoying. Lulu doesn't have much character development but at the same time she is also unbelievably inconsistent. One moment she will act childish even for her age and then the next she will say something with the awareness of an adult. Many of the other characters' lines of dialogue also did not feel realistic, including the ones spoken in Filipino. In many ways, this book felt like it was written for Western middle-graders in mind rather than for Filipino ones. The unapologetic Filipino-ness was one of the things I loved about Sugar and Spite, and I'm sad to see that I didn't get that here. Don't get me wrong, there is a lot of Filipino culture referenced here, but it feels almost as if it was tweaked to appeal to a Western audience.

I also thought the pop culture references were a little cringe and repetitive. I mean, take a shot whenever "BTS's Jungkook and Blackpink's Rosé" is mentioned and you won't get drunk, but you shouldn't drive yourself home either.

The pacing was also irregularly fast. We aren't given time to really absorb certain events and some of the more emotional moments don't really feel earned.

There were also quite a number of errors in the pronunciation guide at the end of the book and, as someone who enjoyed his linguistics class in uni, this bothered me to no end.

All that said, I am still interested in how the story turns out in the sequel mainly because of how much I liked the ending scenes. To me, that was when the magic truly began. We are given higher stakes, intriguing plot twists, and the main character was forced to be more grounded.

All in all this was a bit of a miss for me, but I'm still glad to have read it.

As a fellow Filipino, this book felt like home. So much of our culture drips from every line and I could practically see the opening chapters/first ten percent happening just outside my home/in my barangay.

This MG was such a delightful read, fun and fast-paced with main characters that I'm going to love introducing my nieces and nephews to!

4.5
What a fun and energetic middle grade filled with adventure, good fighting evil, and Tagalog mythology.

Eleven-year-old Filipino Lulu suddenly discovers that all the people she knows and the place she calls home are not exactly who or what she thought to be all these years. She also begins to remember another self.

With super strength, like a Marvel hero, she will do her best to keep her family safe from the evil plans of Maligno.

A great homage to the Filipino folklore that suffered from the Spanish imposition and dominance in the past recovers its lore with lots of action and humor. Deities obsessed with K-dramas the Korean wave of popularity and many other modern pop culture references that make the dialogue fun.

I'm so pleased that more books are being released that represent and teach us more about other cultures, their rich mythology, deities, creatures, demons, and legends.

I'm glad this is a duology.
Perfect for fans of Aru Shah.

Ha! I was so excited to stumble into this cute gem. I am a Filipino and this fun take on the folk stories were so nostalgic with everything I have learned to love and believe when I was a little girl!

Thank you Netgalley for the copy! I would definitely recommend and I wish I have a lot of funds to purchase tons if copies to donate to local Philippines grade schools for young Filipino readers to enjoy!

In this fast-paced, thrilling middle-grade fantasy rooted in Tagalog mythology, a young Filipino girl discovers realms beyond our own full of monsters and gods, a terrible evil who wants her magic, and even a talking duck!

I found this book to be so much fun. I don't read a ton of middle-grade books, but when I do, I almost always have a good time. This is a great story and a great blend of mythology.