After the wizard of Celurdur dies peacefully in his sleep, his ghost enlists young but responsible Faye to host a grand tournament to select his next hair. Faye and an imaginative cast of humans and creatures explore the picturesque castle grounds in a charming series of magical encounters. Yet even beyond the vibes, there is substance. I would absolutely recommend this perfect, cozy fantasy to any middle grader just discovering the genre.

oh! my! GOODNESS! this book was so cute and entertaining and just so wonderful!. I have been hyping this book up with my regular middle grade reading clientele and the consensus has been since its release: WOW!

This fun middle grade fantasy is packed full of adventure, excitement, mystery, magic and thrills! Kids of all ages will enjoy it. This would make a great audiobook to read with the whole family on a road trip.

Lillie Ricciardi does a great job narrating the audiobook.

As an adult reading this book, I was easily able to guess the ending quite early in the book. I think that young readers will enjoy this story and the adventures this group encountered while they were competing to become Wizard West.

I would love to see a second book that follows up on what happened to these characters after the competition ended.

A fantasy world with a Studio Ghibli feel combined with a story that focuses on good versus evil leaves the reader dealing with the effects of sexism and history.

I think there is an audience for this book, and it was a fast and fun read, but I did not find it to be especially set apart from other middle-grade fantasy. I would put a copy in my library, but I cannot see spending my meager budget on this particular title.

Overall, it was an okay book.

Thank you to Net Galley and Harper Audio for the audio ARC. All opinions are my own.

This book is such a fun adventure! Feels like one of those classic middle grade fantasy books I would pick up and fly through in school. A mix of serious adventure and fun silly world building is perfect for this age group.

Thank you Harper Audio, Quill Tree Books, and NetGalley for the advanced electronic audio review copy of this book. This was a fun, quick read with lots of humor, magic, adventure, and fast-paced action. There’s a hint of another volume coming based on the ending, so am cautiously optimistic. A great, magical fantasy read!

4.5 stars rounded up

This was so charming! Perfect for fans of Miyazaki films, The Girl Who Kept the Castle is a middle grade fantasy about a servant girl who works for a powerful wizard, and then has to inform him that he has died and is now a ghost. One who needs to find an heir in order to keep their kingdom safe. This is the perfect blend of magical whimsy, adventure, delightful characters, and lots of heart- all with an unlikely heroine.

Faye is the daughter of the groundskeeper and has done every job imaginable in her short years. Including feed old vegetables to their composting dragon. But she is capable of far more than anyone realizes, including herself. Even in a society where girls aren't supposed to do powerful magic. I thoroughly enjoyed this and think other middle grade fantasy readers will love it as well. I received a copy of this book for review, all opinions are my own.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5/5 STARS

Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy

Synopsis: A groundskeeper to a magical castle puts on a competition to find the next king.

This had everything I love in a MG fantasy! It reminded me of a mix of Howl’s Moving Castle meets Vampirina meets Wednesday Addams. The characters were fun and engaging! I loved the world building: the castle, the different kings, the magical plants, etc.
The main character is a brave, smart girl who has to problem solve to save the kingdom. She is more or less on her own the entire time (without spoiling it). There is a competition to find the next king West… magical competitions are my favorite in a fantasy book so I was hooked from the beginning! Add potions and shifting into animals and I’m sold! It could be a standalone but there is potential for a sequel.
This is my first book from this author and I will definitely be reading more!
If you enjoy middle grade fantasy this is a must read!

Thank you Harper Collins for the ARC! 🏰

This is not my final review. If I am able to edit this upon release of the book, I will be happy to do so.

I was shocked when the note started that this advanced audiobook was fully narrated by a synthesized A.I. voice. I appreciate the transparency upon the start of the book, but this should be noted in the description prior to requesting it. I checked and there was no mention. I would not have requested this as an audiobook had I known.

Not only do I have no interest in hearing a synthesized voice, there is something about a human voice that just does it better. The voice sounded real, which was super cool at a scientific standpoint, but narrators have inflections in their voices, know when to emphasize, take pauses, and even changes their voices for different characters. This was just not doing that and it made it extremely difficult to follow. Ultimately, it took the magic of an audiobook away.

I am happy to give this book another try when it has actual narrators to accompany the audiobook. It has a lot of promise and I love the description of the book. I hope you understand.