A beautiful debut and entertaining retelling of the pied piper! I will definitely be recommending this book to child readers of fantasy and retellings.

This is a lovely retelling of the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, filled with magic and narrated in a third-person voice that gives it a classic, timeless, cozy feel. Eleven-year-old Rim can only see in gray, but his world bursts into color when he inadvertently hears music for the first time and plays a pipe. He then learns his true identity as a Piper -- which his uncle had been trying to keep hidden -- and is whisked away to the Piper realm, where he finds out that he is a Pied Piper, rare even among the magical people. He must hide his true identity while passing a series of trials. This is such an appealing story with wonderful world-building, and young readers will especially love the animals and magic.

This was such a fresh, beautiful story. I was constantly in awe of the writing and characterization.

Pied is a multi-faceted vibrant world. I was consistently shocked and in awe of the world Lee has created. There's this sense of life as we are shown the magic of the Pipers. The magical world building from the word creation, to the magical colors, to the musical trials is amazing. For middle grade readers who love fantastical worlds, this is a must read!