I received an advanced copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Young Lu dreams about being an adventurer like her Ah-ma, a world-renowned geozoologist studying creatures of all sorts and sizes. As years pass, and with no word from her ah-ma, Lu begins her travels with her best friend, Ren, in search of an ah-ma and helps the local towns from strange creature migrations. From an angry and upset town at Ah-ma to geofauna going off track of their migration lanes, Lu and Ren have their hands full. However, Ren is hiding a secret, and Lu doesn’t know if she’ll ever find her ah-ma in time for the eclipse.
Pastel colors carve out interesting creatures, including pinks, yellows, purples, and many more. A tale of surprises, secrets, and love for found family come together in a whimsical graphic novel about forgiveness and the travels we take on the open roads. Fans of Studio Ghibli films will fall in love with this magical take on geofaunas and creatures abound.

This gorgeously-rendered graphic novel is immersive, creative, and unexpectedly made me a bit misty at points.

A very cute graphic novel that features the cutest megafauna I've ever seen!!! A heartfelt story about Lu and Ren who each have their own approach to family and who they are in relation to their families as well. Overall a lovely graphic novel that I'm very thankful to have read, and I look forward to buying the hard copy once it's out. A huge thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a copy of the arc in exchange for my thoughts!

Lu and Rens’s Guide to Geozoology was a delight to read! The book is visually stunning, with beautiful illustrations that bring the story to life. It's the perfect read for middle schoolers and younger audiences, and it will definitely find a home in my middle grade library.

A great middle-grade graphic novel about two friends who go on an adventure to find a missing grandma, and help solve some fantastical creature problems along the way. About friendship, realizing you might not know your family as well as you think, and the struggle to stay true to yourself. Great artwork, and I loved the fantastical creatures- I’ll definitely be recommending this to my nieces.

I will NEVER get over the art in this book! I think the giant guinea pig creatures were my favorite but the hotspring pool giant toads were a close second!! A lovely story, beautiful imagery. Looking forward to seeing what Hsieh does next!

Lu and Ren's Guide to Geozoology is a cozy fantasy story about Lu, a girl who wants to follow in the footsteps of her beloved Ah-ma, a celebrated researcher of fantasy flora and fauna, who has gone missing. Lu decides to go out and find her missing grandmother, using her journals and letters. Unfortunately, Lu struggles to translate all of her grandmother's writings. As she and Ren explore, they learn that Ah-ma's legacy is more complicated than Lu realized.

I loved this illustrations and the message!
The creatures were all very great and creative!
Lu and Ren both grow up and communicate eventually and its beautiful and sweet

This is perfect for middle grade and honestly even younger for some. I loved how relatable it was about language differences with family with a serious tone while the entire graphic remained fun throughout.

Possibly a bit niche, or good for older children who are into a certain type of fantasy. I like the idea that the characters are speaking in two languages, as shown in the colors of text. Not my personal taste, as far as the visual style and storyline, so I wanted to scope it out for the library.

Thank you for the ARC.

Some of the artwork was absolutely beautiful and loved the creature illustrations.

Overall this was a cute book with fun creatures. I thought it would be more about the creatures but ended up being more about interpersonal relationships. Some of the chapters/story seemed disjointed and didn't flow.

I read the first few chapters with my kid (almost 5) and they loved the idea of going on adventures and how imaginary the creatures were (inspired them to do their own drawings).

I'm curious how the whole Ren running away from home thing would be resolved, since it wasn't really.

This was such a charming and whimsical graphic novel! It will capture the hears and imagination of adults and children alike.

What an adorable story centered around family and belonging! This would be great to snuggle up with in the winter or to read under a shaded tree on a nice spring day. The art was superb, incorporating animals into geological formations was a unique and adorable touch. The background colors, like in the sky during the jellyfish migration, were simply amazing. I especially love the goofy faces the characters make. I would definitely trade my current life to live in this story and become a geozoologist.

Gorgeous art, girls interested in science, adorable creatures...could not ask for more.

I'll be honest, I read this solely because of the axolotl on the cover. Little did I know, this was everything I would have wanted in a middle grade/YA graphic novel. (I feel like it skews a little younger?) To genre bend the pure fantasy of the fauna acting both as zoological creatures AND geological/geographical land features with the scifi feel of the scientific inquiry of the plot was so smartly done. The coloring really appealed to me aesthetically, too. I wish I could live in Lu and Ren's world.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy in exchange for the honest review.

This was cute and had a lot of things I really like to see - colorful illustrations, an interesting world, POC characters, an ownvoices author. There is a lot to like here, but this is (I believe) the author's first graphic novel and it does show a bit. While the pages are colorful, the storyboarding is hard to follow in parts, and the worldbuilding could be stronger, especially considering the actual concept of Geozoology is absolutely amazing. A great effort but I am not 100% sure I'd read a sequel.

Beautiful and sweet fantasy graphic novel that is gorgeously illustrated. There are shades of the Tea Dragon series here, but a world and narrative that is much more epic in scale

*Thanks to Net Galley and Quill Tree Books for e-arc*

This was so beautiful! While the audience is for children I believe that anyone that likes cozy fantasy will enjoy this. The created creatures were so cute and I want more stories with them in it. This story made me want to go off on my own adventure and explore nature. I just loved it so much and hope there will be a sequel!

Lu and Ren's Guide to Geozoology is a tour de force, it reminds me a lot of K O'Neil's stuff which for me there is no higher recommendation. The story focuses around Lu and her grandmother, who is a famous geozoologist. Her grandmother tracks these wonderful plant and animal combinations across contients and always comes back with interesting stroies.

Lu has wanted to go with her grandmother since she was little. However after her grandmother doesn't come back for a few years. Lu convinces her mother that she is capable to go look and try and find her grandmother. Lu meet old friend/relative Ren along the way and their story complicates things. Especially after Lu goes to a town where people have a less than stellar opinion of her grandmother.

Lu must search for the truth about her grandmother, and figure out what it means to her and her life. All the while Ren is dealing with their family's expectations of them. Ren and Lu clash over their beliefs on family will they be able to find their way back to each other and learn what happened to Lu's grandmother.

Angela Hsieh is one to watch, this is one of her first graphic novels and it is already showing the style and grace when it comes to art and storytelling not matched except by more established artist. I hope this book does well and would love to see more work from Hsieh.

This was a touching story about a girl and her friend searching for her missing grandmother. It was interesting to see the contrast between how much Lu wanted to be like her family when Ren wanted nothing less.

I could see this becoming a series about Lu and Ren's adventures around the country, becoming true geozoologists.

I love the art style in this. Their shocked faces are especially great. I want to read the other graphic novel the author worked on, solely because she illustrated it.

I liked the guide in the back that described the different animals a bit more, and where their names came from.

I wish there was more on what geozoology is. Probably rock-based animals, because of the name, but I don't think it was ever actually stated.

CW: death of a loved one

What a lovely, whimsical, and heartwarming story! Angela Hsieh does an immaculate job of pulling you into this magical world and making you want to leave this world behind, in a similar vein to Kay O'Neill and Bee Paulsen. Lu and Ren are friends that embark on a journey to find Lu's grandmother, Shan, who is missing. Lu's grandmother is a geozoologist that travels around the world and studies magical creatures, something Lu wishes to do when she is older. While on this journey, Lu and Ren encounter external and internal conflicts in the form of sick animals, a mysterious shift in the ecosystem, angry villagers, the mystery of where Shan is, but also friendship, belonging and identity, and family. Overall it was a spectacular story, beautiful illustrations, heartwarming relationships, and a world to die for.