There's folklore and myth, maps and murders, adventure and despotic governors, friendship and family. But for all these things, I think that they are written in a more soft, quiet understated sort-of way, and while that works for some people and I could even see myself as a younger reader enjoying this, I struggled to connect with the characters or to engage with the story due to the way it's written.

This review is long over due- I misplaced the notes for it somewhere along the line, BUT better late than never... I think kids 3rd grade to 6th may enjoy this little fantasy story. I like that there is a strong lead character who's a girl! Isabella is a really take charge kid that I think can inspire all children. It's also a nice intro to maps, which seem to be falling on the way side with all the online maps that tell you how to get places, but don't SHOW you where you are! It's not the greatest story I've ever read, but will make a nice addition to the jfic section of a library! And adventurous kids will likely enjoy the tale.

An enjoyable book perfect for a Middle Grade audience, though it has literary aspirations that it doesn't quite meet. The writing, characters, and setting are uniformly interesting. There's a fairy tale quality even beyond the plot, which involves facing some literal mythical demons, as main character Isabella's adventure across her home island, barely known to her, gets underway. An imperiled father, a dead brother, a missing friend who is the wealthy daughter of the most powerful man in town. Oh, and animals acting very strangely! This all makes a great recipe for a coming-of-age adventure.

I think a younger reader would get a lot more mileage here, though as an adult reader I was slightly bored, and felt the worldbuilding lacked detail. For example, Isabella's island seems to exist in an amalgam of real-world places, and there is a lot of implied critique of colonialism that I didn't think went quite far enough. That is, it wasn't consistent enough to get many anti- or post-colonialist ideas across, other than "Bad Governor Equals Unhappy Colony" which is... not really the point. So, I wish the real-world lessons of this book had been better balanced with the magical monster elements. I also thought the author missed an opportunity to complicate gender, as this storyworld relies on the typical "girls can't do that -- but this one girl is special -- and she disguises herself as a boy!" trope.

The two biggest strengths, I thought, were Isabella's determination to act, and her friendship with Lupe. The narrative does not always do enough to prove that Lupe is not a jerk, and is in fact worthy of Isabella's friendship, but it does try pretty hard and the judgement will ultimately be left up to the reader. In any case, Isabella is a great friend and a solid MG heroine.

I really like that the heroine is a girl. This book will appeal to both boys and girls with its adventures and magic. This one belongs in every elementary school and would be a great read aloud classroom book.

This book was a thrilling middle-grade read that kept me on my toes. I love a story where the final twist is so unexpected but so worthwhile. Loved the pace.

This was a strange tale about a girl who lives on a land that is oppressed by the governor. When some kind of creature kills a girl from the town the governor wants to pretend it didn't happen but Isabella wants to figure it out. When she accuses her friend Lupe, the governor's daughter of causing the incident and not caring, Lupe heads out to the Forbidden Lands herself. The governor and his men, and Isabella follow. What happens next gets a bit bizarre and is where the story fell apart for me... Strange creatures, banished people, and something mysterious in the tunnels underneath. Then it got really sad...

Didn't really work for me in the end...

I am on the fence about this book: there seemed to be some strange plot choices , such as there being no consequence at all to our main character's having traveled in disguise for a great deal of time : when she is revealed, nothing particularly bad happens. Additionally, I felt disoriented especially during the all-important climax scenes of the volcano going off, as I found it difficult to understand what and where the character was and was doing. But overall I did enjoy it: the friendship between the two girls did, in the final analysis, feel real and genuine as the high status daughter remembered the other girl's story from years earlier. There was some beautiful writing, too. I would recommend it, but I would look forward to the author's next work more.