My favorite part of this book is that a goblin's love language is insults.

Honestly, I admired this, but it was not my favorite book of the year. Maybe I guessed the ending/twist too early, but it felt too long. I hope there aren't too many kids who fail to finish the story, because the pay-off at the end is worth it.

This is an excellent exploration of prejudice and politics. Annoyingly, my library has put it in our Teen section, but I think it will work best for ages 10-12 (and it's sophisticated enough for adult readers). I also think it will work best if the child reader has the opportunity to discuss it. It's complicated and surprising and definitely begs to be discussed and dissected.

I'm not a big fan of LOTR myself, but I got the feeling that this would appeal to Tolkienists.

Finally, you can add this to a relatively small number of children's books that don't have child main characters. (THE TWENTY-ONE BALLOONS is another.) ( )

Found on Kirkus Reviews. Looks good.

The illustrations were so delightful, and the whole story was great. I love how the illustrations and the story played off each other to tell something even bigger. The characterizations were awesome, overall a really fun book. ( )

Kinda weird, but good. Satirical yet genuine look at fantasy races with a good amount of absurdist humor thrown in. ( )

**Minor Spoilers**

I absolutely loved this book! The deeper meanings of misunderstanding cultures that one is not constantly immersed in is hilariously, but deeply conveyed through Brangwain and Werfel’s relationship. I really like how the illustrations were purposefully inaccurate to emphasize the deeper messages in the book and also wonderfully drawn. The ending of the novel was beautiful, showing readers that we are all more alike than we think and stressing the importance of learning and respecting other cultures. Overall a truly unique and unexpectedly moving book! ( )