What do you think?
Rate this book
Creatures of the In Between #2
Beasts of the Uncanny Wild
Prince Jin and his companions face new adventures, new dangers, and more mythical beasts in this thrilling sequel to Creatures of the In Between, perfect for fans of Princess Mononoke and How to Train Your Dragon and featuring an immersive blend of East and Southeast Asian mythology.
Prince Jin is now the emperor of the Three Realms. His first task? Bring the uncanny creatures back to his home.
Yet his attempts are plagued at every turn. And when the magical creatures—even Jin's own monstermates—begin to act out in strange and alarming ways, the situation only gets worse.
Jin's search for answers leads him to the very place from which all monsters originate: deep within the Uncanny Wild, where sacred peaks are surrounded by a primordial forest…from which no one has ever returned.
But as Jin and his friends make their way through the enchanted lands, Jin realizes that all is not as it seems. The enemy that waits for him there is not who he expected—and that's just the beginning.
Fans of Dragon Pearl and When the Sea Turned to Silver will thrill at this next step of Jin’s action-packed journey as he faces greater odds than ever before with his friends by his side.
Prince Jin is now the emperor of the Three Realms. His first task? Bring the uncanny creatures back to his home.
Yet his attempts are plagued at every turn. And when the magical creatures—even Jin's own monstermates—begin to act out in strange and alarming ways, the situation only gets worse.
Jin's search for answers leads him to the very place from which all monsters originate: deep within the Uncanny Wild, where sacred peaks are surrounded by a primordial forest…from which no one has ever returned.
But as Jin and his friends make their way through the enchanted lands, Jin realizes that all is not as it seems. The enemy that waits for him there is not who he expected—and that's just the beginning.
Fans of Dragon Pearl and When the Sea Turned to Silver will thrill at this next step of Jin’s action-packed journey as he faces greater odds than ever before with his friends by his side.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published December 31, 2024
5 people are currently reading
2526 people want to read
About the author
Cindy Lin
4 books144 followersA former journalist with degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University, Cindy Lin has worked for Sony Pictures Entertainment and has written and produced many multimedia news features for children, one of which received a Peabody Award. She is the author of Creatures of the In Between as well as The Twelve and its sequel Treasures of the Twelve.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 26, 2025
Wow! What an exciting sequel.! Lin’s second book about the Uncanny Wild is a wonderful read.
Prince Jin is now the Emperor of the Three Realms. He wants to welcome the Uncanny Beasts back to the empire. He wants to show his people how the “beasts” can help them in their lives. When his exposition goes horribly wrong, he flees to Whisper Island hoping to put aside the burdens of ruling for a little while. However, when Mau disappears while searching for Jin’s evil grandmother, Jin returns and heads out to find Mau with Bingyoo, Masa, and his monstermates. They leave the empire to search in the lands just outside the Uncanny Wild. The friends will face threats from humans and Uncanny Beasts while Jin seeks a way to keep the empire and the beasts safe.
Lin again creates a rich, complex world. The reader learns about the empire’s history and not all of it is complementary to the empire. The plot is fast paced with plenty of twists and surprises. The friends go from crisis to crisis. Jin tries to be the emperor he knows the people need. All the main characters grow and mature, especially Jin. New creatures are introduced. The ending brings all the different plot lines to a satisfying conclusion. Fans of the first book will enjoy this sequel. Again, Lin provides a bestiary that describes each creature, their abilities and on which mythical creature it is based. This series is a great read for fantasy fans or fans of Asian culture.
I Highly Recommend the series for school and public libraries serving grades three through seven.
M.A.C.
Retired School Librarian
Prince Jin is now the Emperor of the Three Realms. He wants to welcome the Uncanny Beasts back to the empire. He wants to show his people how the “beasts” can help them in their lives. When his exposition goes horribly wrong, he flees to Whisper Island hoping to put aside the burdens of ruling for a little while. However, when Mau disappears while searching for Jin’s evil grandmother, Jin returns and heads out to find Mau with Bingyoo, Masa, and his monstermates. They leave the empire to search in the lands just outside the Uncanny Wild. The friends will face threats from humans and Uncanny Beasts while Jin seeks a way to keep the empire and the beasts safe.
Lin again creates a rich, complex world. The reader learns about the empire’s history and not all of it is complementary to the empire. The plot is fast paced with plenty of twists and surprises. The friends go from crisis to crisis. Jin tries to be the emperor he knows the people need. All the main characters grow and mature, especially Jin. New creatures are introduced. The ending brings all the different plot lines to a satisfying conclusion. Fans of the first book will enjoy this sequel. Again, Lin provides a bestiary that describes each creature, their abilities and on which mythical creature it is based. This series is a great read for fantasy fans or fans of Asian culture.
I Highly Recommend the series for school and public libraries serving grades three through seven.
M.A.C.
Retired School Librarian
February 13, 2025
Thank you HarperAudio Children’s, HarperCollins, and NetGalley for the advanced electronic audio review copy of this book. This is a continuation of the Creatures of the In Between series based on the blend of East and Southeast Asian mythology and is great middle grade read full of adventure, great characters, and nonstop action. There is a wonderful glossary of terms and animals used in the book at the very end with explanations and pronunciations based on the various East and Southeast cultures (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc).
November 30, 2025
📚📚📚📚📚
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 7, 2026
"In whatever realm you find yourself, you exist."
Subjectively? Loved this duology, exactly what I needed during this rough season (lol). Objectively though - one of its most significant subplots felt underdeveloped and rushed. 3.4/5.
"It takes a monster to know one."
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews