What a lovely story! So many issues kids go through are addressed- sibling rivalry, feeling like you're not being listened to, being scared and worried, feeling helpless, not wanting things to change, and more. It's told in a way that is relatable without being too obvious; you know how Star Trek addressed societal problems by using alien species and worlds, to sneak in the lesson without making it too obvious it was a lesson for the humans watching? This story is like that. We have Bix and her little sister Pella, two goblin children living in the underground goblin city alone, since their parents died. Earthquakes have been troubling the city, and the goblins decide they must move to the northern mountains immediately, cancelling the midsummer festival they normally have. Headstrong troublemaker Pella runs away in the middle of the night, to go find the Earth Queen in the dangerous Enchanted Forest, and give the Queen a piece of her mind. When Bix discovers her sister is missing the next morning, she goes after Pella, despite her own fears and worries. When Bix gets into a scary situation, a tree troll named Cici comes to her rescue, and tags along to help Bix find Pella. They learn that the Earth Queen and her sister, the Water Queen, have a rivalry going about how the island should be, and they now must rescue Pella and keep the Queens from destroying the island trying to one up each other. Will they succeed, or will all be lost?
The story is well paced, with a good balance of action and quieter moments, and the characters develop nicely as the story progresses. Everyone learns something, including the adult characters, and I appreciated that the adults had flaws too. The art is so lush and gorgeous, and the world building is well done; we learn about the world of the island as Bix does, without info dumps. The ending leaves us hopeful for a better future; the story could continue should Robinson decide to do a sequel, but we're not left with a cliffhanger, this stands alone nicely. I enjoyed the story a lot, and would've loved it when I was a kid. Definitely recommended!
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