APRIL 2023 - AudioFile
Sura Siu's narration consistently matches the spirit of this fantastical story. Nature-loving Plum is sent from her grandparents' farm to the Guardian Academy. There she will train as a Guardian who will transform into an animal and protect the natural world. If she fails, she will be sent home. The bullies in this story are sarcastic and patronizing, and the instructors, who teach meditation, among other skills, are serene. Plum clearly deals with the bittersweet moments of missing her family and the frustration of learning new skills. Amid conflict, higher-pitched tones capture the youthful wonder Plum and her peers feel throughout their adventures. L.M. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
01/23/2023
Soontornvat (The Tryout) deftly combines a Thai-inspired setting, familiar fantasy tropes, and themes of nature conservation to craft a mystical series kickoff. Tween Plum, who’s grown up on her grandparents’ farm in the Santipap Islands, can hardly believe that she has been chosen to become a Guardian, part of a group of magical animalian shape-shifters who protect and nurture the natural world. She’s soon sent to Guardian Academy on Lotus Island to train for her first test: discovering her animal shape. At school, Plum faces bullying based on her rural upbringing, and forges an immediate friendship with knowledgeable, take-charge classmate Cherry. Despite her quickly improving abilities, however, Plum is unsure whether she will be able to unleash her inner power. Plum’s struggles with her self-worth are compassionately wrought, and her unique ability to communicate with animals and plants suitably plays into the narrative’s focus on environmentalism. Descriptive scene setting and humorous dialogue offer a solid foundation for interpersonal conflicts, while Hong’s animated grayscale illustrations elevate Soontornvat’s leisurely unfolding, intriguing Guardian mythos. Ages 8–12. Agent: Stephanie Fretwell-Hill, Red Fox Literary. (Mar.)
From the Publisher
Praise for The Guardian Test:
A 2023 Junior Library Guild Selection
An Indie Next Pick
“With a Thailand-inspired setting, magic rooted in nature and the environment, and whimsical illustrations, this is a promising beginning to a series ready to introduce readers to both the fantasy genre and a beautiful and mysterious new world.” —Kirkus Reviews
Kirkus Reviews
2022-12-24
Does Plum have what it takes to become a shape-shifting Guardian?
Raised by her grandparents since her parents died in a boating accident, Plum has spent her childhood learning about plants and animals. She hasn’t ventured far from her island home, part of the Santipap Islands, but when she is accepted into the prestigious Guardian Academy, where she will train to become a Guardian along with other children from all walks of life, her grandparents encourage her to go, certain that her future holds more than their little island can provide. At the Academy, Plum’s tendency to talk to plants and animals strikes some of the students as strange, though she also begins to make friends. In the Santipap Islands, Guardians have the power to shift into an animal shape to better protect the land, and Plum’s first test is to find her own animal shape—but will she succeed, or will she be forced to return home a failure? With a Thailand-inspired setting, magic rooted in nature and the environment, and whimsical illustrations, this is a promising beginning to a series ready to introduce readers to both the fantasy genre and a beautiful and mysterious new world. All characters are somewhat loosely implied to be Thai due to character and place names.
Themes of friendship and environmentalism combine in this magical school story. (map) (Fantasy. 7-11)
