This is a wonderful and extremely important book in the MG age range.

Kiki suffers with anxiety and in order to deal with it, she draws and creates a wonderful world based on the Hindu folklore told to her by her family as she was growing up. However, she gets sucked into it this world and has to fight for its survival. This story is steeped in the wonderful Indian stories and provides a great visual for Kiki.

However, for me, the story was secondary to the representation shown in this book. Mental health and anxiety is not widely recognised in MG and the way that it was portrayed here was beautifully and sensitively done and certainly shows it in a manner that some children will feel “seen” whilst reading it. Throw in the fact that it is a story that portrays a different culture and the rep is amazing and not done in a tokenisation manner.

This is definitely a book I want to put on the shelves in my classroom. Thank you for the arc.

𝐾𝑖𝑘𝑖 𝐾𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑟𝑎 𝐵𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑘𝑠 𝑎 𝐾𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑑𝑜𝑚 by Sangu Mandanna is truly magical. I'm beyond happy I have read this as it took me back to the various myths and legends I had read about as a child.

I couldn't help but initially see the similarity to the Narnia series of disappearing from our world into one so fantastical that it cannot seem real but dare I say it? 𝐾𝑖𝑘𝑖 𝐾𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑟𝑎 𝐵𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑘𝑠 𝑎 𝐾𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑑𝑜𝑚 is far better than Narnia in my humble opinion because of the world Kiki has brought to life and the way Sangu Mandanna describes it. I wished (even if I were facing demons and really annoyed Gods) that I were able to slip into a tear between worlds alongside Kiki and her ancestor because the world-building of Mysore is just that good.

Mahishasura is a buffalo Asura or demon in Hinduism and Kiki after recalling the tales her Mother told her growing up, has drawn her version of the mythical town blending recollections from her visits to India and modern aspects of London and I just loved the concept that is just how a teenager whose muse has taken control would lose hours on. I couldn't help but giggle to myself that Kiki was experiencing all of this whilst dressed in rainbow unicorn pj's as she's been drawn into her world at three in the morning - and is annoyed she forgot her shoes!

Kiki is someone who is easy to relate to, she suffers from anxiety that is both frustrating and all-consuming and I think it is that which makes her feel real. She may well be the heroine of the book but she isn't infallible and she's human. Kiki's anxiety plays a part in her day to day life and both children and adults can relate to her second-guessing whether she did something or not and then her mind blowing the initial thought out of control so for an example, an unlocked front door could lead to death by stray goose in London. I loved how we see her begin to believe in herself, to convince herself that she was more than her anxiety and her questioning whether she has done something etcetera.

𝐾𝑖𝑘𝑖 𝐾𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑟𝑎 𝐵𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑘𝑠 𝑎 𝐾𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑑𝑜𝑚 is a book I didn't want to end and was wonderful to read mixing Hindu Gods wonderfully with a modern tale of bravery and facing your greatest fear. It's a story to read aloud because as an adult, you will be drawn into it just as much as your children are!

I read Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom by @SanguMandanna on #NetGalley & really enjoyed it. I love the imagined kingdom & how it came to life, the characters & their decisions are wonderfully written, & the insight into an anxious mind is brilliant! #UKMG @HCGFictionTeam https://t.co/WVcOcuS7c4

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Children's Group for my eARC of Kiki Kallira. All views and opinions discussed here are my own.

This is a wonderfully diverse and new fantasy novel; exploring Indian myths and legends, gods and goddesses, and with plenty tasty descriptions of foods thrown in there. Kiki is a wonderful main character; she has her struggles with anxiety although doesn't quite understand that that is what it is. I think it's so positive and refreshing to put such serious issues into MG novels. Mental health isn't something that just affects teenagers and up, there are plenty of children that experience a range of mental health issues and so it's really important that they get to see themselves represented in books and realise they're not alone. The characters and world are also wonderfully diverse with an easy representation that children would find easy to follow and immerse themselves in. Again it's so refreshing to have diverse literature aimed at MG readers; both for children to see themselves in the books and for other children to learn about different cultures.

The book is a real easy reader that you'll just fly through. I do feel that some big topics were almost brushed over (spoiler redacted) and so even though this is a MG I think this could have done with a bit more focus. Also, I was so frustrated by Lej throughout this book I wanted to scream; I found him horrible in his actions towards Kiki (spoiler redacted) it just let the book down for me a little.

Aside from that though, I think this would be a great and diverse read for young readers to explore a little action, adventure, fantasy, and legend!

Out 8th July 2021.