Publisher: Delacorte Press
Format: E-ARC
Number of pages: 465 pages
Publishing: March 11th, 2025
Source: Banholzer PR
Opening Lines: "Zhi Ging leaped to the shore, pebbles scattering beneath her feet."
Hok Woh is the underwater realm of the immortals, where Zhi Ging aspires to train as an apprentice to the Silhouette's. To succeed, she must complete twelve challenging trials. The first two test her skills in perception and recall. The second book in the series begins with Zhi Ging's quest to find Reishi, a Silhouette Scout and her friends who were possessed by an evil spirit. Her travels take her beyond the school and lead to her confronting a new adversary, the Matchmakers and Sand Spirits, but just who is controlling them is under debate. Some believe it is Ami who initially was trapped under a waterfall and has questionably escaped, others believe it is the Fui Gwai or evil spirit who kidnapped the Silhouettes with Thralls, and yet some believe it is Zhi Ging acting as the Fui Gwai.
The Rise of the Sand Spirits has an exciting, action-packed opening, but slows down in the middle when Zhi Ging returns to resume her training at Hok Woh and the focus shifts to the students recovering from being frozen, and the continued drama with Iridill. I greatly admired Zhi Ging's determination to uncover the truth about the Sand Spirits, as well as her willingness to place herself in danger to assist her friends. The strengths of this book lie in its intriguing magic, the addition of Malo, a little troublemaking phoenix, the school and the challenges that the apprentice's undergo. I found myself wanting to know more about the Floating Markets and the Chinese folklore and mythology that this story is partially based off. Finally, I enjoyed that the bullying of Zhi Ging that was present at the beginning of the book began to soften, and she began to get some answers to her questions, as well as gained insight into her past. The story ends with a huge reveal, so I would recommend starting with The Fight for the Hidden Realm. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
**A huge thank you to Banholzer PR for the E-ARC**
I hope you'll check out all the other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at Greg Pattridge's blog HERE
