The moon was shining from somewhere above and behind me, bathing the fox in cool silver light and casting a magical glow on the entire yard. As the fox stared at me, I was seized by this strange feeling that it knew who I was. Like it knew I was watching, and it was waiting for me. And then—­I swear I’m not lying—­it nodded at me and patted the ground with its paw. Yes, you, it seemed to be saying. Come out here at once. I need to talk to you.

Chapter 1

Introduction

Welcome back! This was a really fun book that I’ve held on to for a long time but can finally talk about now that the publishing date is near. NetGalley has come through again with another really fun book in exchange for an honest review, and once again I am so glad they did. This was my introduction to Misa Sugiura‘s work, and I’m thrilled to see that she has more work for us to enjoy!

In this story, Momo Arashima is on a quest after her mother falls extremely ill. Momo has to deal with the fact that her sometimes-spacey mom is actually a Shinto goddess and that she needs Momo’s help to heal the island she left to raise Momo as a human. Along with Niko the fox spirit and former-best-friend Danny, it’s up to Momo to save the world. Let’s dive in to what makes this book so great.

The Good Stuff

The very first thing that caught my attention with this one was the cover. A Japanese-American kiddo wielding a sword? I am fully invested! It can be really tough to find stories from Asian-American perspectives told in contemporary contexts, although this has been massively improving over recent years. From the beginning Sugiura and Momo don’t shy away from telling us how it is – Momo is not a popular kid and is widely considered to be deeply weird. It doesn’t help that her former best friend, Danny Haragan, has abandoned her for the in-crowd and popularity. Add a mother with a chronic illness that makes Momo be the parent most of the time and you have a kid who’s dealing with a lot in the day-to-day.

These characters are amazing! Sugiura has done a beautiful job sharing Momo, Danny, and Niko the fox with us. You can’t help but root for them while getting to know each of them better. Sugiura in particular does a fantastic job showing how Momo and Danny repair their relationship on their adventure even while fighting mythological Japanese monsters. Momo’s perspective is the predominant voice and the story doesn’t shift to Danny or Niko’s interior worlds, but this isn’t a detriment at all – instead, we grow with Momo as she comes to realizations about the people around her and how their talents and care are essential to her mission to save her Mom and the world.

Sugiura’s writing is well-paced and holds you throughout the book. I’m always a big fan of fantasy, so if it’s not your thing then this may not vibe with you as much. That said, this is definitely worth giving a try! The fantastic setting doesn’t take away from themes of self-discovery and self-awareness that we see develop throughout the book, and Sugiura even includes backmatter to explain potential new terminologies to readers along with why she characterized certain divine entities the way she did. There are also a lot of hints that Sugiura drops throughout the story that make re-reading a lot of fun. The ending is also fantastic – without spoilers, it sets up future visits to Momo’s world in a really exciting way. I’m so excited to see where Sugiura takes us next.

In Summary

This book was so much fun and I’m so glad I get to share it with you. This book is highly recommended. Momo Arashima Steals the Sword of the Wind is written by Misa Sugiura and published by Labyrinth Road, an imprint of Penguin Random House. It’s available for preorder now from Penguin Random House, linked here. It gets released on February 28, 2023. As always, gichi miigwech for reading!