With just a flick of her pencil, Kiki can bring her drawings of Indian legends to life...but when a mysterious curse threatens her newly created kingdom and friends, how can she use her powers to save them?
Fresh from the exciting discovery that the beautiful kingdom and band of rebel kids she drew in her sketchbook exists in another world, Kiki Kallira has an unexpected visitor. One of those rebel kids has come into the real world to ask for her help---the river Kaveri that is Mysore's only source of water has suddenly vanished! With no water to drink or grow food, Kiki's kingdom is doomed.
Kiki returns to Mysore and quickly learns that drawing a new river doesn't work. In her search for answers, she stumbles upon the origin of the Kaveri: it's actually a princess from long ago who was transformed into water by a terrible curse! It's up to Kiki and her friends to restore the river without sacrificing the princess again---easier said than done! And with her mounting anxiety, enemies seeking to stop her, and a city growing weaker by the minute, Kiki's confidence falters. Will she be able to unravel the curse and save her kingdom before it's too late?
Mental health in general and anxiety in particular are much more common topics now than they used to be, but there's still a long way to go. A lot of what's available reads like a thinly veiled textbook, which is why books like this, where anxiety is an aspect of the plot but isn't the whole plot, are so important.
There's also the fact that these stories are based on Indian folklore. Despite being a folklore nut as a child, I don't know much about anything that isn't European; the books simply weren't available at the time, and I love that the world is opening up to experience stories from other cultures. As I say, I don't know enough about Indian folklore to know how closely Kiki's adventures are based on them, but either way they're fabulous in their own right.
I don't want to spoil things for a reader, but the realisations Kiki comes to throughout the story are fantastic. I dearly hope there'll be more to read in this series, as it's one of the best out there at the moment.
Kiki Kallira Conquers a Curse publishes on the 26th of May, 2022 in the UK (top image) and published on the 17th of May, 2022 in the US (lower image). I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.
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