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A review by kindredbooks
Tessa Miyata Is No Hero by Julie Abe
5.0
I received an e-galley of Tessa Miyata is No Hero by Julie Abe from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Japanese culture, magic, adventure, new and unlikely friendships, and fantastic mythical creatures as companions - I feel like it’s to safe to say that those are the wonderful ingredients that one can expect when diving into a Julie Abe read. It surely has become what I expect now after having read all of Julie’s work to this date.
A quick summary of what to expect:
- Tessa is a 12 year old girl who is about to spend the summer in Japan with her older sisters and her grandparents
- She has a tendency to see things and people that no one else can see - something that causes trouble for her in her social life
- She accidentally releases an evil samurai, Taira Masakado, who seems hellbent on destroying Tokyo
- With the help of her grandparents’ neighbour, Jin, and a nine-tailed fox, Kit, Tessa needs to travel to the hidden city of the gods to find a way to get stronger to defeat Taira before he destroys Tokyo and everyone in the city, including Tessa’s sisters
And so begins the adventure that our unlikely hero, Tessa, goes on. She’s not trained in martial arts like Jin is, or fully accustomed to the magical world in which Kit is from. But Tessa finds herself determined to play a part in saving Tokyo. Partly because Taira Masakado would never have been released if not for her, but also because her sisters are in danger and she will do whatever it takes to protect them. I think that’s the quality that helped endear me to Tessa - the fact that despite all odds, she perseveres and tries to gain the strength to protect those she loves. Julie Abe’s stories and worlds tend to be compared to those of Ghibli and I can definitely see the comparison. While Eva Evergreen gave Kiki vibes, Tessa reminds me a lot of Chihiro from Spirited Away - both unlikely heroes who have nothing to rely on but their own inner voice to guide them, with the help of some new friends made along the way. I love a good middle grade fantasy novel in which our MC is not perfect, but endearing and you cannot help but want to root for them as they grow and develop throughout the story. I’m looking forward to reading more of Tessa’s adventures.
Japanese culture, magic, adventure, new and unlikely friendships, and fantastic mythical creatures as companions - I feel like it’s to safe to say that those are the wonderful ingredients that one can expect when diving into a Julie Abe read. It surely has become what I expect now after having read all of Julie’s work to this date.
A quick summary of what to expect:
- Tessa is a 12 year old girl who is about to spend the summer in Japan with her older sisters and her grandparents
- She has a tendency to see things and people that no one else can see - something that causes trouble for her in her social life
- She accidentally releases an evil samurai, Taira Masakado, who seems hellbent on destroying Tokyo
- With the help of her grandparents’ neighbour, Jin, and a nine-tailed fox, Kit, Tessa needs to travel to the hidden city of the gods to find a way to get stronger to defeat Taira before he destroys Tokyo and everyone in the city, including Tessa’s sisters
And so begins the adventure that our unlikely hero, Tessa, goes on. She’s not trained in martial arts like Jin is, or fully accustomed to the magical world in which Kit is from. But Tessa finds herself determined to play a part in saving Tokyo. Partly because Taira Masakado would never have been released if not for her, but also because her sisters are in danger and she will do whatever it takes to protect them. I think that’s the quality that helped endear me to Tessa - the fact that despite all odds, she perseveres and tries to gain the strength to protect those she loves. Julie Abe’s stories and worlds tend to be compared to those of Ghibli and I can definitely see the comparison. While Eva Evergreen gave Kiki vibes, Tessa reminds me a lot of Chihiro from Spirited Away - both unlikely heroes who have nothing to rely on but their own inner voice to guide them, with the help of some new friends made along the way. I love a good middle grade fantasy novel in which our MC is not perfect, but endearing and you cannot help but want to root for them as they grow and develop throughout the story. I’m looking forward to reading more of Tessa’s adventures.