BookView Review rated it:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Pub date 28 Feb 2023 

ISBN 9780997853216

Price $12.95 (USD) Paperback

Elvia Hill is tired of her overly cautious parents’ protectiveness. When an opportunity arises to accompany them on a wildlife safari, Elvia is more than excited. But the Hills’ worst nightmare unfolds after Elvia disappears, apparently snatched and eaten by a lion. Search for the young girl comes up empty because Elvia is on Urth, a distant two-mooned planet, having an adventure of a lifetime. But a terrible crisis unfolds, ending Elvia’s exciting adventure. She must complete her mission if she wants to return home. Ballard’s sci-fi charmer is deliciously atmospheric, building a vividly  imaginative world that gently explores familial ties, friendship, courage, adventure, and curiosity. Middle-grade readers, particularly girls, will find Elvia’s earnestness, bravado, and impulsive ways impossible to resist. The secondary cast is equally entertaining, especially the compassionate, fickle, and inconsistent Lacie and the rule-breaker and imprudent Rats. Elvia’s overprotective parents’ desperate search for their daughter imparts heaviness to the otherwise fun narrative. Ballard successfully captures the emotional ennui of tweens who are struggling with anxiety and riddled with doubt. This installment is pretty much standalone, though reading the series in order will help readers to fully appreciate and follow different storylines. A thoroughly engaging and evocative tale.

***