What do you do when you are 11-years-old and your mom disappears in China?  You go and find her along with your imaginary friends!

Moon Princess is a fantastical tale of Sienna and her imaginary spaniel, Rufus.  Her mom, an art historian, goes missing in China.  Then a few months later, Sienna and her father move to Shanghai.  When Sienna discovers that her mom’s assistant is not so friendly, she runs away.  Meeting up with new friends, both real and imaginary, on the way, Sienna sets out on a journey to rescue her mom.

The characters in this short novel are lovely.  Sienna is written just as an 11-year-old should be.  The imaginary animals are sassy, brave, and at the same time protective.  Feng and Zou round out the cast of good guys.  The villains in this book are expertly done for young readers as well.  Just enough bad to be bad, but not enough that parents need to worry about scary.

This is a great read for the younger audiences and is sure to entertain boys and girls alike–and maybe their parents too!

This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Chicken House

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  1 religious exclamation.

Violence and Gore:  Man brandishes knife; 2 and 3 page scenes of imaginary animals fighting each other (no blood or gore); imaginary dragon accidentally burns character’s hands; verbal threat to get even; rock falls on character’s head knocking unconscious; character trips culprit trying to flee.

Sex and Nudity:  None

Mature Subject Matter:

Death of a parent, abandonment, robbery, forgery.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

None