This is really a great book, it just was aimed a tad too perfectly at the age level (middle grade), so didn’t quite work for me. I read half and then started to loose interest, skimmed a bunch, read the last two chapters to see what happened, and realized I probably won’t want to continue in the series. But I think a lot of kids would love this. It’s set in a fantasy world where animals talk- the main character is a panther cub who lives in a rainforest. The animals are strictly divided by those that are awake in the daytime, and those that are nocturnal. Day animals and night animals literally cannot stay awake during the time they should be sleeping. Of course each side has their suspicions and misconceptions about the opposite group of animals. Mez the panther is different because she (a night animal) can remain awake and wander around in the daytime. She is glad to escape her den (home life ruled by a very overbearing and strict Aunt) and explore, but is frightened to meet a giant snake. However the snake appears friendly and tells her she’s special- that only certain animals, born during an eclipse years ago, can cross to the opposite side of day/night. And they have special powers, and a special mission to defeat an evil ant queen that’s going to take over the rainforest. Or something. Mez gets paired up with a little frog and a bat, and they journey to a ziggurat in the middle of the jungle to meet the other eclipse animals (all different species) and stop the ant queen.
It’s all very exciting and full of challenges for Mez and her new friends to overcome. Not a simple straightforward storyline, either. As Mez gets to know the other eclipse animals, she finds out that nothing is quite what it seems. A trusted animal turns out to be a huge traitor. Another that seems silly and insecure, becomes an unexpected leader. Mez has to find out what her special power is, but she’s not sure she really wants to know! Her little frog friend is fascinated by old inscriptions and pictures carved in the walls of the ziggurat, and he’s certain they will reveal something important. At the end, the fight with the ant queen has more surprises, plus Mez encounters her family again and realizes she was wrong about some of them. I really like that this author isn’t shy on throwing twists into the story- or of killing off characters that you think are going to be around for the sequels! And I really liked the question/answer afterword, where the author tells how he travelled to the Amazon to research writing this book.
So why didn’t I finish it? Hm, some things were just a bit too much for me. The bad family situation, the way the animals talked like human kids- with their jokes, insults and exclamations. The constant twists in the plot and all the magic at the end. It just didn’t turn out to be quite the type of story I enjoy. I’m certain lots of kids will really eat this up, though.
Borrowed from the public library.
