Book review - Theo Tan and the Fox Spirit

 

Title: Theo Tan and the Fox Spirit

Author: Jesse Q. Sutanto

Genre: fantasy/magical realism

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                     Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee

Rating:

 

pretty fun with decent original elements

 

Summary (provided by publisher): Theo Tan doesn't want a spirit companion. He just wants to be a normal American kid, playing video games, going to conventions, and using cirth pendants to cast his spells like everyone else. But, when his older brother dies, Theo ends up inheriting Jamie's fox spirit, Kai.
Kai isn't happy about this either. Theo is nothing like Jamie, and the two of them have never gotten along. But, when they realize the mysterious journal Jamie left Theo is filled with clues and secret codes, it's clear that something strange was going on with Jamie's internship at Reapling Corp.
But the only way onto the campus is the highly competitive "Know Your Roots" summer camp program, a celebration of Chinese and Indian cultures designed to help connect students with their heritage. Theo and Kai will have to put aside their differences long enough to honor Jamie's last wishes, or the mystery he died for will remain unsolved forever...

My opinion: At first glance, this looks like just another Percy Jackson clone. And I won't deny that they share some literary DNA. Even so, Sutanto has done a fair bit to make both the plot and the character stand out from the pack. For one thing, magic is not something that Theo falls into by surprise. It's a fully integrated part of his world. It's only his relationship to that magic that changes as the novel progresses. And Theo does not embrace his adventure or stumble through it because he has no alternative. He fights his growing knowledge of the spirit realm, resents it's intrusion on his normal life. He isn't a noble, heroic character. Theo is selfish and petty. In other words: he's a normal kid who has to learn to look beyond his own interests. There's solid character development across the board here. Add in exploration of mythology and spirits that extends beyond just the basics and a genuine meditation on the sliding scale between "good" and "evil" and there's enough to entertain a kid and give them something to chew on after they're done reading. The plot may be a bit predictable but it doesn't harm the entertainment value.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley