Raffa is a gifted apothecary who uses his synesthesia-inflected intuition to make the best poultices and tonics. When an injured bat flies in his window, he's determined to prove himself to his parents, so he and his cousin, Garith, seek out a legendary healing scarlet vine. When he uses it on the bat, he discovers an unexpected consequence: his bat can talk! Meanwhile, Raffa's uncle is summoned to work in the fancy city apothecary, and he and Garith move away. Raffa sneaks out to visit them, and once there, he's wowed by their fancy new digs, though the sheen dulls when he learns about their troubling secret project. Though most of the pivotal events of Park's series opener occur toward the end, the world building and rich characters, not to mention a bevy of comical talking animals, will lure in middle-grade fantasy fans, and the gentle message of conservation and kindness to all creatures will resonate with young animal lovers. A cliff-hanger ending leaves plenty to cover in the forthcoming follow-up.

Gr 4-7 Park's newest foray into fiction is a switch from the historical into the fantastical. In this, the first installment in a trilogy, readers meet Raffa Santana. The young teen protagonist is following in his parents' footsteps and taking on the challenges of apothecary work. Raffa has a deeply profound intuition when it comes to botanical/chemical work. His extreme ability leads him to form uniquely deep relationships with special friends and creatures from the Forest of Wonder. The story is written with skill and well paced. The real beauty in Park's work lies in the relationship she creates between Raffa and Echo the bat. The story contains some high-intensity action scenes that will hook readers. The world-building is intensive; there is clearly a multilayered history and culture underlying the richly detailed setting. This story would be great as a way to create some interest and engagement with students studying chemistry or earth science. VERDICT A strong addition by a wonderfully talented author to diversify middle grade fantasy collections. Chad Lane, Tulip Grove Elementary School, MD

Yearning to use his apothecary talent to create cures, Raffa discovers a new vine that gives his patient, a wounded bat, the power of speech. But Raffa's cousin Garith takes the vine to the city, where it's exploited to train animals to attack humans. The plot never works up much menace, but Raffa's dreams and hopes will earn him readers' sympathies.