School Library Journal Starred Review (Wed Nov 01 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Gr 4 Up —Twelve-year old Melony Yoshimura is tired of being limited by her strict, overprotective Japanese parents. She has no close friends, uncool clothes, and no cell phone, unlike her American classmates. Her loneliness abates when new girl Chlo&5; shows up and wins over Melony's parents with her good manners and Japanese last name. For her 12th birthday, Melony wishes for freedom, and says she'd sacrifice anything to get it. Then, the arrival of a mysterious package brings an Amanjaku (a shape-shifting, malevolent spirit) into her home; it persuades Melony to keep its presence a secret, and masquerades as New Chlo&5; when Real Chlo&5; isn't around. Melony gets pulled into a spiral of increasingly bad decisions—vandalism, deceit, and keeping a stolen phone—that culminate into the Amanjaku stealing her body and transforming her into an owl. Melony's sense of self ebbs away, until she only knows herself as Owl, and it takes an unexpected figure from her parents' past to help her reclaim herself, make amends, and defeat the Amanjaku. Melony's first-person narration is eminently readable; tweens will chuckle at her wry observations and sympathize with her culture clashes with parents. Brown builds uneasy tension as Melony is the last to understand the cost of her newfound freedom and selfishness. The resolution is ambiguous yet positive, and an author's note discusses the original folktale on which the novel is based. VERDICT An engaging tale of morality, friendship, and identity that blends relatable tween angst with deliciously creepy Japanese folklore. Highly recommended for middle grade collections.—Ashleigh Williams

ALA Booklist (Wed Jul 05 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Melony Yoshimura has parents of the helicopter variety, loving but highly protective to the point where the newly minted 12-year-old isn't allowed to ride her bike alone and has never experienced a sleepover. Tired of being babied, Melony makes a birthday wish for freedom, which has unforeseen consequences, as wishes often do. At first, it seems she finds some liberty in her friendship with new-girl Chloë Yoshida, but then the Amanjaku arrives on Melony's doorstep, and everything changes. This shape-shifting, evil spirit is one of the reasons Melony's parents moved from Japan to the U.S., hoping to leave its harmful influence behind them. However, Melony is susceptible to its suggestions, which lead her to commit increasingly unkind acts that, nevertheless, chafe against her morals, which readers will hope can triumph over the insidious Amanjaku. Brown takes the Japanese folktale "The Melon Princess and the Amanjaku" and updates it here for American readers, many of whom will identify with Melony's middle-school tribulations and desire for independence. A fresh take on the "be careful what you wish for" motif.

Horn Book (Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Sixth grader Melony tries really hard to please her overprotective Japanese immigrant parents and be the good girl they expect her to be, but inside she's raging against their strict rules. Her mother won't let Melony have a phone but does decide she's old enough now at twelve to hear the real reason the family left Japan for Oregon years ago: apparently, they were running from an evil spirit. Melony scoffs, thinking it's just a silly story -- until the creature shows up at their house while her parents are out. Though terrified at first, Melony quickly falls under the Amanjaku's spell; the wily shape-shifting demon somehow knows she's yearning for adventure and freedom -- and a phone! -- and provides her with everything she desires, including revenge on the mean boys at school. Although the Amanjaku convinces Melony that it's all harmless, she slowly realizes that plenty of people are getting hurt, especially her new friend Chloe. The demon has become more and more dangerous; is it too late for Melony to fight back and save everyone? Brown's (Dream, Annie, Dream, rev. 3/22) eerie tale is a suspenseful, just-scary-enough story of the supernatural; the author's note reveals how she incorporated elements of her favorite Japanese folktale, "The Melon Princess and the Amanjaku," into the novel.

Kirkus Reviews

A shape-shifting demon takes over an Oregon girl's life in this chilling tale.Twelve-year-old Melony is sure life would be better if her strict, overprotective parents gave her the same freedoms as other kids, not to mention cool clothes and a new phone, and if her real name, Uriko, wasn't fodder for bullies. Melony's parents have lived in the U.S. for years, and she hates the way they constantly talk about Japan and how things were different there. So Melony fights back by being the opposite of the "good girl" she's supposed to be-and it feels amazing! Unknowingly, this opens the door for an Amanjaku, a demon who feeds on a person's most base desires. At first, Melony is drawn in by its playful nature. But as time goes on, its horrifying true nature begins to sour everything good, including Melony herself. Can she realize the error of her ways and save her family and friends before it's too late? Based on the Japanese folktale "Urikohime to Amanjaku," or "The Melon Princess and the Amanjaku," this modern Japanese American version is woven throughout with intergenerational, as well as cultural, tension and specificity. This well-paced story uses foreshadowing to create suspense and build anticipation while exploring themes of independence and autonomy so important to tween development. Blurring the lines of reality, it relies on psychological elements, rather than leaning on blood and gore, before ultimately leading to a safe, comforting homecoming.A satisfyingly scary story about pushing boundaries. (Fiction. 9-12)

Publishers Weekly (Thu Oct 03 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

Brown (Dream, Annie, Dream) explores intergenerational trauma and cultural identity in this eerie interpretation of the Japanese folktale “The Melon Princess and the Amanjaku.” On Melony Yoshimura’s 12th birthday, her Japanese emigrant parents tell her about the shape-shifting demon spirit Amanjaku, the reason they left Japan for Oregon. But Melony doesn’t care about the Amanjaku or her parents’ memories of Japan; she wants to be like other American kids who have smartphones and get to attend sleepovers. That night, Melony makes a birthday wish for freedom from her overprotective parents. Soon after, she meets the Amanjaku, a “fuzzy gray creature—kind of like a person in a wolf suit,” who offers to grant her wishes. But even as things in Melony’s life seem to be looking up, she begins to realize that her relationship with the Amanjaku portends disaster. Brown conveys practical lessons on morality via an empathetic protagonist; by interweaving Melony’s contemporary struggles surrounding autonomy and independence with the origin text’s foundational narrative, the author delivers an evenly paced speculative tale whose anticipatory atmosphere sows tension. Ages 8–12. Agent: Penny Moore, Aevitas Creative Management. (July)