The Guardian Test (Legends of Lotus Island #1)

by Christina Soontornvat (Author) Kevin Hong (Illustrator)

Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade

From two-time Newbery honor recipient Christina Soontornvat comes a compelling new young middle grade fantasy series for readers who love stories about animals, magic, and kids like them embracing their power to change the world.


Young Plum is shocked to discover that she's been accepted to the Guardian Academy on Lotus Island, an elite school where kids learn how to transform into Guardians, magical creatures who are sworn to protect the natural world. The Guardian masters teach Plum and her friends how to communicate with animals and how to use meditation to strengthen their minds and bodies. All the kids also learn to fight, so they can protect the defenseless if needed. To her dismay, Plum struggles at school. While her classmates begin to transform into amazing creatures, Plum can't even seem to magic up a single feather! If she can't embrace her inner animal form soon, she'll have to leave school ― and lose the first group of real friends she's ever known.

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Kirkus

Themes of friendship and environmentalism combine in this magical school story.

ALA/Booklist

An enchanting eco-fable sure to intrigue and delight.

Publishers Weekly

Soontornvat (The Tryout) deftly combines a Thai-inspired setting, familiar fantasy tropes, and themes of nature conservation to craft a mystical series kickoff. Tween Plum, who's grown up on her grandparents' farm in the Santipap Islands, can hardly believe that she has been chosen to become a Guardian, part of a group of magical animalian shape-shifters who protect and nurture the natural world. She's soon sent to Guardian Academy on Lotus Island to train for her first test: discovering her animal shape. At school, Plum faces bullying based on her rural upbringing, and forges an immediate friendship with knowledgeable, take-charge classmate Cherry. Despite her quickly improving abilities, however, Plum is unsure whether she will be able to unleash her inner power. Plum's struggles with her self-worth are compassionately wrought, and her unique ability to communicate with animals and plants suitably plays into the narrative's focus on environmentalism. Descriptive scene setting and humorous dialogue offer a solid foundation for interpersonal conflicts, while Hong's animated grayscale illustrations elevate Soontornvat's leisurely unfolding, intriguing Guardian mythos. Ages 8-12. Agent: Stephanie Fretwell-Hill, Red Fox Literary. (Mar.)

Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.
Christina Soontornvat
Christina Soontornvat is a three-time Newbery Honoree, a Sibert Honoree, and a Kirkus Prize winner. Her highly acclaimed backlist includes the middle grade books The Tryout, The Last Mapmaker, A Wish in the Dark, and All Thirteen; the picture book To Change a Planet; and the chapter book series Diary of an Ice Princess and Legends of Lotus Island. Christina lives in Austin, Texas, with her family. You can learn more about her work at soontornvat.com.
Classification
-
ISBN-13
9781339041032
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Scholastic Press
Publication date
June 04, 2024
Series
Legends of Lotus Island
BISAC categories
JUV039060 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Friendship
JUV037000 - Juvenile Fiction | Fantasy & Magic
JUV002000 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | General
Library of Congress categories
Animals
Magic
Fantasy fiction

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