I love a family focused story with an animal sidekick. The inclusion of Filipino mythology brings you on a magical journey you won't forget.

I enjoyed this. I did find some parts of it confusing but in the end it all came together. An original work and a good standalone.

This standalone novel from Roshani Chokshi is a wonderful middle grade fantasy with Filipino mythology.

Corazon lives with her aunt Tina because her parents died several years ago. However, they visit her every Saturday for dinner because her mother fashioned a soul key years ago. Tina is a powerful babaylan, and tells Corazon she will train her when her magic awakes. Corazon plans on bringing her parents back as soon as she is as powerful as Tina.

One night, at the Midnight Bridge market, a vengeful spirit tricks Corazon, and she loses her spirit key. She must go on a quest to form a new key, with one of the ghost's possessions, and she only has three days to do it before she loses the key forever. She doesn't go alone, however. Her gecko/alligator (if only in his own mind) companion Saso is with her, and they meet a ghost along the way who wants to be a reporter in the afterlife and wants to come along to see the action.

I love learning about other people's cultural heritage, and this book delivers on that score. Saso steals the show time and again, leading me to laugh a lot at his antics and dialogue. Chokshi shares the story of the vengeful ghost as Corazon visits different gods to receive their blessings, creating some sympathy for her plight. All in all, this is a very enjoyable story!

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy of this book!

Simply fabulous stand-alone fantasy coming of age novel. Equally poignant and mystical, I couldn’t stop reading The Spirit Glass once I picked it up. The depictions of grief are some of the best renderings of the understated dull ache of extended mourning I have ever seen. I lost my own mother a year and a half ago and I have never felt so seen and so assured that my mourning experience was natural and normal as when I read this wonderful fairy tale

Such a heartwarming story about love and grief! Determined to get her only connection to her deceased parents back, 12-year old Corazon goes through the spirit realms to awaken her magic and lay the ghost who stole her key to rest. Along the way she learns so much about herself and the magic that is within her. I enjoyed the points of view from the mirrors and reflection surfaces in the story that alluded to more going on with Corazon's journey. My favorite character was Corazon's gecko companion, Saso, he definitely kept me laughing.
Thanks NetGalley!

I received a free copy of this book thanks to Netgalley and Disney Publishing Worldwide; all opinions expressed are my own!

The Spirit Glass is a delightful story of magic, love, loss, and moving on. It reminds me mostly of Spirited Away, though in this story it is grief that propels Corazon through her journey of identity. Highly recommend this story to children capable of reading chapter books and adults who like a good fairy tale!

Ever since Roshani Chokshi kicked off Rick Riordan Presents back in 2018, I’ve been completely taken by her writing and her presence. Aru Shah continues to be my favorite series out of this imprint, so when I learned we’d be getting a new book from Rosh, I was over the moon with excitement.

The stakes are high and the mysteries are deep in The Spirit Glass. If you loved Roshani’s first series centering on Aru Shah, you’ll find plenty to love here despite the fact that it’s a whole new world with a brand new heroine taking the lead. The writing reminds me more of what I experienced in Rosh’s debut adult novel, The Last Tale of the Flower Bride, though the adventure and humor are reminiscent of her other RRP series.

Throughout the story, Corazon must think on her feet and look deep within herself to solve the problems set out before her. Where she could’ve taken the easy road, she chooses to put in the hard work to ensure she gives everyone she meets a fair trade. And if that’s not the definition of a hero, I don’t know what is.

At the end of the day, this book is the perfect balance of magical adventure, side-splitting comedy, spooky backdrops, tasty food (a la Graci Kim's Gifted Clans series), and emotional resonance. From the start, it pulls you in and keeps you hooked until you’re madly flipping the pages to learn all the secrets they hold. With The Spirit Glass, Roshani once again proves she’s a master story-teller who knows how to weave her own kind of magic.

Roshani Chokshi is a brilliant writer. She really brings her stories to life through myths, fairy tales, folklore, and cultural insight. Her Aru Shah series, of which I read the first book, was fantastic, and so was The Star-Touched Queen. In The Spirit Glass, we meet Corazon, who wants to acquire her babaylan powers in order to bring her parents back from the dead. The adventures she goes on and the characters she meets all have unique personalities and distinctive parts in the story. Her "baby crocodile," Saso, was one of the highlights of the story for me. He was hilarious and extremely loyal. I enjoyed this book very much, despite the intended audience being middle grade kids.

An exciting entry in the Rick Riordan Presents imprint, exploring Filipino culture and folklore. The story is, as usual, a middle grade adventure and a quest steeped in mythology, but this one is a bit deeper emotionally than many others in this genre. It's melancholy in a lovely way; quite sad, but ultimately hopeful.

Thank you to NetGalley and Disney Publishing for this DRC.
Corazon, a young girl with dead but not really dead parents, a quest through the spirit world, and various Filipino mythologies are woven together for an epic adventure. What more you could you want? If it’s written by Roshani Chokshi, nothing. Another fantastic novel that showcases all the angst and self-doubt from our pre-teen years, and all the bravery and compassion we wish we had.


#RickRiordanPresentsTheSpiritGlass #NetGalley

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this novel. 4/5 stars.

I freaking LOVE Rick Riordan Presents novels, and this was no exception. While this is low middle grade (the MC is 12), it deals with grief and trauma and death and there are so many beautiful one-liners and quips from Saso where I didn't want to put this down and also didn't really feel like it was middle grade.

Set in a beautiful, magical landscape of spirits and ghosts, Corozan must find a way to send a spirit back home while also dealing with the death of her parents a few years ago. She's a magical being though, but her magic is locked inside of her and she doesn't know why. She also has her anito, her animal, Saso, who is just an absolute delight. I really loved the mythology and the characters and everything else in this.

I didn't like how it ended though, because it's a standalone but so many things were opened up in the last few pages where I just want....more? I also think some of the timing and the plot was meh, but I also loved this.

(4.5/5 stars)

roshani chokshi has become an author where if she writes the middle grade fantasy, i will read it. after the completion of her aru shah series last year, the spirit glass confirms for me that she can write any character and any magic well. corazon, saso and leo are a perfectly balanced trio that have an unforgettable adventure together. after her parents' deaths, corazon is holding on as tightly as she can to whatever she has left of them: her remaining living family in her aunt tina, her parents' ghosts, and the key her mother gave her that she wears around her neck. but when the key is taken by a spirit and she risks losing her parents forever, corazon must brave the spirit world to get them back, despite not yet having a lot of magic of her own. she's kind, thoughtful, determined and brave. paired with saso, her hilarious and kinda-sorta bloodthirsty companion gecko, and leo, a spirit boy who wants to be a part of a story and hopefully find his own, the three embark on an adventure full of danger, bargains, family reunions and citrus juice.

the story is well-paced up until the end, where the reveals (yes, more than one) start to come slower and the end feels a bit rushed. chokshi is witty, heartfelt, haunting and funny with her writing - the spirit glass POV pages and poems caught me off guard with their beauty. an impressive standalone fantasy for any children's library!

Three years ago Corazon Lopez’ parents died. Since then, she has lived with her magical, emotionally distant babaylan aunt and her spirit lizard companion, Saso. As a babaylan as well, Corazon’s powers should include being able to guard the boundaries between human and spirit worlds. Two days before her twelfth birthday, however, she has no indication of her powers emerging. Things take a turn for the worst when a vengeful ghost steals her soul key, a powerful token that was supposed to help her save her parents. Soon, the Library of Mirrors, a place with portals to the different realms, begins showing warning signs that something is wrong. With the help of her lizard companion, Corazon must dive into family secrets to find a way to rebalance the worlds before it’s too late. Can she stop the vengeful ghost? Can she reset the balance in the realms?

The plot is well-developed, engaging, and magical. The world building is well-done and draws the readers into the story. Corazon and Saso are likable and easy to relate to. Fans of mythology, fantasy, adventure, and other Rick Riordan presents books will want to pick this one up. Recommended for most library collections.

The Spirit Glass is a fitting addition to the Rick Riordan Presents set of books, both for the inclusion of Filipino mythology and the story itself, which is beautifully written and contains several twists.

Corazon is nearly 12 years 0ld; she lives with her aunt Tina, following the death of her parents in a car crash. She is a babaylan, a mystical magic user, waiting impatiently for her twelfth birthday, when her powers will awaken fully and she will be able to train her abilities properly. Like all babaylan, she has an anito, a spirit guide; hers takes the form of a gecko, a happy, loud-mouthed, very confident gecko at that. Corazon is visited every Saturday evening by the ghosts of her mother and father, who come for dinner and stay through the evening, through the auspices of her spirit key, a mystical device that allows them to visit. But on a trip to the Midnight Bridge, a different ghost steals the spirit key, and Corazon must go on a quest to replace it, or she'll never be able to see her parents again.

This is, in some ways, a very fun novel, especially with Saso, Corazon's anito, which provides comic relief throughout the novel. In some ways, it is very solemn, because woven all through the book are references to Corazon's deceased parents, and her desire to bring them back to life once she comes into her powers. But even with that, there is a lightness and hope to this story than is very engaging. I can only hope that Corazon will have another adventure in the future - and soon. Recommended for ages middle school to adult.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

At this book in the game we all know my love for Rosh's books. This was no exception. Totally loved it - Corazon was a great character and we all know how I feel about a good anito (familiar); and let me tell you Saso is a character!! This was such a great story - definitely helpful in dealing with loss. I love a good book exploring other cultures. If you were a fan of Aru and the potatoes you will definitely be a fan of Corazon, Leo and Saso.

This book is AMAZING! It may be my top book of 2023! This is a Filipino mythological quest by a quirky and haunted orphan who has a snarky gecko sidekick who has delusions of grandeur and thinks he's a crocodile. If anything, read it for Saso - for such a small gecko, he has a BIG personality and his sassy comments made this book a joy to read!

Corazon lives with her eccentric and standoffish Aunt Tina. She wants nothing more than to start her training as a Babaylan, but her powers have yet to awaken. Using a soul key, she can see her departed parents for Saturday night dinners, but once she gets her powers, Corazon aims to bring her parents back permanently. And then.... a vengeful ghost steals her soul key and she must go on a quest to forge a new one and get her old one back!

I like how this novel has all these different threads that tie together perfectly at the end. Everything comes full circle. I love the mythology and inspired by history aspects woven in as well. I can never resist a female MC who gets a quest either!

Highly recommend!

A fun fantasy adventure featuring filipino mythology that will delight readers of the author's Aru Shah and other international fantasy novels featured by Rick Riordan's imprint. Corazon is waiting none too patiently for her magic to come to light so she can begin training with her aunt to be a healer and spirit guide. When that happens Corazon is convinced she will be able to bring back her parents from the spirit world. Her plans are thwarted by a ghost with a score to settle and it will take all of Corazon's bravery, untapped magic and some help from her sassy companion gecko Saso. The belly laughs thanks to Saso are many, the fantasy world is well developed and lively and the big heart of Corazon will thrill every reader. Perfect for the middle school audience and one that would be enjoyed by families. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

I enjoyed this book. I really enjoyed the levity that Saso brought to the plotline throughout the story. Their thirst for vengeance and destruction, while loving and supporting Corazon was just the perfect touch. Corazon’s character herself is super strong and you are rooting for her to be able to complete her mission. This book is exactly what you are looking for in cultural mythology. It gives you enough background that if you are not familiar with that culture’s myths or creatures, you feel confident in recognizing them by the end of the book. I was able to easily follow the plotline and didn’t get lost because I didn’t have a background in Filipino myths.
Thank you to Disney Publishing, Rick Riordan Presents, and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy.

5 stars!!!

I was introduced to Roshani Chokshi through The Gilded Wolves, which I thought was okay, though I liked the second book, The Silvered Serpents more. It made me pick up the Aru Shah series, which I loved. Aru Shah was the series that introduced me to Hindu Mythology (other than what I had picked up from yoga), and I really enjoyed it. I didn't know if I would like a heroine as much as Aru Shah, but as soon as I started reading this, I was hooked. So much that I ended up reading it in one sitting. I loved Corazon, and I especially loved how Chokshi incorporated Filipino mythology (which is a broad category according to the author's note). The magic system was very cool, and I especially loved the house, which was a character in its own right. Her gecko companion was the best, and the story was so engrossing. There were some surprises along the way, including the end, that I would think, "I should have figured that out, that is exactly what should have happened," but of course, I didn't figure it out beforehand. The story is wonderfully crafted, and although this appears to be a standalone novel, I would love to revisit Corazon and Saso.

I was so lucky to receive this as an advanced review copy from Netgalley and the publishers. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Just beautiful! One of those "can't put it down" books. The characters are so rich. It's a beautiful, touching and entertaining story about grief and finding your way through it but told in an unexpected, entertaining and beautiful story.