A story about two friends who travel across the country to see the sun fish eclipse and find Lu's grandma, a geozoologist who has left on a long trip and hasn't come back. Ren is having family problems and looking to escape and joins Lu on her cross country trip.
Along the way they solve geozoology problems, such as uniquely disrupted ecosystems. Lu also gets insight about her grandma and how she might not be quite the amazing person who Lu has always looked up to. They also make new friends during their journey who help them along the way..
What we liked about the book is that it combines things like zoology and geology (or landforms and animals that wouldn't usually be combined together in an interesting and delightful way. These unique combinations include hot spring frogs, hamster hills that poop out boulders, and goats that have grass coats instead of wool.
This book is definitely a re-read and an amazingly enjoyable book. My 11 year old highly recommends it. My 8 year old didn't quite understand what happened to the grandma at the end; we would recommend this book for ages 9-13, but more mature 8 year olds would probably do well with it, and it would be a good book to read together with your child to incite some insightful discussions.

I liked this a lot!
I knew from the art style I'd be in for a gentle, cozy time, and that's exactly what I got!
I appreciated that the problems were rooted in real natural phenomena, and that I learned things along the way (I had no idea about hydrangea color being connected to PH levels!)

I think at moments I got slightly burnt out from the back and forth of the conflicts of the main characters and had to remind myself that they were young/going through it (specifically Ren going after Lu caring about the journa) . It did feel like they were very realistic processing they were having, so it didn't detract too much.

As a professional member of the animal community I loved this book entirely too much! The story its self is so heartwarming and also a little heartbreaking, but I adored Lu and her determination to make her way to her grandma and help people along the way. I thought that Ren was a beautifully complex character and in the end a really good friend to Lu. And the creatures! I could go on and on about how amazing the creatures were. I also fell totally in love with the illustrations. I can't wait to go pick up a copy for our shelves!

Thanks to HarperCollins Children's Books | Quill Tree Books for the gifted copy!

My daughter was interested in this one solely because of the axolotl-looking creature on the front. We have one as a pet, and she was so excited to read this based on the illustrations. However, she ended up not finishing the read because they weren’t as central to the story and there wasn’t quite as much fun and light animal fare as she expected.

I read the whole thing and thought it was okay. Graphic novels and cozy fantasy honestly aren’t really my favorites, so I’m the wrong audience for this book. I did think it was older than middle grade and would move it to the YA category. The story with the animals felt pretty choppy - I wanted to go back and visit some of the ones we saw earlier in the book. I think this will be a hit for some, just not in our house!

One of the most delightful and aesthetically charming graphic novels. Perfect for middle school audiences and surprisingly poignant. This could be an excellent bed time story to stretch out or a good story to encourage kids to ask about the adventures of their own grandparents.

This book just hit shelves, and I already have multiple holds on it! The perfect graphic novel to book talk with early readers and parents alike! I found the story cozy, the setting captivating and easy to get lost in, and the art style cute and colorful!

This is a cozy fantasy graphic novel perfect for upper elementary and middle school age readers. The journey taken has some obstacles, but isn’t scary. The art is gorgeous. I would put in my classroom library.

Lu & Ren’s Guide to Geozoology was such a good story and beautifully illustrated of fascinating mythological animals! I think my students would really enjoy this story, especially since the cover art resembles a giant axolotl; but because the story represents a bilingual family as well.

Without giving too much away, in the story the children go on an adventure on the search for the grandmother, the family’s matriarch who seems to be a character with a deep connection to the creatures represented in the book. I love how the writers of the books explain at the beginning that the two languages used will be color coded to help the reader understand when the secondary language is being used/translated. This will connect to so many of students and their life/challenges day to day being bilingual as well.

I highly recommend this fun, adventures book to student readers in late elementary to early middle school.

The concept was really interesting: an alternative world where the animals has geological features, and Lu has been living with her grandma’s adventure story as a geozoologist since she was little. She loves and adores her grandma, even put her in a pedestal, but she’s rarely around due to her job. When Lu’s older, grandma stopped sending letters, and this concerned her so much. So when there’s a request for geozoologist aid in the town next door, Lu took it as a chance to find her grandma while also looking at the request.

She took her best friend, Ren, along with her. Ren seemed cagey on whatever happened in her life but she’s willingto help Lu. Their spirits were full, but apparently being a geozoologist is not as easy as they thought. Lu’s has never had firsthand experience and her grandma’s journal that she brought with her is written in a language she couldn’t fluently reading.

It’s so hard to imagine 12-13 years old kids go on an adventure without adult supervision but I guess that’s why the author invented an alternative word, not using the world we’re living in. Anyway. It was unique for sure, but not too complicated. However the conclusion wasn’t satisfying IMO. Like there could be more, I’d like to see the issues really sorted through. Love the illutrations, though! Bright, vivid and colorful but it’s giving off serene vibes. I liked it.

Cute graphic novels always catch my eye and of course I couldn't miss out on one about a fantastical journey through a land full of magical creatures. We follow Lu and her friend Ren who set out to find Lu's missing grandmother, a well-known geozoologist. I think that Angela Hsieh did a remarkable job with the two main characters, because both Lu and Ren had strong personalities. They butted heads a lot and were often stubborn, but their behavior was a result of the problems they face every day. They dealt with generational differences inside their families and had a hard time with connecting with their ancestors' culture or with meeting expectations. It's commendable that these themes are mentioned in a middle grade book, and not as the main plot but simply as something that is a part of the characters' everyday life. It was great to see such real and relatable themes in a fantastical story. The journey across the country was interesting as well and I really liked how it showed that actions have consequences in nature and how different areas in a far-reaching land are still connected in some way. The art style was nice with many bright colors. I had to get used to the way characters were drawn at first, but it made for a unique style, and I thought that the facial expressions transported emotions and especially the humorous parts pretty well. All the fantastical animals were awesome and I found some of the ideas to be very creative. The middle grade age range is appropriate, but I had a good time with this graphic novel too. It's worth checking out.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Quill Tree Books for providing a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Angela Hsieh for this eArc in exchange for my honest review!

The concept of “Geozoology” is what captured my attention for this book as a budding geodynamacist myself. This graphic novel follows, as the title suggests, Lu and Ren’s adventure to find Lu’s grandmother and watch the sunfish eclipse. While the premise is rather lighthearted, the author tackles several important issues such as cultural identity, language, legacy, familial pressure, and identity, all while capturing your attention with colorful landscapes and unique creatures. I found that how Hsieh covered these issues was nuanced and not overly idealistic nor simplistic, which aided in the message's feeling more grounded and approachable. More importantly, the novel ended satisfyingly without everything concluding perfectly. Overall, I enjoyed this book and hope there is a sequel!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing a free e-graphic novel arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a touching and gorgeous graphic novel! The plot was great and very sweet as you set out on an adventure between two friends to learn more about geofauna while also trying to find Lu's grandmother, who inspired her interest in adventure and knowledge. There are great lessons for kids in this graphic novel, and the characters are well written. They are relatable to struggles that kids can face and end with good resolutions.

This was such a fun adventure of a graphic novel, but it also had so much depth to it. We follow Lu and Ren as they go on an adventure to not only follow in Lu's grandmother's legacy, but also to attempt to locate her as it has been some time since Lu heard from her. They both come from very different families with different dynamics and expectations, which leads to some misunderstandings between the two along the way. It's also a story about finding your own path rather than trying to mold yourself after someone else and touches on grief as well. I felt there was a really good balance of the beautiful art style, delightful creatures and heavy topics that were explored.

This was such a cute graphic novel. I loved the artwork and all the different animals. I'd honestly love more future volumes to see how the story and animals can grow. This will be added to my collection to read to my daughter once she's a little older.

This graphic novel was charming and sweet. As someone who grew up in the United States but my parents were Chinese, I related to the loss of written language and watching Lu go through the frustration of only knowing some of the words her grandmother wrote was very relatable.
I loved how vibrant the art was - especially as we explored different biomes with all of the fantastical animals. I also loved seeing Lu and Ren, who have a shared heritage talk about the differences in the stories that they were told.

‘Lu and Ren’s Guide to Geozoology’ is a heartwarming (and at times hilarious) story full of adventure and a sense of wonder that follows Lu and Ren through a story about family, friendship, grief and finding your own path in life. Angela’s beautifully drawn pages draw the reader into a lush and fantastical world, and is a truly impressive debut graphic novel.

As a Taiwanese-American I also really appreciated the nods to the complex experience of growing up between cultures, and specific Taiwanese-isms, blended seamlessly into Angela’s story.

And as a kid who grew up reading National Audubon Society field guides from cover to cover, I loved the world Angela created. ‘The Traveler’s Guide to Geozoology’ at the end of the book was a delightful surprise read!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I can’t wait for this book to be out in the world!

I am LOVING these new cozy fantasy middle grade road trip graphic novels and this debut by Angela Hsieh was beautifully illustrated, had a plethora of fantastical mythological creatures, a heartwarming friendship story and lots of emotional depth. Definitely one I'm going to want to own and I can't wait for more from this author. Highly recommended for fans of books like A song of you & I or the Lightfall series. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

First of all - the artwork in this graphic novel is stunning! Everything is so artfully put together to create an incredibly visually compelling story. This graphic novel is an incredibly heartfelt and emotional book that focuses on family and friendship dynamics - all with the added bonus of mythical creatures. I love the added touch of the traveler's guide and the explanation of the creation of this graphic novel at the end. Thank you NetGalley for this arc to read and review!

My favorite about this cozy graphic novel was the animals. This was overall a good middle grade read. I loved how Lu and Ren were able to learn from each other and apologize, but I’m not going to lie, some of the things that said I would not be able to recover from in a relationship, even as a kid. I really wish there was a lesson on impulsivity because she never thought before she acted and it always affected people and other creatures around her. Ren said some mean things too, but at that point she was on the defensive. Lu was incapable of seeing anyone else’s perspective, and when anyone said something didn't like, she just called them a liar. Aside from those aspects of Lu, I thought it was a great book. I especially loved how the idiots who stole the babies and ruined the ecosystem were white people.

5/5
Thank you to NetGalley and Quill Tree Books for an arc. All opinions are my own.

Okay first of all, the art is amazing. Super vibrant and expressive! Something about the style makes it look like frosting and fondant to me.

I also loved how the story was written, especially Ren’s relationship with her family. Overall I found this book to be a super sweet and heartfelt exploration of family dynamics and friendship.