My 6th grader gives this 3 1/2 - 4 stars. I give it 5 stars, and expect my kid would rate it higher if he were a bit older, but he’s currently enjoying middle grade level books more than young adult books.

Uehasi’s YA novel, The Beast Player, was a relatively boring read for me. I thought the characters were underdeveloped and just disappeared from the story line as the main character, Elin, grew up and moved to new adventures. The only character that was relatively developed was Elin and her character was not likable. I generally feel a strong connection to the characters in books, especially ones with major roles, but this book didn’t leave me with that connection. I felt that the story was interesting and not like any I’ve read before but I would not read it again or read any sequels.

The Beast Player was written by Nahoko Uehashi in Japanese and translated by Cathy Hirano. It won the Michael L. Printz, Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the Year, and Mildred L. Batchelder Honor Book Awards. This book would make a good book for a Young Adult English class or a book club. In a school setting, the way it was translated as well as reoccurring themes in the book could be a part of the book discussion. Teens may find the character names, places, and clans confusing, I found the name confusion and difficulty relatively similar to those in the Game of Thrones. Young adults who enjoy fantasy and mythological creatures would enjoy reading and discussing the story. Two main themes in the book are stereotypes of other cultures/ethnicities (clans in this book) and their mistreatment due to these stereotypes as well as mistreatment and proper care of animals. Throughout the book, Elin is continually stereotyped and discriminated against because she has Ahlyo blood in her. The conflict between clans/territories is also based on past events and myths. Animal lovers may also enjoy reading and discussing this book. Readers may enjoy discussing the future of Elin and the care of the creatures that are a main focus of the book.

I'm a sucker for any sort of story that follows a protagonist who loves animals and this is no exception.

You've likely read books following horse-lovers or dragon-lovers but the creatures in this story are in a category all their own. I really enjoyed learning all the details about the two main creatures (Toda and Royal Beasts) because they were utterly foreign concepts to me. I mean, the Royal Beasts remind me of a wolf/owl hybrid, and that's not something I'd ever thought I would read about. (p.s. watching clips from the anime helped me picture them)

I appreciated how inquisitive the main character Elin is and how that drove her to seek knowledge. We get to follow her through her formative years (10-18) and get to see her grow and make a name for herself. Her story contains tragedy but she doesn't let that hold her down or define her. She is a strong female character that doesn't need to beat people up to show it. She is quiet and contemplative and this plays to her advantage and doesn't prevent her from standing up for what she believes is right.

Another thing I really enjoyed is that this book doesn't shy away from the more unpleasant and challenging aspects of caring for creatures, especially creatures that have the potential to be dangerous. It's not all sunshine and rainbows and frolicking in meadows. We do get some happy meadow scenes but they are not the majority. I found the details of caring for the Royal Beasts nicely fleshed out and I appreciated that we got to learn as Elin was acting them out, instead of through info dumps.

I really enjoyed this story and can't wait to read the rest of the series!

A unique fantasy novel about power struggles and the conflict between fear and love that drives both people and animals.