In the next book in the thrilling fantasy series filled with gods and monsters of Shinto mythology, a twelve-year-old girl must steal an ancient relic, work with new friends and learn to control her own dangerous power to defeat a new threat.

After vanquishing a demon king, saving her mom, and reconnecting with her friend Danny, Momo ought to be living the life she’s always wanted. But lately, Danny has been ditching her to hang out with mean-girl Ryleigh—and groups of kids have begun vanishing without a trace. Then a whole backyard full of cool kids at Ryleigh’s exclusive birthday party becomes the latest to disappear, leaving Momo, Ryleigh, Danny, boy band superstar Jin, and Momo’s old friend Niko the fox to fight a dangerous new enemy from Shinto legend.

This time they are up against Tamamo-no-mae—beautiful, bloodthirsty, and manipulative, she’s the ultimate mean girl of the Kami-verse. To defeat her, Momo must travel to the Sky Kingdom and steal the legendary Mirror of the Sun. But if she’s going to survive monster ambushes, escape giant snakes, and pull off the heist of the millennium, Momo will have to find a way to work with her team (even Ryleigh), and grapple with the growing power that connects her with her storm god grandfather, Susano’o’, and her greatest foe—Izanami the Destroyer.

Just like the first book, Misa Sugiura has created a fantastically fun novel that will appeal to young adults and has unstoppable friendship at the heart of the story. Picking up after the first book, Momo has reconnected with Danny and things should be alright, but they aren’t. Momo learns in this novel that she must work with new friends in order to save the day. Ultimately, it means working with mean girl Ryleigh and figuring out that they have more in common than they thought and tapping into her own powers to stand up for herself. 

What makes the story so rich and fun is the lessons in friendship that Momo learns, standing up for yourself and also seeing things from others perspective. She learns that others might have problems of their own and that despite differences, she can be friends with those who are different from her. The story is as fun and full of rich cultural references as the first book.

If you loved the first book, “Momo Arashima Steals the Sword of the Wind, then you will love the sequel. I especially like the ending as it gives us the opening for a third book. I love that there is more to come because the story has been riveting so far. I believe young readers will love the story and enjoy the adventures of Momo, her friends and their unstoppable friendship. 

Rating: 5 out of 5 Gods