妖怪客棧1

I read this novel mostly to improve my Chinese proficiency. It was great for this purpose. The target audience is tweens I think. Children aged about 9-13. So the language is simple, the narration has a good flow, it's all quite easy to follow. Occasionally I didn't understand a detail or two, but that's fine. The book (first of a series) is set in a harry potter-like setting where the normal, human world is secretly inhabited by supernatural creatures that also have their own spaces and realms. The supernatural elements are all borrowed from Chinese literary tradition, especially the Shan Hai Jing. The book really invites the Harry Potter comparison, the little boy protagonist's female friend even has Hermione's exact personality. I did wonder about one thing: the protagonist, Zhixiao, inherits the "monster inn" from his father who died, that's what sets the plot in motion. But there is no mention of grief or loss. Zhixiao's emotional arc is about gaining confidence, getting respected, finding his strength. His relationship with his mum is an important conflict point, can he spend enough time with her while also being active in the spirit world? Will she accept his new role or try to keep him at home? But missing their dead dad/husband doesn't seem to be a factor in their conflict. I don't know, it's a bit strange. Maybe I missed something though, due to the language barrier.

All in all this is a great read for advanced Chinese learners, and probably also for tweens if they are native speakers. Looking forward to part 2.