Momotaro Xander and the Lost Island of Monsters

By: Margaret Dilloway

Narrated by: Chris Patton

Xander Miyamoto would rather do almost anything than listen to his sixth grade teacher, Mr. Stedman, drone on about weather disasters happening around the globe. When spring break begins at last, Xander plans to spend it playing computer games with his best friend, Peyton. Xander's father briefly distracts him with a comic book about some samurai warrior who pops out of a peach pit. Little does either boy know that the comic is a warning that they are about to be thrust into the biggest adventure of their lives. To win at this deadly serious game, they will have to rely on their wits, courage, faith, and especially each other. Maybe Xander should have listened to Mr. Stedman about the weather after all.

©2016 Margaret Dilloway (P)2016 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Keep reading!!

Ok. It took me three times to get through the whole book. It starts a little slow, and seems a bit strange. But keep reading!!!! It picks up, and when it does, you’ll race to the finish! The strip all in all is really good. Just keep reading! You won’t regret it!

Fight back against the Japanese demons!

Just before a school break, Xander gets in trouble at school after drawing a caricature of a student who was bullying him without even realizing it. When he gets home, his father gives him a comic to read - a comic about a Japanese folk hero named Momotaro - that Xander apparently wrote himself, though he has no memory of it. Xander and his best friend, Peyton, are in his room reading that comic when suddenly a huge tsunami hits the area and his father disappears.
Xander's grandmother tells Xander that his father can reverse the tsunami, and prevent all the other climate change problems that are being caused by oni (Japanese demons), but Xander has to rescue his dad first. To do that, Xander must become who is really is - Momotaro. Will Xander and Peyton be able to rescue Xander's dad? Will they be in time for Xander's dad to reverse the tsunami?

This was a cool story with a mythology that I don't see often in books, so it was really nice to engage with it. The relationship between Xander and Peyton was done really well, and I liked that the two complete opposites had maintained their friendship into middle school when those relationships tend to break down. Xander's love of his friends and family truly comes through in everything he does.

I absolutely loved to see Xander's growth through the book, and I can't wait to read the sequel and see what other trouble he gets into - and out of. As an added bonus, I laughed when it was revealed that his dog's name is the Japanese word for cat, largely because I once had a cat whose name was the Japanese word for cat.

I had the opportunity to listen to the audiobook, which was narrated by Chris Patton, was really good. Patton's performance was really good, providing just the right amount of tension and emotion to truly bring the scenes to life. Whether I read or listen to the next book, I know I will enjoy it.