Taking down mythical creatures as a middle schooler is true Riordan fashion, and Pahua makes it look easy. Spoilers, but Pahua and the Soul stealer places 11 year old Pahua Moua in a string of deadly encounters that she pushes through all the way to the end. Demons with no fashion sense, frog spit, spontaneous fire and more are in her way of being the hero she always dreamed to be. Her brother gets sick, and Pahua must retrieve his soul from the one who snatched it. With her spirit cat Miv and new frenemy Zhong, she adventures through the land of spirits because, well, her brother doesn't have much time.

    Miv, Zhong, and Pahua are quite the trio. For starters, Pahua has way more power than she ever would have thought, and is thankfully incredible at fighting despite no training. Zhong is Pahua’s age and goes to a school for shamans. She is vital to their quest because Pahua has almost zero experience with the spirit realm (almost zero because she can see spirits – it’s how she sees Miv.) and needs some help. Miv acts as their guide, ‘cause even as a spirit, he’s pretty small. These characters are great together, but individually they’re written so well. They feel like characters and not just vessels to tell a story. 

     Pahua misses her dad exponentially, and her mom isn’t around as much as she used to be due to work hours. This means Pahua spends most of her time with Miv and her brother, Matt. Two best friends. This is why she’s so willing to move planes of existence for Matt – he’s pretty much all she has. Zhong exists in a legacy of great shamans, but can’t quite reach their heights yet. She might be a perfectionist and puts tremendous pressure on herself to be great, even at her age. They both learn to let go of some things by quest’s end, probably for the better. 

     Being Hmong in a predominantly not-Hmong neighborhood and school isn’t easy for a middle schooler. Pahua’s classmates “other” her and tease at her cultural differences. Discrimination is never great, but good to have in a book like this. It brings some every-day life into the fantastical narrative, and can create relatability within the character for any other Hmong kids reading. Speaking of the book’s Hmong theme and attributes, Lori M. Lee did an incredible job with what is for some people, a first encounter with Hmong culture. Traditions and customs are established and explained organically, not to mention the word glossary in the back. It’s good for understanding a bit of the Hmong written language for those who aren’t familiar with it.

     The descriptions in Pahua and the Soul Stealer are vivid and sometimes entrancing. Visualization is no problem (aphantasia exempt), and the dialogue is nice and humorous. Sometimes not, though, because when Xov, the BBEG said, “Did you forget? I’m the thunder god.” I knew it was ON. It was a blast to read, but at the end there were some loose ends, or maybe just an open ending. 

     Pahua fighting and defeating so many entities within the two days she was given is a huge feat with huge stakes. This was a great book, and the suspense and action throughout made it so enticing. Riordan Presents books don’t have to be singular, so I'm so ready to read the sequel after the twists, turns, and exhilaration. Absolute ride of a first book.