Thank you to Netgalley for the free e-arc!

Reviewing this book proved very difficult for me. On the one hand, it had so many things I absolutely loved: plant magic, cool trees, casual LGBTQ+ rep, and a poignant metaphor for how capitalism and climate change go hand in hand. If I could rate just the core premise of this book, I'd give it a 5/5.

But the execution of the plot was really frustrating. I spent the entire first half of the book waiting for some kind of inciting incident--something that would make the larger world problems personal to Nick, something that would establish her stakes and a deadline. And it never came. Nick just kept whittling away at a mystery that was certainly important to the greater world, but without any real reason why she had to solve it, or what would go wrong if she didn't. She also lacked agency throughout the book. The plot was a lot of her reacting to other people's actions, or gaining new information and then just... going home to think about it. And when she did finally take action and gain agency toward the end of the book, another character came along and took over her whole mission! Arg! It was really frustrating.

So, yeah, I really considered rating this lower. But the plant magic, underhillers, and entire premise was wonderful, and the writing was great too. This is yet unpublished so some things might get changed/fixed before it hits the shelves!

Oh man, I'm so torn on this book. I really like the IDEA of it and the premise. I love reading middle grade but this one confused me a lot. I ended up DNF'ing the book because when it felt like the plot should pick up, it slowed down. I needed some more!

Did not completely finish this book, immediately from the beginning the plot buildup and world building was overbearing and attempted to be established far too soon, without any context or previously established relationship with our characters. The beginning ultimately felt jarring but at the same time not intriguing enough to draw me in? I think there is potential here, but it needs a lot more editing and tweaking.

I really struggled reading this book. I found it slow and difficult to continue to read.
I didnt feel the magic and what magic was there was not very impressive.

Lush, evocative, and bursting with adventure, THE SECRETS OF UNDERHILL is eco-fantasy at its best. I loved exploring Mistwood and Underhill alongside Nick and her friends; Kali Wallace writes setting like nobody else! There's also an excellent heaping of intrigue, humour, and heart, with a gorgeous cover to match.

Very grateful for the opportunity to read an advance copy <3