Spoilers ahead.
I really, really wanted to like this.
Which makes its disappointment all the more heartbreaking.
'Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom' is about Indian culture; specifically Indian folklore and gods. It is about a young English Indian girl, Kiki Kallira, who lives in London, and suffers from anxiety issues. In her sketchbook she draws a fantasy world based on Indian landmarks and folklore. Then one day the monsters, gods and people in it come to life, because of the imprisoned demon king, Mahishasura. He gave the fantasy world its existence, and he wants to use it, meaning the sketchbook, as a portal to escape into the real world. Kiki, alongside her heroine come to life, Ashwini, go into the world created in her sketchbook in order to find a way to stop Mahishasura.
But, as the blurb states, Kiki is a worrier, not a warrior, and she's a child who only wanted to escape from her anxieties and dark thoughts, and into her imagination. Now she's expected to save not only her own creation, but the real world, too? How? Can she do it? For it is not only the external demons, called Asuras, she has to face, but she is her own worst enemy inside her head, as well.
Sounds amazing, right? I definitely thought so.
Fantasy realms, learning about other cultures, a young girl learning to overcome herself and be brave and cunning, a creativity theme, action-packed scenes with swordfighting girls and monsters and demons, an all-ages adventure, and witchcraft, too. I should have loved 'Kiki Kallira'.
But...
Look, I don't like to write negative reviews. I don't like to be harsh, and hard on other people's creative endeavours, passion and hard work. I only do when I strongly feel I have something to say about a book, that other people haven't already; to bring up points I haven't seen others make yet. To express my disappointment in a way that's cathartic, and hopefully makes sense to me and to everyone else.
As with any negative review, I will try to explain myself as best I can, based on the facts and my own personal thoughts and feelings. And as with all my negative reviews, it's all honesty from here on out. No aspect will be safe from my criticism. I will not leave any stone unturned. I will be going into BIG spoiler territory. Thus concludes my warnings.
I'm also well aware that I am a British white woman who is criticising an #ownvoices book centered around Indian culture and has Indian characters. If it is any consolation, any relief from all kinds of unease, this review of 'Kiki Kallira' will not be offering any criticism based on how it represents its cultural influences and history - I wouldn't dare. I will only focus on the plot and characters, and how I feel they are lacking.
And to show just how much faith I had in 'Kiki Kallira' when I decided to read it: I have pretty much given up on reading new children's books by now, for almost none of them have impressed me. I am also apparently the only person on earth who really didn't like Sangu Mandanna's other, most popular novel, 'The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches', so to give her another chance with this certainly meant something to me. I will say I like 'Kiki Kallira' better than 'The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches', in that at least the former is more interesting, less annoying, and reaches more towards its potential, even if it doesn't quite get there in some respects, in my opinion.
Okay, enough disclaimers. Here I go.
This is going to be a long, bumpy ride:
I'll start with a major positive, perhaps the one thing I can say the book does exceptionally well: the depiction of mental illness. Kiki clearly has a chronic anxiety disorder, and I could relate to her. Scarily so. As someone who, for the past year, has suffered from anxiety, fear, dread, paranoia, and intrusive thoughts - dark, parasitic thoughts - unceasingly, to the point that it is a miracle I managed to function somewhat normally every day, I understood Kiki. How she describes all her worries, and her OCD, and desperately wishing for it to just go away already, for her crowded mind to please shut up, for it not to be a Big Thing, a Something, when it came upon her seemingly out of nowhere one day and won't let her go, and is making her hate and fear herself - I've been there. I still struggle sometimes. I sympathised with the poor eleven-year-old girl (or is she twelve?) greatly. I sympathised with her need to escape into fantasy, for the slim chance in the day to shut her brain up. It is another reason I should have loved 'Kiki Kallira'.
I loved her relationship with her mum. Kiki is always worried about her, and at the same time doesn't want her mum to worry about her in turn and her Big Something mental illness. It's relatable, sweet, yet sad and harrowing. It's a nice and honest way to teach children about this issue, and about talking to grown-ups about your problems, and that it is not healthy to keep it bottled up inside you.
Remember, it is not your fault, there is nothing wrong with you, and it is nothing to be ashamed of. Seeking professional help is vital, especially in this day and age.
Additional positive: Kiki's mum is an animator. She works in animation. WHY COULDN'T I LOVE THIS BOOK!?
One more happening I should mention: there is a main character death in this children's book. Spoiler: it is Pip, Kiki's imaginary friend turned inhabitant of her fantasy world. It is a brutal on-page child death. I've got to give the author credit for such a bold move, in an otherwise pretty standard and childish kids' lit.
Now, to add a layer of depression of another kind, the negatives, starting from the beginning:
Kiki's mum, and the rest of her family, and her best friend Emily and her family, never appear again in the book after Kiki goes into the world in her sketchbook near the start. They are forgotten about except for a few sparse mentions placed throughout.
'Kiki Kallira' suffers from a major flaw often found in first-person POV books - it is all from that person's POV, so there are many instances of important development and progress in both the story and the other characters (including any extra characterisation that end up offhandedly mentioned) that happen off-page, because the POV protagonist wasn't present for them, nor made privy to them. There are loads of plot points and details that could potentially have been exciting to read about, could have been interesting, but because Kiki isn't active at that particular time, like she is in bed depressed, is passively and dispassionately "training", or is just somewhere else less interesting and dynamic, the reader doesn't get to witness them as they happen. They are told to Kiki by others. Constantly. It's ridiculous. On the whole it's a very limited perspective, and quite boing, I'm sorry to say.
The action and adventure promised in this kids' fantasy story doesn't happen much; mostly it's Kiki holed up in the rebel safehouse, the Crow House, and going from point A to point B for information in the fantasy version of the Indian city of Mysore, without incident. We are told she learns about certain skills and survival techniques from the rebel kids, the Crows, at the Crow House, but it is told passively with no real investment. It feels like filler, and the point A to point B stuff is there to break the monotony. I know Kiki isn't supposed to be a typical action heroine, and she never will be and it's not the point of her character, but come on, have some urgency! Have something urgent and immediate happen!
Have Kiki's realisation of her true gifts happen sooner, and more organically and gradually throughout - not dumped in the third act only to not be mentioned again until it is convenient near the very end! Is there a ticking clock element to the story? Honestly I am not clear on that. Show us at least some of the big battle at the climax, too!
Show, don't tell! A top rule of storytelling that 'Kiki Kallira' breaks to an exasperating degree.
I realised I've hit on the book's pacing issues here, not only the limited POV and show-don't-tell issues. But yeah, the pacing is rather slow, with mostly not much happening, except off-page.
You would be forgiven for forgetting that 'Kiki Kallira' also has a talking lion named Simha, and that the gods Chamundeshwari and Vishnu are present. Yet, bizarrely, they are barely a presence in the story! I expected Kiki to have a much bigger reaction to their very existence. Chamundeshwari even literally, casually walks alongside Kiki on a point A to point B trip, and the girl hardly reacts appropriately! To her favourite childhood goddess and hero of legend! I think she forgets she's there most of the time. WTF?! THEY'RE GODS! THEY FIGHT DEMONS! WHERE IS KIKI'S ANXIOUSNESS HERE!?
I hate to say it, but 'Kiki Kallira' has a boring villain in Mahishasura. Yes, the demon king, and the cruel, terrifying, terrible evil in Indian folklore, is made boring here. Due to his few scattered appearances caused by the aforementioned first-person POV limitations, and how much of a one-dimensional, cardboard cut-out monster baddie he is. You could replace him in your mind with any other big bad mwahaha! villain in fiction, and you'd get the same result. He's not merely a monster tyrant who rules by subjecting pure abject terror on the masses to control them, he's a bully. A playground bully. A rather uninteresting one at that.
But the biggest problem of all is that Mahishasura is not subtle. Not in the slightest. He talks a lot, spells out a lot of things, in cringey self-aware villain monologues where you wonder, "Who talks like this?" He literally tells Kiki he is a manifestation of her anxiety - he is the growing monster inside her head that she must defeat to save her creations, and her loved ones. He is her inner demon. To beat him is to beat her own darkness, to bring sunshine and happiness back into her world. He never stops talking about what is supposed to be the book's subtext! If you were to write an essay on 'Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom' concerning its themes, symbols, nuances, connotations, and psychological, character-and-plot layering, it would be the easiest thing in the world to achieve because the book tells it all to the reader! No deep thought is left out for the reader to ponder for themselves. Nothing is left up for interpretation.
Show, don't tell!
Which brings me to my next point; which is that 'Kiki Kallira', unfortunately, is a children's book that talks down to its audience. With so much spelled out for you, it is hard not to arrive at this observation. I mean, the phrase "the pen is mightier than the sword" is actually said near the end! Granted, it is a pencil instead of a pen, but it amounts to the same thing! And Kiki is told by Ashwini that her mental illness doesn't make her weak or lesser, like how a rebel Crow kid, Jojo, using a wheelchair doesn't make him any lesser as a person. Her mind and his legs don't work the way they expect them to, but it doesn't matter. They matter, as people. They are a little different, and they are great, no more, no less. And maybe Kiki should see a doctor. THIS IS TOLD TO KIKI AND THE READER! IT'S LIKE AN AFTERSCHOOL SPECIAL! THEY ARE EVERYWHERE IN THE BOOK, ALWAYS COMING AT YOU!
SHOW, DON'T TELL!
Now onto specific "good" characters other than Kiki. Let's get this out of the way quickly:
Lej.
Okay. I have recently made it a rule for myself not to swear in reviews about children's books, at least not overtly, but with Lej, I find that all I can manage within the accepted boundaries of this rule is:
WHAT A NASTY, PIGHEADED, ARROGANT, SELF-CENTERED, EVIL LITTLE &^%$$!HEAD *&%!£$ER!
I mean holy %$£"! Lej is a pill and a tool, that's all there is to it. He only exists to bring Kiki down, to make her feel worse about herself. He does it on purpose, acts like he is better and more mature than her, when they are the same age, and we almost never see him actually do anything, other than be a nasty condescending $*^%!* to Kiki. This character archetype - the mean one whose only contribution is to hate the protagonist for existing - is very rarely written well, and this bully who is still supposed to be a good guy is not written well. Lej DESPISES Kiki, and thinks she is nothing but a useless little girl who is scared of reality and responsibilities. He calls her selfish and self-absorbed, always wanting to be in control of everything (pot calling the kettle black much?). That he is so bad to her, when the other Crows are so nice and supportive to her, would be comical if it wasn't a sad piece of bad writing. "He's a kid" is no excuse in this case.
Lej conveniently ignores the fact that he wouldn't even exist if it weren't for Kiki, regardless of whether he might hate the life that she "created" for him. She didn't create him specifically, but with her fantasy world in her sketchbook being brought to life, he came to life as well, as a Crow.
She did create Pip, another Crow, who was her childhood imaginary friend before she drew him into her sketchbook. A major plot confrontation and crisis, happening in a conflict in the second act, is Pip is killed by Mahishasura while on a rescue mission. Naturally Kiki is devastated and wracked with grief and guilt over this. She holds his body in her arms. She blames herself and her anxiety disorder for causing Pip's death. Her childhood fancies are dead and gone.
SO, how does Lej react to this sudden death in the family, when the body is still warm right in front of him and everyone else, in a world plunged into tyranny and war?
He tells Kiki to her face that it should have been her who died instead.
This is completely glossed over.
All we get is one tiny paragraph of the other Crows lightly "protesting" and Kiki saying "I know", agreeing and wishing she were dead in her lowest mental and emotional state.
THIS IS NOT THE SORT OF THING TO JUST IGNORE AND MOVE ON FROM!
Yes, later on Lej does call himself out on this, and admits he was wrong and horrible to Kiki. But I haven't failed to notice that he never actually apologises for his words. The word "sorry" is never said.
This is actually a gaslighting technique, where a person acknowledges their wrongdoings and their consequences, but don't utter the S-word once, so it's less genuine, and when their mistake is brought up again, or on the next time they mess up and say or do horrible things, and are called out on it, they can say, "But I apologised! Get off my back already! Sheesh!", except they didn't apologise. But they are off the hook and left alone because it is thought they did.
It is disingenuous, the "apology" Lej gives to Kiki near the end of the book. Seriously, why are so many writers deathly afraid to make their characters say "I'm sorry"? ACKNOWLEDGE FAULTS, LEARN FROM THEM, AND APOLOGISE FOR THEM! ACTUALLY APOLOGISE! SAY THE S-WORD! IT'S BASIC HUMAN ETIQUETTE!
In his "apology", Lej says Pip was his favourite Crow; that Pip looked out for him. Uh, FOOTAGE NOT FOUND. We didn't see this, thanks to Kiki's limited POV. I don't think we see Lej directly interact with anyone other than Ashwini and Kiki. More disingenuousness and telling-not-showing - they keep piling up. Lej never changes his ways, either, in the entire book. He continues to be a &!^"^!*% to Kiki, insisting he doesn't like her, after everything she does, and she takes it in stride and jokes about it. They both do.
Ha ha. Someone they knew and loved died in front of them.
What a crock of £!$%$^&!
%$£$"^! Lej.
Last, and not least, there is Ashwini. The confident badass, leader heroine of the group of kid heroes - and the only one we see ever do anything, really. Kiki created her, and she is a projection of Kiki she wishes she could be - brave, strong, and capable. Ashwini is Kiki's rock, her comfort, her main source of support, and her main motivator to do anything in the fantasy world. She's a hero that any kid can look up to.
Now, at one point Mahishasura mentions that someone told him of the Crow's, and Kiki's, plans for him in the Crow House, indicating that there is a mole in their midst. A spy, a traitor. This is forgotten about until near the end, when the next twist comes up.
...
Since Lej is too obvious, and the other Crows, plus Simha, are barely given enough characterisation and page time to be viable and meaningful suspects (BTW, why do none of them seem to have the god of all existential crises by the fact that not only are they not real and were created by a young girl with a sketchbook, but will cease to exist once Kiki somehow banishes Mahishasura out of Mysore, and his power and magic won't bring it life anymore? Kiki cares, and Lej might care, but the other kids don't. WTF?)...
...
Yep, second spoiler and twist: Ashwini is the traitor. She's been working for Mahishasura the entire time Kiki has known her. Because she is tired, and can't be the perfect hero and mother figure everyone wants her to be anymore. She is only thirteen, and she never got to be a kid. Being someone's Mary Sue self-insert has taken its toll, and she wants her own life. Life in Kiki's real world, with Mahishasura's help. She has no reason to trust the murderous monster or believe he won't hurt the Crows (Pip was collateral damage, I guess), but whatever.
This could have been an interesting premise, truly. A wish-fulfilment deconstruction, plus an existentialism element - nice!
Except context matters. Ashwini is officially a bad guy, while Lej is a good guy. The person who told Kiki that there is nothing wrong with her, that she has an illness that is treatable, that she isn't lesser, who supported her through and through, is Ashwini, a deceiving turncoat. A mentally disabled young girl's emotional support guide and crutch has been twisted and turned against her; on the other shoulder, the one person who has been negative and toxic to her, besides her inner demon king, and who has been nothing but horrid to her and literally wishes she were dead, is her hero. In this revelation scene, Lej shows up out of nowhere wearing mechanical wings he never uses again. He is Kiki's angel, Ashwini her devil.
W.T.F!?
Ashwini does tell Kiki that she did mean what she said to her earlier in her times of need, but I have a feeling this was tacked on when the author realised her big whoops in making Ashwini a villain, and didn't have time to course-correct anything. To make things worse, the scene ends with Ashwini flying off on an Asura, never to be seen again. Not even in the final battle. She just buggers off out of the book. I'm sure she will show up for a big role in the sequel, but for this book, as a standalone, it's disappointing. A lazy copout.
And I have to ask: Did the author forget who Kiki based Ashwini on?
See, Ashwini is named after, and is a reference to, Kiki's great-great-aunt, who died mysteriously when she was thirteen. Practically everyone in her family has made it a legend and cautionary tale that Ashwini died of "misbehaviour" or a "broken heart". It is misogyny at work, demonising a dead female family member in order to keep other female family members in their place, lest they end up like Ashwini thayi. Kiki rightfully thought this was unfair to Ashwini, and wanted to give her a better story, in making her the beloved, kickass heroine in her drawings in her sketchbook. Kiki compares them; the two Ashwinis are meant to be reflections, parallels, of each other.
Well, Kiki's misogynistic aunties must have been right about the real Ashwini, then, huh? If it turns out that the fictionalised, heroic version of her created by Kiki is in fact an emotionally unstable and heartbroken bad girl, who can't handle anything, who turned to the dark side! Of course the fictional and alive Ashwini can and should have depth and nuance, but not to this thoughtless extreme! This is why it is important to think through your implications in your writing!
Strangely, Kiki's real great-great-aunt Ashwini is not mentioned again after this twist is revealed. Hmm. Suspicious.
A few final thoughts on 'Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom':
The character of the Good Witch ends up being completely pointless. She starts off as a random plot device to be used for a search-and-rescue mission. Then she disappears for no reason after she is rescued and Pip is killed, then she reappears on time for the final battle, where she "helps" by making big versions of tin soldiers that Kiki drew... Kiki, with her pencil that she can use to make anything come to life, who could have drawn the big versions of the soldiers herself, easily. The Good Witch barely contributes to anything, at least on-page. She is almost as grumpy and miserable as Lej, but even he qualifies as more of a character than her.
A moment of total, tonal whiplash and dissonance is written in right after Pip's death, when everyone is supposed to be mourning: the next day begins with a jokey scene where the Crows don't want to eat Simha's bad cooking. He wants to be their nurturer. The whole baffling moment is lighthearted and played for laughs. WHAT IS TONE?! WHAT IS MOOD?! Lej is barely mentioned in the scene, too, and the subsequent ones, before he shows up on mechanical wings to warn Kiki and confront Ashwini in her betrayal reveal scene... when in his previous encounter with Kiki he said he wished she was dead. THESE DO NOT FLOW WELL TOGETHER! WHO EDITED THIS?!
Speaking of mechanical things, one obstacle that Ashwini and Kiki have to overcome on their mission towards the "moment of truth" in defeating Mahishasura (actually a trap set by him and Ashwini), is mechanical spiders the size of small cats. For some reason this is treated like the most horrible thing ever, the scariest of Kiki's sketchbook creations. Even the brave Ashwini is afraid of them, and she scolds Kiki for thinking up such hideousness. Uh, why? Small mechanical spiders are not scary, at least when looking at them through a fictional lens, and there is no foreshadowing towards this, no hint that Kiki is arachnophobic. And Ashwini beats them easily with her sword. So, what was the fuss all about?
Though I will admit that the girls' next obstacle, involving creepy dolls at a tea party in a nursery, is pretty funny.
Why is the Mysore Palace talking to Kiki inside her head, too? Who actually is speaking to her inside her mind? A goddess?
Kiki's pastel, whimsical, fairy tale palace in the sky in her fictionalised Mysore also ends up being completely pointless. Other than symbolism for childlike wonder and innocence in a dark world? It is never encountered, and no one ever enters it. Wow am I confused.
Then there's the plot hole of why doesn't Kiki just go back to the real world and draw the heroes defeating Mahishasura? The sketchbook can't be destroyed on the outside, but she can go back there any time she wants. There's not much stopping her from trying to draw new stuff. Why doesn't she consider this?
Oh and Pip is reincarnated as Kiki's new pet crow in the last couple of pages. What tosh. What toss. So much for grieving then!
Well, finally, that is it. My long, drawn out review of 'Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom' comes to a close. I wanted to love and adore it so badly. Alas, I found too many flaws and annoyances with it.
There is nothing left for my exhausted self to say, except: I have never been more glad to have borrowed a book from a library instead of buying it from a shop.
Final Score: 2/5
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