The Callers by Kiah Thomas
Children's Fiction, Middle Grade, Science Fiction, Fantasy

Released on April 5th 2022

On the surface this is a tale for middle grade readers focusing on magic, fantasy, and multiple dimensions/alt universes. Underneath the obvious, however, lies an incredible tapestry of sociopolitical and environmentalist topics. From forced and exploited labor under the guise of “trade agreements” to theft of resources to propaganda and misinformation…this story covers it all in an easily digestible manner for younger audiences. As an adult, I was blown away by the adeptness at handling such tough topics and the way it unfolds alongside these magical elements.

The Callers is whimsical, emotional, and creative, and I would highly recommend this for parents and adults who are looking to introduce these topics to kids in a subtle way. It’s also a great introduction to ethics as a whole, where “nothing comes from nothing” meaning even the things we rely on for basic survival like food and water all have a root source and origin story. I also appreciated the fact it even touches upon indigenous and ethnic issues and the disparity between world powers and smaller countries.

I think it was clever to also include the topics of “the world ends because that’s just what we were taught” when in reality the powers that be kept their own people in willful ignorance. I think that a lot of complicated, thoughtful issues were introduced and handled in just a short amount of pages and I commend the author for this! It takes a lot of skill to handle these in a clever way that feels natural, approachable, and not remotely preachy. I cannot wait to see how the series unfolds, and I gotta say I’m WAY HERE for the Rhinoceros/Pegasus creatures, that’s really neat!

I would definitely keep this in a classroom for reading and recommend to school therapists and librarians to keep on hand. It would make great recommended reading for assignments or book clubs for kids to help them digest and understand important social issues like Ethics, Consumerism, Capitalism, Labor Laws, and Political Propaganda among others. Enjoyable enough also as a read aloud for kids and adults, and the perfect opportunity to have open and frank discussions about the current state of our world while doing so in a not-so-scary format. Well done!

I did not recall any particularly triggering or traumatic content, but if you spot any I'll be happy to amend this review.

I received an ARC of this from NetGalley