I read this book as part of the blog tour hosted by TBR & Beyond Tours. Special thanks to Crown Books for Young Readers for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. 3.5 stars!

TL;DR: The Magic Paintbrush is an action-packed, adventure-filled, Chinese mythology-inspired middle-grade fantasy with wonderful illustrations to accompany a fun and creative story! Amy was a relatable main character who was easy to root for and I loved her relationship with her Lao Lao and Luna—who is unquestionably my favourite character in this book. The story doesn’t dive too deep into character development and neither does it go too hard with its themes, but I think that is also what would make this a great pick for young readers who simply want an enjoyable and entertaining fantasy story. Overall, while this wasn’t my favourite as an adult reader of MG, it was still a terrific read that I would recommend to the young readers in my life.

The story is told from two POVs: our MC, Amy and the villain of our story, Chen. Amy is a young girl who aspires to be a great artist whose work is taken seriously. In her quest to achieve this, she feels the need to leave behind her old art because she deems it too childish and unserious, but as a result, she struggles with creating art that feels authentic to her. I feel like the tumultuous emotions Amy experience is something young readers will be able to relate to, especially if they read this around the same age as her because at that age, they experience so many changes in their lives. If I remember correctly, everything experienced in the early teen years is a pretty big deal whether or not that’s truly the case.