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The Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean

Each generation, a competition is held to find the next empress of Honoku. The rules are simple. Survive the palace's enchanted seasonal rooms. Conquer Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. Marry the prince. All are eligible to compete--all except yokai, supernatural monsters and spirits whom the human emperor is determined to enslave and destroy. Mari has spent a lifetime training to become empress. Winning should be easy. And it would be, if she weren't hiding a dangerous secret. Mari is a yokai with the ability to transform into a terrifying monster. If discovered, her life will be forfeit. As she struggles to keep her true identity hidden, Mari's fate collides with that of Taro, the prince who has no desire to inherit the imperial throne, and Akira, a half-human, half-yokai outcast. Torn between duty and love, loyalty and betrayal, vengeance and forgiveness, the choices of Mari, Taro, and Akira will decide the fate of Honoku in this beautifully written, edge-of-your-seat YA...

Animorphs Book 42: The Journey by K. A. Applegate

The Journey is lighter in tone than the previous few installments, but with very high stakes. The Helmacrons are back, and they have had character development in a funny but good(?) way. Weirdly, this is not the Animorphs’ first trip into a stomach.‬

I like the Helmacrons as antagonists, and their nature as a fungible species means they have all the ambition of the Yeerks, without as many factions (but somehow still not just one). I appreciate how they have grown as characters without losing what makes them interesting.

Marco’s involvement in this story is nerve-wracking, and the wrap-up feels true coming from Rachel.

A girl (Rachel) turns into an elephant

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