Wildcats

Gr 5 Up–When Mina starts at Temple Academy, the boarding school her deceased parents attended, she hopes to find a connection to her mom and dad. After standing up for a classmate, Mina and three other girls, Lin, Shani, and Ana, learn that they have inherited ancient powers to turn into wildcats to fight evil as the Hunters of Chaos. The powers come from their respective ancestors: Mina is descended from the Taino and turns into a puma, Lin is Chinese and turns into a tiger, Shani is Egyptian and turns into a lion, and Ana is of Mayan descent and turns into a jaguar. The girls must learn to wield their shape-shifting abilities quickly as Anubis attempts to resurrect the Brotherhood of Chaos. Along the way, they still have to navigate bullies and romance, though the school setting takes a backseat quickly, and with the story unfolding over just a few days, the relationships are fairly underdeveloped. Those looking for details on the different cultures will need to look elsewhere. The bright, dynamic illustrations are reminiscent of animation and perfectly capture each girl’s personality, especially when in their animal forms. The majority of the characters presented are racially diverse with varying skin tones and hairstyles.