The Land of Miu

By Karen Lee Field

3rd Edition, originally published with the title "Cat's Eyes". This is the first book in The Land of Miu series. Twelve year old Kate Dawson is unhappy at home. Her widowed mother has remarried and Kate has a stepfather and a six year old half-sister, Emma, who is nothing but a pest. She knows the resentment she feels towards Emma and her stepfather is making her mum unhappy, but Kate is confused by the deep feelings of guilt and jealousy that plague her. One morning, Emma disappears down a mystical looking well. Irritated but worried, Kate follows and the two girls are thrust into the tunnels of Miu, an unknown place built within the lava tunnels of an extinct volcano. They meet a young Miuan princess and her guard, who are on the run, and the girls are instantly swept into a danger that will test their skills, their friendship and their love.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kayelle Press
• Release date: Nov 24, 2011
• ISBN: 9780980864243

Karen Lee Field

Born within the sound of the Bow bells in London, Karen Lee Field was seven when her parents decided to move to the “Lucky Country” and settle in Sydney, Australia. Apart from enjoying time with her family and pets, Karen loves escaping to fantasy worlds — places where her sometimes ordinary life is transformed into an exciting adventure and her imagination is set free. She writes novels for children and adults in various genres, and her short stories appear in several anthologies. She currently lives on the south coast of NSW. Follow her website: http://www.karenleefield.com, or, subscribe to her newsletter to be notified when she releases a new book and offers discounted or free ebooks: https://mailchi.mp/c1da6bd8c29c/klf-subscribe

Reviews for The Land of Miu

[JmMagdayo · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

oto cristituto

[lostinalibrary · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I read this book in anticipation of The King's Riddle which I won in the Librarything Giveaway. This was a fun, fast read for middle-graders. There's enough action to keep their attention without being scary and that is true of the villain as well. The other characters are extremely likable and the land of Miu is well-defined.Although The Land of Miu doesn't have the same impact for adults as some other books for this age group, I have no doubt that youngsters will find it enchanting.

[museofhell_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I was awarded the second book in this series, "The King's Riddle" so I purchased the first book in order to have the background to read the second. I think this is a really good series for readers between the ages of 7 to 14. The featured characters are aged from 5 to 12. The Land of Miu is a mythical land existing below the surface of the earth with the native race being cat-like beings. These stories are based on the activities of Princess Alara of the city of Manu, one sector of the Land of Miu and her bodyguard, Siptah who come into contact with two human children, Emma (5) and Kate Dawson (12), half-sisters, when the two Miu natives appear at the humans' house as kittens, whom the girls immediately name Sophie and Jasper. Kate keeps getting irritated with Emma when she insists the new kittens can talk, complaining about Emma's vivid imagination. Sophie and Jasper are still able to shape shift to look like regular cats in the human world because they are not yet 13 years old. While on a journey away from her home, Alara receives a message that her father, the King, has been murdered, meaning she has a certain amount of time to return home and claim the throne. The kittens have come to the surface to hide from Min, Alara's cousin, who will become the King if Alara cannot return in time to claim the throne - and he is willing to do just about anything to stop her. The "kittens" are able to access the human world only in certain areas and times; one of the areas of access is a "well" in the back yard of the Dawson girls. Emma accidentally falls through the "well" following the kittens and Kate jumps in after her trying to catch Emma before she falls and they find themselves in the Land of Miu. The kittens turn back into their normal forms, human-like youngsters with cat faces and fur, but with regular arms and hands after running through the tunnels to escape being caught by Min and his retainers. After changing, they explain the situation to Emma and Kate.The girls must accompanying Alara and Siptah in the race to return home because there is no time for the Miuans to wait for a portal to open to the human world so the girls can go back to the surface. If Alara can get home in time to claim the throne, there will then be time to take the girls home.The journey is the focus of the book and involves many perils and encounters with Min. Most of the happenings are fairly realistic and comport with the capabilities of the age of the children. This is a good example to help kids realize that they can accomplish various goals by being tenacious and not giving up when the going gets rough. It also deals with the relationship between Kate and Emma which has been complicated because the girls have different mothers following the death of Kate's mother. Kate has been resenting Emma and the attention and love Emma receives from their father and the adversity of this journey helps her understand Emma has not taken any love away from Kate - Kate has shunned her father and Emma out of jealousy.

[xfryx · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Basically, these two little girls follow their adopted kittens down a well to a magical world only to find out that the kittens are actually anthropomorphic looking people. One is a princess, there is a hostile takeover to thwart. The youngest girl is kidnapped by the usurper. Everything ties up in a neat little Disney-esque bow and everyone goes home.The cats turn into ‘purr-people’, and every single p word is prefaced by the word purr. It gets a little distracting, especially when grand speeches and danger are involved.Overall, it was a very cute book. I would have probably enjoyed it immensely were I a middle grade student. It was lighthearted, fun, and a very quick read (I finished it in just under an hour).