Mar 23

Mar 23 Poiko: Quests & Stuff // Advanced Review

Poiko: Quests & Stuff is a colorful middle-grade adventure following couriers and best friends, Poiko and Kenzie. Poiko: Quests & Stuff is written, illustrated, and lettered by Brian Middleton and published by Wonderbound.

Poiko and Kenzie aren’t your average couriers; living in a magical kingdom, their clients include dragons, space fish, and more. More than just delivering packages, Poiko and Kenzie often stop and make friends along the route, learning philosophical lessons at the same time.

Poiko is excitable and outgoing, with a seemingly carefree attitude. He’s easygoing and happy to go wherever the road takes him. If he has a plan, it’s a loose one he can change as people need his help.

In contrast, Kenzie tends towards the anxious side, fretting about making deliveries on time. Though in the end, the bat does always agree with Poiko to help the creatures they meet along the way, admitting that helping others is more important than timely deliveries.

Middleton does a good job of making Poiko and Kenzie well-developed characters rather than reducing them to one characteristic each; laidback Poiko and anxious Kenzie. Though he appears calm, Poiko has his own share of anxieties. Poiko values friendships and spending time with his friends; however, as a courier, he’s often busy traveling, and that makes it hard to see friends.

Throughout the three deliveries they undertake in Poiko: Quests & Stuff, Poiko and Kenzie grow a lot. Kenzie learns it’s okay to take things slow, and Poiko learns that just because he can’t see his friends all the time doesn’t mean they aren’t still friends.

Friendship plays a large role in Poiko: Quests & Stuff. The friends Poiko and Kenzie make often teach them lessons or come in handy on future deliveries. They’re learning that helping others allows them to build community and friendship in a myriad of ways. But what’s important is that Poiko and Kenzie don’t help people because they want their help later; they help others purely out of kindness.

Not only is the story sweet and heartfelt, but the art is just as good. Middleton gives Poiko: Quests & Stuff a magical feeling. A feeling aided by the way Middleton doesn’t spend time explaining the way the magic of the world works; it makes everything feel more immersive.

Middleton takes the mundane, such as forests and caves, and makes it whimsical by playing with shapes and colors. Trees can be purple and twist and turn all the way into space. But there’s also plenty of the fantastic, such as floating islands and spectral fish. This blend of the realistic and magical is a lot of fun visually, and it makes

In Poiko: Quests & Stuff, Middleton takes readers on an imaginative journey filled with memorable characters. And the themes of friendship, community, and being kind to oneself are essential for anyone to learn or remember. Poiko: Quests & Stuff is perfect for its intended middle-grade audience and for readers of any age. This is a story anyone can read and get enjoyment from.