The first thing that this story will remind you of is Zootopia. This is something that the blurb itself proclaims. If you did not like the movie or any of its ilk, this might not be the book for you. The one place it diverges from the generalization is where it provides a spiritual/mythological concept for why the animals are the way they are and leading such evolved lives.
We are introduced to a city where a panda has gone missing, he is one of the police, so a lot of chaos has been left in the wake of his disappearance. Our lead duo is a penguin and a monkey who is forced to work together. As they trudge around the city, we get to know the inner workings and logic of the world we are visiting. Sometimes the lingo or the setup seemed a little forced but worked most of the time. There are many subplots in the narrative, and I must admit that the only thing that worked for me was the extra-central plot, which was not so much a twist as a gradual reveal.
I liked the overall effect, and some of the scenes were vivid and had me thinking about them. I even liked the drawings interspersed between the chapters, which helped me better understand the meanings of what the author wanted to convey when he described the animals of the story.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.
Superfluous Reading 