If you're wondering why I put Luca's book last, instead of the usual order of "Stella, Poppy, Luca, Willow, Dahlia, Gale", that's because Luca is chronologically the final diary, with references to all the previous ones.

To be honest, Angry Birds Stella Diaries has been incredibly disappointing so far. I was going to chalk it up to me going into a bunch of children's books with the standards of an adult getting a Computer Science degree, but thinking about it, I really didn't ask for much, I went into all off them knowing full well that they were essentially "baby's first novel". Even if these books couldn't provide "Deep Lore" for Angry Birds Stella, I wanted to at least be able to think "Man, I wish I had these when I was still the target audience."

What's worse is that my first impression of the whole book series, "Willow Takes The Stage," showed that they CAN tick both of those boxes, and a little more! My expectations weren't exactly unfounded! They CAN do great things with these books! But then everything else failed to tick any box at all. They were most certainly holding back based on the notion that children "can't appreciate" good stories. While I don't regret reading this series, as my autistic ass appreciates any information about Angry Birds Stella that I can get in the year of our lord 2025, these books certainly leave a whole lot more to be desired, in terms of being a standalone story, and as an addition to Angry Birds Stella.

As I opened up "Luca's Lost Voice", my expectations couldn't be any lower. Partially out of self-defense, and partially because this starred Luca, the "please give us viral marketing" character. At least this was going to be over soon.

And it is with a heavy heart that I announce that "Luca's Lost Voice" ranks 2nd place overall. Not a close second with Willow, but Luca's book had what most of these books didn't: an intriguing plot; a decent message; and a few fun moments that actually got a chuckle out of me!

Now, I don't know how much of my enjoyment was the book's own merit, and how much of it was the result of my abysmal standards going in, but one thing's for certain, it's one of the only two books in this series that I looked forward to reading again during my second read-through of this series. I'll let you guess the other book.

Now it's time for the actual review. HOORAY!!!
First things first: "How did Luca write this diary if he is an illiterate 0 year-old?" I hear you ask. The answer: by having all the other characters write for him, and then label their work as his! That fucking scoundrel.

Now, onto the plot:
Luca, as you may have guessed, loses his voice seemingly out of nowhere, and the rest of the flock are trying to find out the cause and a potential cure for his strange affliction. They never do figure out the answers to either, but what they'll eventually find out is that their actions ended up making things worse for Luca...
Along the way, another mystery pops up: an individual named "Blue Wonder" has set up shop on the island, and seems to be working with the pigs. Just who is this "Blue Wonder", and do they have something to do with Luca?
Of course, it's incredibly obvious that the "Blue Wonder" in question IS Luca, but there are still questions to answer: When, why, and how did Luca start living a double life, what does he do as the "Blue Wonder", what role do the pigs play, and most importantly, is Luca a willing participant?

This next point's highly subjective, so I won't dwell on it too much, but a good chunk of the book did, dare I say, made me smile. While "Luca's Lost Voice" doesn't offer as much insight on the world and characters of Angry Birds Stella as the rest of the books, even the weaker ones, it does make up for it with a good chunk of fun moments! Some a little more childish than others, but hey, children's book.
One of the few bits that stands out to me is when Willow accidentally lists "stones" as one of the ingredients she's gathering for her muffins, much to Stella's confusion and Willow's embarrassment.
Would've been funny if during the scene when Willow reveals she made a last minute change in her recipe, Stella thought that she did, in fact, used stones for her muffins, thus creating a brick joke(if I'm using that term correctly), but oh well.

Finally, the message. Throughout the book, Luca is constantly mistreated by the people around him. Even if most of their actions had no malicious intent behind them, they still hurt Luca quite a bit, eventually causing him to, once again, run away. Eventually, the birds all realize the mistake they made; one that many people, myself included, often make:
Whilst Luca, like any child, is naive, easily influenced, and simply put: stupid, that does not mean that he lacks a life of his own. He still has his own wants and needs, his own dreams and aspirations, no matter how childish, and most importantly, his own emotions. In other words, children are people, just like you and I. And like most people, they certainly will not appreciate it when you treat them as lesser, dismiss what they tell/show you under the belief that you know them better than they know themselves, disregard what little agency they have, and exploit them for personal gain. Sure, most, if not all kiddie stuff have some sort of child empowerment message in them, but never to such a down to earth extent! Luca isn't some child with superpowers being denied a magical adventure by his overprotective parents, he is a (relatively) regular child being mistreated in ways that regular children are more than familiar with in their everyday life! (Minus the personality-flipping muffins and all that, but you get my point) A message that will strike a chord with any young readers, and give them something to relearn when they come back years later!

So, kudos to the writers! They not only got their shit back together in the final book, they even managed to do something interesting with Luca! Even if the whole book series couldn't be on par with Willow Takes The Stage, in terms of being an entertaining standalone story with a valuable message, AND what they add to the world of Angry Birds Stella, I wish they could've at least be on par with Luca's Lost Voice. It's really not that hard to imagine a world where I could gush out about each and every book in the Angry Birds Stella Diaries series the same way I did with Willow's and Luca's.

But you know what? I'm glad I at least got to cap off this book series on a more positive note. :)