Pages : 320
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Synopsis:
To keep the family safe, Min’s mother insists that none of them use any fox-magic, such as Charm or shape-shifting. They must appear human at all times. Min feels hemmed in by the household rules and resents the endless chores, the cousins who crowd her, and the aunties who judge her. She would like nothing more than to escape Jinju, her neglected, dust-ridden, and impoverished planet. She’s counting the days until she can follow her older brother, Jun, into the Space Forces and see more of the Thousand Worlds.
When word arrives that Jun is suspected of leaving his post to go in search of the Dragon Pearl, Min knows that something is wrong. Jun would never desert his battle cruiser, even for a mystical object rumored to have tremendous power. She decides to run away to find him and clear his name.
Min’s quest will have her meeting gamblers, pirates, and vengeful ghosts. It will involve deception, lies, and sabotage. She will be forced to use more fox-magic than ever before, and to rely on all of her cleverness and bravery. The outcome may not be what she had hoped, but it has the potential to exceed her wildest dreams. (Goodreads)
Review:
I read this book because the book “DragonsAndTeaBookClub” on instagram was reading this last month. This was a book that took me a while to get into. It told the story of a girl “fox” named Min who wanted to go find her brother after her family was told that he deserted in the line of duty in the space force. She decided to go and find her brother to prove to everyone that he was not a deserter. This led her on a wild adventure through space, working for an evil captain and making the most unlikely of friends.
I really enjoyed the aspect that this book was based loosely on Korean folklore mixed with a space narrative. I loved the whole aspect of space and that the story took place on different space crafts and traveled through the different planets.
I loved the loyalty that Min had for her brother that she would do anything to defend his name. This book had mystical creatures, foxes who could shapeshift and use charm to get out of trouble, goblins conjuring junk food, and dragons possessing the powers to control the weather.
This was a new release (January 15, 2019) in the middle-grade genre. At times I did find this book slow to read around the middle but the last 100 pages or so were extremely entertaining. I was super satisfied with the ending and felt that everything was tied together very nicely without loose ends. I can see this book being a stand-alone or it has the potential to be made into a series.
marinainw0nderland 