Author-Illustrator Interview: Julia S. Kuo

Interview, Taiwanese American Heritage Week, ,

I meant to post my Taiwanese author interviews last week during Taiwanese American Heritage Week, but life got in the way. But better late than never, so here’s the first author interview out of eight.

About the Book

  • Title: Let’s Do Everything and Nothing
  • Author & Illustrator: Julia Kuo
  • Publisher: Roaring Brook Press (an Imprint of Macmillan)
  • Release Date: March 22nd, 2022
  • Genre/format: Picturebook, Fiction

Synopsis

Let’s Do Everything and Nothing is a lush and lyrical picture book from Julia Kuo celebrating special moments—big and small—shared with a child.

Will you climb a hill with me?
Dive into a lake with me?
Reach the starry sky with me,
and watch the clouds parade?

Love can feel as vast as a sky full of breathtaking clouds or as gentle as a sparkling, starlit night. It can scale the tallest mountains and reach the deepest depths of the sea.

Standing side by side with someone you love, the unimaginable can seem achievable.
But not every magical moment is extraordinary. Simply being together is the best journey of all.

Interview with Julia Kuo

Q: Last year I read and attended the book launch for I Dream of Popo, a picturebook about a Taiwanese American girl and her grandmother, written by Livia Blackburne and illustrated by you. I still remember the mouthwatering dishes in the book and wanted to ask what your favorite Taiwanese food is for Taiwanese American Heritage Week! (Feel free to list more than one.)

A: Ooh, what a fun question. I grew up eating the famous oya-jen (蚵仔煎) from Ning Xia Lu night market, so I’m a little spoiled. I would have to say I get the most excited to see ba-wan (肉圓), the steamed meat-filled potato starch snack! It’s sweet and savory and reminds me of rainy days in a simple cafe on Yang Ming Shan.

Q: Congratulations on your author-illustrator debut! Would you say your creative process in making Let’s Do Everything and Nothing was different from your previous projects working as illustrator only, and if so, how?

A: It’s pretty different! The most obvious answer is that the art and text can work more harmoniously together when I’m creating both of them in tandem, but there were many other differences I didn’t foresee.

As an illustrator, I am hired into the editorial pipeline with the expectation that I will find a successful artistic vision for the book. But as an author-illustrator, I need to sell both the art and the text from the very beginning. The artistic vision needs to be there as early as the dummy that I put together to show to my agent, who will then pitch it to editors. In this way there’s more upfront work and uncertainty, and that seems to be the payoff for having more creative control over the entire story.

I also discovered that it’s much lonelier to be an author-illustrator! I have truly loved being paired with the authors of my books. They write stories that I would never come up with in a million years. In this way, my creative freedom as an author-illustrator can sometimes feel surprisingly limited.

Q: I really love the color palette you chose for Let’s Do Everything and Nothing, with the oranges and yellows and the purples and blues. How did you decide on this color palette/ what about it appealed to you?

A: I wanted this book to tell a story through color as the mood shifts and scenes change. The story starts with sedated purplish blues which shift into a purer blue before we are introduced to vibrant new colors. We transition into a world of reds and pinks before settling into the warmth of yellows.

I would normally use bright, warm colors to convey excitement, and colder, darker hues for peacefulness. But I decided to flip things around a bit here. The blues are paired with the adventures; I love the blues of dawn, of alpine lakes and clear skies. And the comfort of home and rest to me is the glow of warm lighting, whether it’s the flickering of a fireplace or the golden windows of houses lit at night.

Q: As an illustrator your portfolio is pretty broad, encompassing different kinds of publications and audiences. What would you say is unique about children’s book illustration?

A: I love that a children’s book basically creates a gallery’s worth of illustrations. You’ll end up with anywhere from 16-32 illustrations, depending on if you’re using pages or spreads, that all make up one cohesive body of work. There’s something so satisfying about building out a visual language and adjusting elements from spread to spread to show nuance in emotion, tone, layout and style, all in order to tell a story.

Q: I’m currently studying children’s literature at Simmons University, and one of our core courses is dedicated exclusively to examining the picturebook as a medium due to its unique history and literary/artistic conventions (I’m not taking it until next semester though). What are your thoughts on the picturebook as a medium? What aspects do you think make for a great storytelling and reading experience? What elements challenge you as an author-illustrator?

A: Picture books are one of the first ways for a child to access a universe outside of their own immediate world. The variety of stories that can be found in picture books (not to mention storytelling styles) are portals not only to experiencing what is different, but also to better understanding oneself. I hope your class reads Rudine Sims Bishop’s seminal essay in which she talks about mirrors, windows and doors!

Since I’m only newly an author-illustrator, I am sometimes overwhelmed by the limitless potential of children’s books. I spend a lot of time thinking about what messages and stories are most important to me. I often imagine that each next book is my last, and if that’s all I get, what single story will I choose to tell?

Q: Let’s Do Everything and Nothing focuses on the bond between a little girl and her mother. How did you go about expressing the intimacy of this bond on the page?

A: Someone recently specifically requested a print of this page, and said it was for them the “memory that mothers have of holding their child, the warmth, the rise and fall of their breath, the touch of that small tender shoulder…” I wasn’t thinking about these individual elements so explicitly when I was drawing this spread, but I was looking to create a feeling of everyday closeness, calmness, and intimacy!

Q: What advice would you give to anyone who is thinking about writing and/or illustrating picturebooks?

A: My advice is to be prolific and make the books that you wish to be hired to make! Repetition will help with both illustration and writing. It took me many years to gain control over getting the illustration in my head out on paper. Now that I just started writing, I’m back to square one and I know that it’ll be years before I have a better handle on the process. If you keep at it, the practice will pay off. Also, no one knows what you’re capable of before you create it and put it out into the world for others to see! So really it’s a win-win to just start writing and illustrating your dream books right now.

Purchase Let’s Do Everything and Nothing from another bookseller:

About the Author-Illustrator

Julia Kuo is the author and illustrator of Let’s Do Everything and Nothing and the illustrator of several picture and specialty books including the New York Times bestselling book RISE. She has created editorial illustrations for publications such as the Wall Street Journal, The Economist, and Vox Media. Julia has taught illustration courses at Columbia College Chicago and at her alma mater, Washington University in St. Louis. She has been an artist-in-residence twice at the Banff Centre for the Arts and was a 2019-2021 fellow with the Gray Center for Arts and Inquiry at the University of Chicago. She currently lives in Seattle, WA.

Author Links:

[Blog Tour] Book Playlist for A Magic Steeped in Poison

Book Playlist, , ,

If you haven’t read my review for A Magic Steeped in Poison, please go back to that post, where you can also find the information on the book. Otherwise, come along with me for this book playlist.

Out of the five songs I picked for this playlist, four were used as the opening or ending songs for Chinese historical dramas from the 90s and early 2000s. All of these songs have a bit of a sober or melancholic feeling because of the darkness and angst that weighs on the story and the romance in A Magic Steeped in Poison. I took the time to translate the lyrics as well as I could so you could get a feel for what they’re about. Links are to the individual YouTube videos.

1. 一步一生 – 曾慶瑜 (One Step, One Lifetime – Regina Tsang)

What is that ambling sound
What flickering shadow of feelings
What is that fleeting silhouette of youth
That spins endlessly in this moment?

One turn, a hand raised
A fantastical, mesmerizing gaze
Illuminated my dreamscape
One turn, a foot put forth
Revealing the first flirtation
Decorating another’s eyes

At this time, who comes to see me?
At some unknown far-off place
In this place, just who am I even?
Stranded from the splendid place

One step, one posture
One step, one share of status
Finely crafted into a painting
One step, one stage of life
One step, one transformation
Each step more refined than the previous
Each step more at ease than the previous

2. 下沙 – 游鴻明 (Raining Sand – Chris Yu)

Everyone has someone they cannot forget
Thoughts will pass through your soul like fine grains of sand
When I opened the door gently, there was only the sound of the wind and rain
I feel that love turns people cruel
People who were once in love become thorns in each others’ hearts
The more truly you love, the more deeply you hurt

Just like night and day, separated by an instant
I’m well aware this is goodbye, tomorrow is the last time to see each other again

The sky is raining sand and also laughing at me for being too foolish
You should just stop chasing after footprints you can’t make out
The sky is raining sand and also brooding on my behalf
I bury my love in the sand, along with news of you

Once you’ve left, you’re gone, don’t think of it
The wind has left, the sand is gone, don’t think of it

3. 多情最累 – 辛曉琪 (Sentimentality is Most Wearisome – Winnie Hsin)

Who pities the woman whose heart is like water
Going the extra mile to accompany you
Clinging so, yet all I get in return is silence
I gaze at the waning moon and raise an empty cup
When I look again, it brims with tears
Sentimentality is most wearisome
In the haziness, you’ve gradually grown more distant

Seeing through the gilded facade of passionate love
Who can judge this matter of right and wrong?
In times of storms, I persevere through the dawn and greet the night again
Unable to drink away the bitter taste, I’m left with nothing but thoughts reverberating through my mind
In the space between chatter and laughter, all I see is a sky full of gratitude and grievances

The comings and goings of the mortal world are like a guesthouse
There is no end to the world’s sorrows and joys that you witness
A dream follows a regret
After love and hate, life continues and then breaks again
Who knew that your heart only allows someone to stay for one night
Adding a bit of worry and sorrow for no reason
Could it be that true feelings are hard to obtain
That infatuation is doomed to wander
Until it vanishes like smoke in the end?

4. 白絲線 – 那英 (White Silk Thread – Na Ying)

Tonight, the ash-colored wind stings your eyes
Love rides into the distance on a transparent rainbow
Are all these feelings reciprocated?
The starry night in the cosmos illuminates your face

Memories no longer have a sweet taste
Write down half a punctuation for this paragraph
The snow drifts beneath a forlorn first-quarter moon
There are no roses in this moment, only light blue tears

Love is like white silk thread
Longing tugs at my heartstrings
Weak thoughts buoy along silver leaves, echoing in your world
Love is always limitless
Longing is written in my eyes
Your borders blur and vanish
I only wish you could aid me through my night

5. 江南 – 林俊傑 (South of the River – JJ Lin)

The wind arrives here and is clingy
Clinging to the thoughts of passerby
The rain arrives here and winds into thread
Winding around us as we linger in the mortal realm
Your presence beside me is fate
Our fate is written on the Stone of Three Lifetimes
Love has one in ten thousand parts sweetness
Better that I am buried at this point

Circling round and round
Day after day, year after year, I
Gaze deeply at your face
A face showing the tenderness of anger, the tenderness of grievance

Not understanding love and hate, passion and worry, we both assumed love was like the changeable weather
Believing that loving a day at a time would be enough to overcome eternity
Freezing time in this moment

Not knowing how to express tenderness, we assumed sacrifice in the name of love was merely an ancient tale
How painful the grief of separation can be, how concentrated the pain can be,
When our dreams were buried in the misty rain south of the river
When our hearts shattered
That’s when we finally understood

[Blog Tour] Review for A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy I. Lin

Review, , ,

Hello again. I am currently struggling through the last stretch of finals week, but I’m excited to kick off this year’s Taiwanese American Heritage Week, where I celebrate authors of Taiwanese heritage on my blog, with my review for A Magic Steeped in Poison, written by a Taiwanese Canadian author. Thanks to Colored Pages for hosting the blog tour. You can find the rest of the tour stops on their tour launch page.

Book Information

Title: A Magic Steeped in Poison
Author: Judy I. Lin
Series: The Book of Tea
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Publication Date: March 29th, 2022
Genres: Young Adult, fantasy

Synopsis

I used to look at my hands with pride. Now all I can think is, “These are the hands that buried my mother.”

For Ning, the only thing worse than losing her mother is knowing that it’s her own fault. She was the one who unknowingly brewed the poison tea that killed her—the poison tea that now threatens to also take her sister, Shu.

When Ning hears of a competition to find the kingdom’s greatest shénnóng-shī—masters of the ancient and magical art of tea-making—she travels to the imperial city to compete. The winner will receive a favor from the princess, which may be Ning’s only chance to save her sister’s life.

But between the backstabbing competitors, bloody court politics, and a mysterious (and handsome) boy with a shocking secret, Ning might actually be the one in more danger.

Review

A Magic Steeped in Poison was one of my most anticipated releases of 2022, and it definitely delivered everything I wanted and more.

This book was really a treat for me as someone who grew up with Chinese dramas. It was atmospheric and trope-y in all the best ways while also delivering a fresh story with an innovative magic system, written in lush prose that stimulates all the senses.

Ning, the protagonist of A Magic Steeped in Poison, is the kind of person you can’t help but root for. Her family is the center of her world, she’s competent but humble and kind, and she’s always just Trying Her Best. Even as the story is an epic fantasy with a broad political landscape, it’s also a deeply personal coming-of-age story for Ning. Having grown up in a far-flung rural village in the empire of Dàxī, leaving her family behind and traveling to the capital city for the shénnóng-shī competition dumps her into a world much bigger than what she’s used to. There’s the culture shock of moving to a big city but also the stark class disparities between herself and most of her fellow competitors. Her interpersonal interactions in the capital are intertwined with higher political stakes, and she has to decide who to trust, what she values, and where her loyalties lie.

Chief among the people who test her ability to judge others’ character is Kang, a mysterious, handsome, and brooding boy full of secrets. They meet seemingly by chance and then establish a magical bond through a shared brew of tea that brings them into a surprisingly intimate closeness while also giving them reason to question whether the other person is everything they seem to be. There is sweetness and angst, disclosure and mistrust, and the tension between them extends throughout the story.

Another key player in the story who is full of mystery is the regent, Princess Zhen, who is the host of the shénnóng-shī competition. Ning doesn’t know what to make of her but is pulled into her orbit when she gets entangled in the royal court’s lethal power plays. I may have a soft spot for Zhen because of her romance with her bodyguard, Ruyi, but having a sapphic romance among the major supporting characters was a nice surprise. I can’t say too much about the princess without spoiling the story, but I definitely grew more attached to her as the story progressed.

A Magic Steeped in Poison is the first in a duology, and the setup for the second book is definitely there. When I finished the last page I was beside myself clamoring for the sequel and even though the wait is much shorter than usual because book 2 comes out in August of this year, I am cursing the publishing gods for not dropping it into my lap now.

In the second half of my tour stop, I have a book playlist, so stay tuned for that. 🙂

Book Links  

About the Author

Judy Lin was born in Taiwan and moved to Canada when she was eight years old. She grew up with her nose in a book and loved to escape to imaginary worlds. She now divides her time between working as an occupational therapist and creating imaginary worlds of her own. She lives on the Canadian prairies with her husband and daughter. 

Author Links: 

[Blog Tour] Favorite Quotes from Lakelore by Anna-Marie McLemore

Quotes, , , , , , , ,

Hello again! This is part 2 of my tour stop for the Lakelore book tour hosted by Colored Pages. You can find all the info about the book and my review in the first part.

Today, I’m presenting some of my favorite quotes from Lakelore that I found resonated with my experiences and/or were just beautiful to behold. These are spoiler-free, so don’t worry!

Quote #1

I planned to help them hide out behind the rocks. Then I saw the first flicker of iridescent blue lift off the water. It fluttered through the air, a slice of lake-silver wafting like a leaf. Then another followed it. Then a few more, then a dozen. Then a hundred, each of them like a butterfly with its wings made of water. Then a whole flock of blue-green and silver-blue wings, their backs shining like the surface of the lake. They spooled away like they always did, showing me the dark underneath the water.

Bastián

Quote #2

I look up, and track that rush of blue. First I take in what it is as it crosses the sky, a spotted fish with a feathered tail that looks blade sharp . Then I take in that the sky is no longer daylight-gray, but purple, dark as the rind of an eggplant. The fish swims through that sky like it’s water. Ocean plants twist up toward that sky. A starfish with blue swallowtail wings rustles the stalks. The sky ripples with threads of light like sun bowing on the bottom of a pool. The memory of what this boy once showed me brushes against my neck.

Lore

Quote #3

Lore’s glance catches on my wrist. They give my watch a weird look. No one our age wears watches, and I know that. But I’ve also noticed that wearing a man’s watch signals something to people looking at me that they don’t even register. It makes it more likely that they’ll call me him instead of her, and while him might not be quite right, it’s a whole sky closer to right than her. That’s worth my friends telling me that an analog watch makes me look about a thousand years old.

Bastián

Quote #4

What I don’t say , what I want to say: All my friends liked me. And most of them even stuck with me when I came out (and those who didn’t, I chose to forget their names). I was the one they asked what shirts to wear on first dates, what were the best grocery stores to buy flowers to bring their mothers after they stayed out too late. But I don’t hear from most of them. I’m the kind of friend that’s fun when I’m there and forgettable when I’m not.

Lore

Quote #5

ADHD medication helps give me more of a buffer against changes in my brain weather . I used to get startled by a noise and be thrown off for hours. Someone would give me a look that could have meant nothing, and the ground of my thoughts would dry out and crack. That still happens, but it happens less often , and it happens slower.

This morning I missed the time I usually take my meds. I woke up groggy, tired from dreams of the lake flooding onto the shore, the water pulling into the shape of flames and licking across the hills. So I’m back to setting alarms. If I’m not on top of my meds, the weather in my brain dries out faster, like lightning might catch in the sky.

BAstián

Quote #6

“It was a lot like that ,” Lore says. “Sometimes I kind of wish I could give the people around me a daily report on my gender. Just so they’d know what to expect. So no one would give me that confused look whether I was wearing a binder or makeup or whatever.”

When I don’t say anything, Lore looks up. “I’m not making any sense, am I?”

“No,” I say. “You’re making a lot of sense. The world could use daily gender forecasts.”

The minute I hear myself say it, I know how stupid it sounds. Yes, I sometimes imagine that state of my brain in terms of weather. That doesn’t mean I tell anyone about it. It must sound even weirder about gender.

But Lore’s face lights up. “Yes,” they say. “Sunny, forty-two percent expected femininity.”

“Tonight,” I say, “cloudy with likely masculinity.”

“Exactly,” Lore says.

Bastián

Quote #7

I want to ask. Of course I want to ask. But it’s none of my business. And even if it was, how would I ask? Hey, random question, but did you grow up thinking there was maybe something weird about your own brain? Or that your brain was doing things the wrong way? That you were doing things the wrong way?

Even in my head, it sounds like a bad infomercial. It comes with a flourish of harp sounds. There’s an Amanda the Learning Specialist for that.

Lore

Quote #8

“Your turn.” Bastián looks at me. “Gender forecast.”

“For right now?” I ask. “Yeah.”

“Right now?” I shake the glitter jar. “I think it might be this.”

“Okay.” Bastián’s smile is shy, and they don’t quite look at me, like I’ve given them some kind of compliment they want but don’t know what to do with . “What about yesterday?”

“I guess”— I think about it, how I felt, how to put it in terms other than masculine and feminine, boy or girl, neither or both or somewhere in the space between—“ really strong coffee. Or maybe that popping sound soda makes.”

“A gender fizz.” Bastián nods. “Sounds like the next big drink.”

Lore

Quote #9

I can feel Bastián’s wince so clearly it presses into my chest plate. I know that feeling of not asking because you don’t want to admit that you didn’t understand something, that after several more repetitions you still might not understand it, the worry that the other person’s patience will thin and fray before you can.

Lore

Quote #10

I want to tell them that sometimes it’s okay, and sometimes it’s exhausting. Sometimes it means trying to change the weather in my own brain and finding it as impossible as moving the clouds in a storm. The weather in my brain may or may not match up with what’s going on, but an atmosphere of something being wrong can permeate everything even if I can’t figure out what it is. Sometimes it means not saying anything when someone misgenders me because I don’t want to be flagged as a problem any more than I already am.

BastiáN

[Blog Tour] Review for Lakelore by Anna-Marie McLemore

Review, , , , , , , ,

Hello again! Spring is in the air here, and while school is kicking my butt (as always), I am currently on spring break, so I managed to fit in some pleasure reading for this blog tour! I’m excited to present my tour stop for Anna-Marie McLemore’s newest book, Lakelore! Thanks to Colored Pages for hosting the blog tour. You can find the full tour schedule on their website.

Book Information 

Title: Lakelore
Author: Anna-Marie McLemore 
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Publication Date: March 8th, 2022 
Pages: 304
Genres: Young Adult Fantasy

Book cover for Anna-Marie McLemore's novel, Lakelore. The illustration features two dark-haired brown-skinned youths standing back-to-back, half-immersed in vivid, multi-colored water with a flight of blue-green butterflies perched on their heads. A large yellow sun, partially eclipsed by clouds, looms behind them. In the water, the word LAKELORE is printed in bold white font with a distortion that resembles light reflecting off dapples in water.
Book cover for Anna-Marie McLemore’s novel, Lakelore. The illustration features two dark-haired brown-skinned youths standing back-to-back, half-immersed in vivid, multi-colored water with a flight of blue-green butterflies perched on their heads. A large yellow sun, partially eclipsed by clouds, looms behind them. In the water, the word LAKELORE is printed in bold white font with a distortion that resembles light reflecting off dapples in water.

Synopsis

In this young adult novel by award-winning author Anna-Marie McLemore, two non-binary teens are pulled into a magical world under a lake – but can they keep their worlds above water intact?

Everyone who lives near the lake knows the stories about the world underneath it, an ethereal landscape rumored to be half-air, half-water. But Bastián Silvano and Lore Garcia are the only ones who’ve been there. Bastián grew up both above the lake and in the otherworldly space beneath it. Lore’s only seen the world under the lake once, but that one encounter changed their life and their fate.

Then the lines between air and water begin to blur. The world under the lake drifts above the surface. If Bastián and Lore don’t want it bringing their secrets to the surface with it, they have to stop it and to do that, they have to work together. There’s just one problem: Bastián and Lore haven’t spoken in seven years, and working together means trusting each other with the very things they’re trying to hide.

Review

You know how some books hurt to read because they hit close to home, but then they heal you and tell you it’s okay to exist as you are? Lakelore is one of those books for me. I mean, I love all of Anna-Marie McLemore’s books, but this one really spoke to me on a deeper level than any of their previous books (which again, are all marvelous still in their own right). The intersections of being trans, neurodivergent, and a person of color are explored in this story from dual points of view, and both Bastián and Lore’s experiences really resonated with me in various ways.

At its core, Lakelore is a story about the Terrifying Ordeal of Being KnownTM. Vulnerability is difficult enough to begin with, but being neurodivergent, trans/nonbinary, and brown in an ableist, transmisic, and racist world, both Bastian and Lore have been made to feel like there is no space in the world for them to exist, like the only way to live is to shrink themselves into digestible packages and to make sure nobody ever sees the unacceptable sides of themselves. In each other, they find kindred spirits. They can info-dump on each other about their favorite niche interests, they can joke with each other about gender, they don’t have to explain life as a brown person in a white world. However, the tension between their desperate hunger for intimacy and their all-consuming fear of rejection keeps every interaction between them balanced on a knife’s edge, where one wrong move or word feels like it could ruin everything. The acts of self-sabotage as a defense mechanism to preempt the possibility of being hurt by the other person? Maybe a little too relatable.

Of course, as usual, Anna-Marie McLemore brings their characters and setting to life with gorgeous prose that invites you to linger and bask in every turn of phrase, to let yourself get swept away by each emotionally charged ebb and flow of words. I kept highlighting passages for the favorite quotes portion of this book tour (coming up in my next post) and quickly found myself stressed by the need to narrow the list down.

Conclusion: Just read the book! It is an Experience.

Content/trigger warnings: misgendering, general trans-antagonism, ableist bullying, gendered harassment

Book Links

About the Author

Anna-Marie McLemore (they/them) writes magical realism and fairy tales that are as queer, Latine, and nonbinary as they are. Their books include THE WEIGHT OF FEATHERS, a 2016 William C. Morris YA Debut Award Finalist; 2017 Stonewall Honor Book WHEN THE MOON WAS OURS, which was longlisted for the National Book Award in Young People’s Literature and was the winner of the James Tiptree Jr. Award; WILD BEAUTY, a Kirkus, School Library Journal, and Booklist best book of 2017; BLANCA & ROJA, a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice; MISS METEOR (co-authored with Tehlor Kay Mejia); DARK AND DEEPEST RED, a Winter 2020 Indie Next List selection; and THE MIRROR SEASON, which has recently received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, Booklist and School Library Journal, and the forthcoming LAKELORE (March 8, 2022) and SELF-MADE BOYS: A GREAT GATSBY REMIX (Fall 2022).

Author Links: 

[Blog Tour] 5 Asian Fantasy Book Recommendations for Fans of The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh

Listicle,

Hello and welcome to part 2 of my blog tour stop for The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea. You can find the full details about the book in part 1. Here I’m presenting some book recommendations based on The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea. Some are older than others but they’re all Asian fantasy stories. If you’ve been following me/my blog since 2016 you might have seen me talk about one or more of these before. The book publishing world moves so quickly that backlist titles get neglected and forgotten pretty easily when they’re not part of an ongoing series, so I decided I’d give these a spotlight again.

Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon

This book was basically the first high fantasy YA by an Asian author published by one of the Big 5. Set in a Chinese-inspired fantasy world, it follows the story of Ai Ling, a young woman who sets off on a journey in order to find her missing father. Her journey takes her far beyond the world she knows to the realms of the gods themselves.

Prophecy by Ellen Oh

The first in a Korean inspired sword and sorcery fantasy trilogy, Prophecy features a kickass heroine on her quest to save her kingdom from foreign invaders and step into her destiny as the Dragon Warrior.

The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury

The Forbidden Wish is an ode love both platonic and romantic, told from the point of view of a female jinni who is woken from her lamp by a charming thief centuries after watching her closest friend’s kingdom fall. It’s a fresh twist on the story of Aladdin by an author of Syrian descent that remains one of my favorite YA fantasy romances to this day.

The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

Like The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, The Star-Touched Queen, which draws on Hindu lore, features a young woman named Maya who becomes the bride of a god as the result of a cursed horoscope. She struggles to forge her own destiny while navigating the realm of Death and the shadows of her past life. The whole series set in this universe is a gorgeously written feast for the imagination, and I recommend reading the companion, A Crown of Wishes, and the novellas collected in Star-Touched Stories.

Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa

While Julie Kagawa is best known for her Iron Fey books, Shadow of the Fox is a must-read in its own right. Japanese folklore serves as the inspiration for this trilogy, which follows a humble kitsune (fox spirit) as she takes on the heavy burden of protecting a piece of the scroll of the Kami Dragon, whose power to grant any single wish every millennium would be devastating in the hands of the wrong sort—and there are many who covet it and will do anything to get their hands on it.

[Blog Tour] Review for The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh

Review, ,

I’m about 1/3 of the way through the spring semester and am mentally hanging by a thread to the point that I mixed up the date for this blog tour post, but! I got a nice reprieve from school while reading The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, which was one of my most anticipated reads of early 2022 since I’m a long-time Axie Oh fan and also the cover for this book (by artist Kuri Huang) is gorgeous! Thank you to Colored Pages for hosting this tour. You can find the schedule with all the other tour stops on the tour launch page.

Book Information

Title: The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea
Author: Axie Oh 
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Publication Date: February 22nd, 2022 
Genres: Young Adult, fantasy

Synopsis

Deadly storms have ravaged Mina’s homeland for generations. Floods sweep away entire villages, while bloody wars are waged over the few remaining resources. Her people believe the Sea God, once their protector, now curses them with death and despair. In an attempt to appease him, each year a beautiful maiden is thrown into the sea to serve as the Sea God’s bride, in the hopes that one day the “true bride” will be chosen and end the suffering.

Many believe that Shim Cheong, the most beautiful girl in the village—and the beloved of Mina’s older brother Joon—may be the legendary true bride. But on the night Cheong is to be sacrificed, Joon follows Cheong out to sea, even knowing that to interfere is a death sentence. To save her brother, Mina throws herself into the water in Cheong’s stead.

Swept away to the Spirit Realm, a magical city of lesser gods and mythical beasts, Mina seeks out the Sea God, only to find him caught in an enchanted sleep. With the help of a mysterious young man named Shin—as well as a motley crew of demons, gods, and spirits—Mina sets out to wake the Sea God and bring an end to the killer storms once and for all.

But she doesn’t have much time: A human cannot live long in the land of the spirits. And there are those who would do anything to keep the Sea God from waking…

Review

Not to be punny, but The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is such an immersive read. Nearly all of the story takes place in the undersea kingdom of the Sea God, which is populated by spirits and immortals of all kinds. Although it feels like a cliche to say so, I got Spirited Away vibes from the story, but not just because it’s Asian. The alienation and wonder of being in a completely different world with its own rules, the race against time to save what one holds most dear, the ever present beauty and danger of the spirit world, and the deceptive appearances of many of the characters—all of these elements lent the story the same enchanting qualities as Spirited Away.

Our protagonist, Mina, is nothing special on the surface, not the most beautiful or talented girl in her village, not even the original bride chosen to be sacrificed to the Sea God.  Yet her love, for her family, for her people, and for the gods themselves makes her shine as the protagonist and spurs her to acts of bravery. Her physical strength may be unremarkable, but her mental fortitude is admirable. She finds strength from the bonds she forges with others and holds them close to her heart.

The supporting cast of characters includes a wide array of beings, from friendly spirits in the form of children to spiteful gods with their own whims and agendas, as well as several of the other girls who were previously sacrificed to the Sea God. Although this story is a standalone, I found myself wishing I could return to the world of the Sea God to hang out with the many friends and allies Mina makes along the way.

At its core, The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is a story exploring the meaning of fate and the power of love to overcome all. Even as she is pressed on all sides by forces that try to bend her to their will, Mina persists in following her heart and holding on to hope. Her story is a guiding light in the storm and a perfect read for times of trouble. Overall, this book is a lovely start to Axie Oh’s venture into the fantasy genre and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.

Don’t forget to check out my book recommendations for the blog tour in my next post!

About the Author

Axie Oh is a first-generation Korean American, born in New York City and raised in New Jersey. She studied Korean history and creative writing as an undergrad at the University of California San Diego and holds an MFA in Writing for Young People from Lesley University. Her passions include K-pop, anime, stationery supplies, and milk tea, and she currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada, with her dog, Toro (named after Totoro). She is the author of multiple books for teens, including The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea.

Author Links: 

[Blog Tour] Favorite Quotes from The Red Palace by June Hur

Quotes, , ,

Hello, welcome to the second half of my tour stop for The Red Palace by June Hur, hosted by Colored Pages. You can find the details about the book and my review in my previous post. I’ve kept this spoiler free, so worry not.

Note: These quotes were taken from the digital advance reader copy I received from the publisher. The final edition may differ slightly.

Quote #1

Moonlight drifted as quietly as falling snow, illuminating the pavilion roofs and the animal shaped statues that lined the swooping eaves. Floor lanterns spilled golden light across the frosted courtyards, and against the latticed labyrinth of doors and windows. Silence reigned, except for the distant ring of the great bell, echoing through the capital and rumbling over Changdeok Palace. By the twenty-eighth ring, the palace gates would be bolted shut for the night.

Chapter 1

Quote #2

I knew how to keep my heart calm in the face of death and dying, screaming patients, and yet one sharp word from my father, and I turned into a fragile child. Before him, I never knew how to keep myself from crying—the type of crying that left me in a heap of violent shudders and gasped attempts to speak—no matter how much he resented the sight of it all. I wanted so much to be accepted by him. And I hated this feeling; I wished it to go away.

Chapter 6

Quote #3

It was no wonder that I’d read of Segeomjeong Pavilion so often in literature and poems. The pavilion nestled under a forested mountain and next to a trickling stream that sparkled in the setting sun, casting a spell over one’s mind with the thought that everything was well with the kingdom. There was no famine. There was no horror, no pain. There was no grief. There was only water, earth, and trees.

Chapter 7

Quote #4

He held my gaze, his brows drawn low with concern. “I promise. I promise on my father’s grave that nothing you tell me will ever be turned against you.”

And in that moment, I felt a strange feeling.

I trusted him.

Chapter 7

Quote #5

With that, I gave the servant a faint smile and stepped into my home. Silence and shadows swarmed around me, heavy with Mother’s grief, the one wound I couldn’t stitch up. A wound that made me feel so helpless I wanted to run away from it—but I was her daughter. We were family.

Chapter 8

Quote #6

Letting out a heavy sigh, I slid open the door to her chamber, and as the glow of candlelight filled my vision, for a moment, I saw Mother as she had once been. A gisaeng of exquisite beauty, and so intelligent that powerful men would come from all around the kingdom to converse with her. One of the men had been my father. A whirlwind love story, it was, Servant Mokgeum had once told me. They could hardly survive a day without each other.

But the pool of candlelight faded, and I stared at the mother who’d raised me, with her severely tied hair and a face that looked as empty as a storm-washed sky, eyes so dim they reminded me of a pair of burnt-out wicks.

Chapter 8

Quote #7

Within a few paces, I caught sight of the flared tile roof of the police bureau rising above the sea of thatched huts like dark storm clouds. I saw, too, a group of young police officers standing outside, speaking with someone. My gaze gravitated toward the tallest officer, a veil of rain dripping from the brim of his black hat.

Chapter 9

Quote #8

I was suddenly filled with the urge to burst into laughter. Laughter over the terrifyingly ridiculous situation I’d found myself, and from the sheer sense of wonder that the darkest time had brought a friend into my life.

Chapter 10

Quote #9

My stomach tightened into a knot as I wrung my hands, and forced my gaze onto the floor. But I couldn’t refocus myself. My guard fell away like a sigh of defeat, and I admitted to myself a truth that made my ears burn.

I wanted to love and be loved.

I wanted to be known.

I wanted to be understood and accepted.

Chapter 11

Quote #10

The great bell struck, its resounding ring rumbling down the streets. Massive gates on all corners of the fortress thundered shut, and we narrowly made it out on horseback. Hooves pounded across the earth as the capital and its guardian mountain dwindled into a black-ridged shadow.

Chapter 16

[Blog Tour] Review for The Red Palace by June Hur

Review, , ,

It’s a new year already, which sounds fake since it feels like just yesterday we were starting off 2021. I haven’t kept up with my blog as much as I hoped over the past year, but I’m still hanging in there and getting all my blog tour posts in. Today’s review is for one of my most anticipated 2022 releases, The Red Palace by June Hur, as part of the blog tour hosted by Colored Pages. You can find out more about the tour and view the tour schedule on the Colored Pages site.

Book Information

Title: The Red Palace
Author: June Hur  
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Publication Date: January 25th, 2022 
Genres: Young Adult, historical fiction, mystery

Synopsis

Joseon (Korea), 1758. There are few options available to illegitimate daughters in the capital city, but through hard work and study, eighteen-year-old Hyeon has earned a position as a palace nurse. All she wants is to keep her head down, do a good job, and perhaps finally win her estranged father’s approval.

But Hyeon is suddenly thrust into the dark and dangerous world of court politics when someone murders four women in a single night, and the prime suspect is Hyeon’s closest friend and mentor. Determined to prove her beloved teacher’s innocence, Hyeon launches her own secret investigation.

In her hunt for the truth, she encounters Eojin, a young police inspector also searching for the killer. When evidence begins to point to the Crown Prince himself as the murderer, Hyeon and Eojin must work together to search the darkest corners of the palace to uncover the deadly secrets behind the bloodshed.

June Hur, critically acclaimed author of The Silence of Bones and The Forest of Stolen Girls, returns with The Red Palace—a third evocative, atmospheric historical mystery perfect for fans of Courtney Summers and Kerri Maniscalco.

Review

(Note: I received an advance reader copy of the book from the publisher as part of my participation in this tour in exchange for an honest review.)

Honestly I feel like I might be repeating myself somewhat from my review of The Forest of Stolen Girls, but June Hur has delivered yet another masterful bone-chilling page-turner. Something about the way she writes infuses each page with the atmospheric essence necessary to immerse you in the world of her stories. There’s not a word wasted, each sentence a silken thread in a grand tapestry that you cannot fully grasp until it has finished being woven before your eyes. It’s like magic.

At the heart of this tragic serial murder mystery is nuanced commentary on gender and class inequality in 18th century Joseon Korea, the ghosts that haunt Hyeon at each step of her investigation and her life as a whole. As a young woman and an illegitimate child of a noble and a former courtesan, she has few prospects in a world of strict gender segregation and class stratification. Her attempts to pursue truth and justice on behalf of the murder victims and the innocent scapegoat for their deaths put her at odds with the prevailing social order, which would prefer that she keep her head down and mouth shut—if she doesn’t want to end up dead as well.

The story makes it clear who is treated as disposable and who can largely harm with impunity, and the challenge of solving the mystery is very much tied up in social power differentials and access to knowledge and resources. Yet the lurking threats to Hyeon and to those who refuse to let the truth remain untold ironically betray the fragility of the powerful and the faults in the system that allow those with less privilege to gain leverage and turn the tables. Thus the story does not fall into a fatalistic view of society but instead instills hope that toxic systems can be upended and justice can prevail.

As with her previous novels, this newest book of June’s centers on family and the complex feelings of daughters toward patriarchal figures. Hyeon’s desperate desire for validation from her emotionally distant and unforgiving father informs her choices and creates internal conflict throughout the story. Her investigation could jeopardize the achievements she has worked hard to attain as a palace nurse, so she must choose between doing what’s right and doing what is expected of her.

One notable way that The Red Palace diverges from its predecessors is the inclusion of a romantic subplot. Folded into the story’s broader theme of gender and class inequality is an aching tale of forbidden love. Eojin and Hyeon share analytical minds and an eye for detail, a strong sense of justice, and a stubborn streak that puts them in danger of retribution by those who feel threatened by their investigation. Yet the strict rules of gender and class dictated by their time and place cut a wide gulf between them, barring them from forging a socially sanctioned friendship and bond of intimacy. The result is a slow-burn romance replete with soulful yearning, stolen glances, and unspoken affection. It is devastating and beautiful, and you’ll have to read the book to find out not only who killed the palace women and why but what the future holds for Eojin and Hyeon. Trust me, it’s worth it.

In my next post, I’ll share some favorite quotes from the book to give a taste of what you’re in for.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Blackwells | Book Depository | Bookshop.org | Goodreads | IndieBound | Indigo | Kinokuniya USA

About the Author

a black and white photo of a pale-skinned young East Asian woman with long black hair who is smiling widely with teeth showing and eyes crinkled; a veil of maple leaves are faintly visible in the unfocused background

June Hur was born in South Korea and raised in Canada, except for the time when she moved back to Korea and attended high school there. She studied History and Literature at the University of Toronto. She began writing her debut novel after obsessing over books about Joseon Korea. When she’s not writing, she can be found wandering through nature or journaling at a coffee shop. She is the author of The Silence of Bones, The Forest of Stolen Girls, The Red Palace, and A Crane Among Wolves, published by Feiwel & Friends/Macmillan, and she currently lives in Toronto with her husband and daughter.

[Blog Tour] Book Playlist for Bounce Back by Misako Rocks!

Book Playlist, , ,

Hello again! If you missed my review for Bounce Back, please refer back to that post for more information about the book. This post is for the playlist I curated.

For this book playlist, I decided to lean into the 90s-00s shoujo nostalgia I mentioned in my review. All five of the songs I picked are from anime, and four out of five are in Japanese (the other being from an English dub of an anime). Of those five, three come from magical girl anime from that time period, specifically Sailor Moon (the original, not Sailor Moon Crystal!) and Cardcaptor Sakura (not the more recent Clear Card), which were formative pieces of media for me. The central themes of this playlist are the uncertainty and growing pains of adolescence as it relates to self-confidence and friendship.

Full YouTube Playlist

1. Platinum – 坂本真綾/Maaya Sakamoto (Cardcaptor Sakura Season 3 Opening Theme)

Selected Lyrics (translation source uncertain, but possibly by the uploader of the video linked):

A world yet unseen…
No matter what awaits me there,
Even if it’s not the ideal
I won’t be afraid
The birds travel on the wind
On a journey from today to tomorrow

I want to convey it, I want to shout it
I am but one entity in this world
But like a prayer, like a star
Even with a small light, someday
I want to become stronger and stronger

2. “らしく”いきましょ/“Rashiku” Ikimasho (I’ll Go As “Myself”) – Meu (Sailor Moon SuperS Second Ending Theme)

Selected Lyrics (translation taken from Anime Lyrics.com, credited to Alex Glover <kurozuki@nwlink.com> ):

Lalala
Never give up, keep on trying
I’m betting it all on this game
My heart is pounding with joy
In the age of adolescence
It’s okay to rewrite
What is in your loving profile

3. Chase the Core – 佐久間貴生/Takao Sakuma (Skate Leading Stars Opening Theme)

Selected Lyrics (translation taken from Anime Song Lyrics and refined by me):

Chase the core
Seek out your yet unseen potential
Feel your heart
Seize your freedom now
You’ve learned enjoyment, right?
You can’t lie to yourself
Be proud of your best moment
Let’s do this
Chase the core
The frozen time, start moving
Come on, let’s go!

4. Tell Me – Queen of Hearts (Cardcaptor Sakura: The Movie Insert Song)

This song is dedicated to Lilico and Nala.

Selected Lyrics:

Now there’s clouds on the horizon
And it’s starting to feel like rain
Now I hope you’re realizin’
I want you back again

So tell me
Are we gonna talk about it?
Are we gonna still be friends?
(Tell me)
You don’t ever have to doubt it
This doesn’t have to be the end

5. しょっぱい涙/Shoppai Namida (Salty Tears) – 阪本奨悟/Shougo Sakamoto (The Royal Tutor Opening Theme)

This song is for Nicco the guardian spirit.

Selected Lyrics (translation taken from Anime Song Lyrics, edited by me):

Tens of times, tens of times
You gave my back a push
I no longer want to cry these salty, such salty tears

Promises and bonds
Do they really mean anything?

“I want you to understand me.”
“I want someone to help me.”
My heart is screaming that
But I’m not being honest with myself

Tens of times, tens of times,
I kept lying
But why, tell me why
Were you the only one to remain here for me

That’s why I’m not running away
From myself nor from you anymore

Thanks for listening! (And I promise I haven’t forgotten about the Jade Fire Gold playlist that I was supposed to post for my last blog tour. Unfortunately, I got hit by a massive schoolwork/depression combo at the time and wasn’t able to do it on schedule. It’s coming later this week.)