Tag Archives: Korean

[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 The Forest of Stolen Girls by June Hur

Book Playlist, , ,

If you missed my review for the book you can read that first. This post is dedicated to the playlist I made for the book.

You can listen to the playlist on YouTube or click the individual hyperlinks for each song below.

1. Scream – Dreamcatcher

Scream is an atmospheric and creepy song that fits the vibe of the book. A lot of the lyrics match up with aspects of the book. Here are some selected lines (translation from Genius): 

My covered eyes are stained with blood
Tell me why, I don’t lie

A cold wind blows, I feel their eyes on me
All pain flowing through my veins

My tied up hands are getting numb
Everyone is throwing rocks at me
But I can’t escape

Please, I don’t want to scream
(Devil eyes come, open my eyes, open my eyes)
Please, I don’t want to scream
(Scream, scream, scream, scream)
Spreading in the darkness, scream

Tricks behind the mask, a ridiculous freak
A hatred that only grows is born and aimed at random targets
I swallow up the burning thirst, but hypocrisy claims that it’s all my fault
At the end of the cliff lays the end
Such choice will have only regrets remaining

Words that cut like a sharp sword
They dig deep into the scars
But the breath doesn’t end

After everyone leaves, I open my eyes again
All traces are gone, they can’t believe me
Forget everything you saw
Pretend that nothing actually happened
Like that, one by one, everyone goes crazy

2. Going Crazy – Song Jieun ft. Bang Yongguk

The lyrics are technically about romantic love, but I felt like in terms of tone, it fit the story well. It’s a song about a dark and twisted longing that turns controlling and suffocating. Here’s some of the translated lyrics (translated by me):

It’s not love
This isn’t love
It’s just your obsession
Wherever I am, whatever I’m doing
It’s frightening, the you that watches me

3. Unbreakable – B.A.P

As the title suggests, Unbreakable is a song about not giving up or caving under pressure. I thought it was a great song for Hwani and her dogged determination to solve the mystery. Here’s the translated chorus (translation by Jane Doe on LyricsTranslation):

I won’t ever break
I won’t ever fall down
Even if the storm tries to swallow me
I’m unbreakable
Even if I die, I won’t break
Even if I die, I won’t give up
Even if my wings are trampled in the darkness
You know? I’m unbreakable

4. Sorry (Dear.Daddy) – f(x)

This song is a melancholy song about the distance between father and daughter and the attempt to mend the rift between them that I thought was fitting for Hwani and Maewol and their father. Here are some of the translated lyrics (translation from Kimchi Color Coded lyrics, credited to kpopviral):

You can still hate me for your sorrowful feelings
There’s no need for any expressions, to me you’ll be here forever

Even if you don’t say everyone knows, both your eyes are immersed with tears
Sorry, so sorry, this is my heart
You know the day I’ve opened up my heart I’ll do better
Sorry (sorry) I’m sorry (sorry) I can’t say anything other than this, yeah

I can’t do anything (other than this) I can’t imagine (a world without you)
Although I’m lacking and deficient, I love you

5. 殤 – 徐嘉良 (倩女幽魂)

Oh, look, a song without lyrics. This is a cello piece from the soundtrack for the 2003 cdrama Eternity: A Chinese Ghost Story. The title means “Tragedy” or “Mourning” and the song feels like an appropriate tribute to the victims of violence within the story.

[Blog Tour] Review for The Forest of Stolen Girls by June Hur

Review, , ,

Hello, again. I somehow managed to juggle my schoolwork, freelance commissions, and blogging better than I thought. Today’s blog content is for the blog tour hosted by Hear Our Voices for The Forest of Stolen Girls by June Hur. If you haven’t read June’s debut novel, The Silence of Bones, I highly recommend checking that out as well since I adored it.

Book Information:

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends (Macmillan Publishing Group)
Release Date: April 20th, 2021
Genre: YA Historical Mystery

Synopsis:

After her father vanishes while investigating the disappearance of 13 young women, a teen returns to her secretive hometown to pick up the trail in this second YA historical mystery from the author of The Silence of Bones.

Hwani’s family has never been the same since she and her younger sister went missing and were later found unconscious in the forest, near a gruesome crime scene. The only thing they remember: Their captor wore a painted-white mask.

To escape the haunting memories of this incident, the family flees their hometown. Years later, Detective Min—Hwani’s father—learns that thirteen girls have recently disappeared under similar circumstances, and so he returns to their hometown to investigate… only to vanish as well.

Determined to find her father and solve the case that tore their family apart, Hwani returns home to pick up the trail. As she digs into the secrets of the small village—and reconnects with her now estranged sister—Hwani comes to realize that the answer lies within her own buried memories of what happened in the forest all those years ago.

Review:

After reading The Silence of Bones, I was ready to be blown away by this sophomore novel. But I wasn’t ready for just how great it would be.

Even though this book was almost 400 pages, it certainly didn’t feel like it. The nail-biting level of suspense kept me on the edge of my seat (figuratively, since I read it in bed). There were many twists and turns and red herrings that kept me guessing until the end.

Aside from being suspenseful, the story was intensely creepy. A sense of danger pervades the narrative, lurking behind you, unseen yet palpable. The atmospheric writing had me deep in the dark forest with Hwani and Maewol, terrified that the masked man with a sword would come after me next. Perhaps it wasn’t a good idea to read the book at night. 😱

Beyond its appeal as a mystery novel, the book touches on profound themes regarding family, especially sisterly bonds and the love and hate between fathers and daughters. The relationship between Hwani and Maewol is thorny and complex, overshadowed by trauma, jealously, and years of separation, yet it is undeniably bone-deep. They both hurt and help each other in turn as they join forces to investigate the mystery behind their father’s disappearance.

The themes surrounding fathers and daughters is also explored with nuance. The story stretches that bond to its extremes, probing and testing it through multiple father-daughter pairs: the Min sisters and their loving but flawed father, a disfigured village girl named Gahee and her abusive father Convict Baek, and Village Elder Moon and his daughter Chaewon. The line between loving intentions and harmful consequences makes itself known through these relationships.

As the author notes in the back of the book, the story is based on real events. The book would not be what it is without the context of misogyny. Indeed, the narrative emerges from the shackles and violence imposed on women by Korean patriarchy, exacerbated by the power dynamics between the Ming empire and the Joseon tributary state. Class differences also come to the fore in framing gender and power. But the story isn’t a complete tragedy, nor is victimhood an absolute. The agency of girls and women takes center stage in Hwani and Maewol’s journey, giving hope for resistance and change.

In conclusion, The Forest of Stolen Girls is a gorgeous, gut-wrenching read that will stay with me for a long time. I look forward to reading everything that June Hur delivers in the future.

Stay tuned for a book playlist for this book later.

Trigger/Content Warnings: misogyny, assault, kidnapping, murder, abuse, child abuse, suicide, rape (implied)

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Bookshop.org

About the Author:

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. Most of her work is inspired by her journey through life as an individual, a dreamer, and a Christian, with all its confusions, doubts, absurdities and magnificence. She studied History and Literature at the University of Toronto. When she’s not writing, she can be found journaling at a coffee shop. She lives in Toronto with her husband and daughter.

Her debut novel THE SILENCE OF BONES (Feiwel & Friends/Macmillan, April 2020) is a murder mystery set in Joseon Dynasty Korea (early 1800s), and also a coming-of-age tale about a girl searching for home. It was recently selected by the American Booksellers Association as one of the top debuts of Winter/Spring 2020 (Indies Introduce).

Author Links:

Twitter | Instagram | Website | Goodreads

[Blog Tour] Review and Fanart for Peter Lee’s Notes from the Field by Angela Ahn and Julie Kwon

Fanart, Review, , , ,

Hi, everyone, and happy Year of the Ox! I’m pretty busy with school, but I’m still trying to do book reviews and blog tours. Today’s review is for Peter Lee’s Notes from the Field, written by Angela Ahn and illustrated by Julie Kwon. I read Angela Ahn’s debut novel, Krista Kim-Bap, back in 2018, so it was nice to get a chance to review this second novel of hers. This blog tour is hosted by Hear Our Voices Book Tours and you can find out more about the other tour stops on their tour launch page.

Book Info: 

Publisher: Penguin Random House
Release Date: March 2, 2021
Genre: Middle Grade Fiction

Synopsis:

Eleven-year-old Peter Lee has one goal in life: to become a paleontologist. But in one summer, that all falls apart. Told in short, accessible journal entries and combining the humor of Timmy Failure with the poignant family dynamics of Lynda Mullaly Hunt, Peter Lee will win readers’ hearts.

Eleven year-old Peter Lee has one goal in life: to become a paleontologist. Okay, maybe two: to get his genius kid-sister, L. B., to leave him alone. But his summer falls apart when his real-life dinosaur expedition turns out to be a bust, and he watches his dreams go up in a cloud of asthma-inducing dust.

Even worse, his grandmother, Hammy, is sick, and no one will talk to Peter or L. B. about it. Perhaps his days as a scientist aren’t quite behind him yet. Armed with notebooks and pens, Peter puts his observation and experimental skills to the test to see what he can do for Hammy. If only he can get his sister to be quiet for once—he needs time to sketch out a plan.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org | Book Depository

Review:

If you look up the word “wholesome,” this book should be there as an example. There’s so much to love in this book, which addresses several important issues for kids while being fun and uplifting.

The most obvious thing that attracted me to the book is that it features a dino-lover! I mean, a lot of people like dinosaurs, but when I was younger, I was obsessed. Like Peter, I owned tons of dinosaur books, and while I didn’t have much of a dino figure collection, I had plenty of dino plushies to go around. Science museums were my catnip, and like Peter, I did even think about becoming a paleontologist. Peter’s obsession is arguably more intense and directed since he is actually practicing the work of paleontologist by keeping a detailed field journal, digging in a simulated excavation pit, and so on. But either way, the dinosaur love really made me feel seen.

While they didn’t resonate with my own experiences, I still loved the family dynamics of the Lees. Peter lives with his dad, mom, and younger sister, and his maternal grandparents are still a regular presence in his life. His younger sister L.B. (short for “Little Beast”) is something of a prodigy, which means Peter can have intellectual conversations with her despite their 3-year age gap (he’s in 5th grade, she’s in 2nd), but she’s also just a kid, a ball of irrepressible energy, and an annoying brat at times. Even so, Peter still loves her and feels responsible for her as an older sibling. Their back-and-forth banter was one of the highlights of the book.

Peter’s parents come off as a little strict and uptight at first glance because they’re constantly trying to get their kids to do academic enrichment activities, but they are clearly acting from a place of care, and they do encourage Peter’s passions. His grandparents, by contrast, are much more laid back and doting. Peter calls them Hammy and Haji (derived from “halmeoni” and “harabeoji,” the Korean terms for grandmother and grandfather, respectively), and he can count on them to be a voice of moderation when his parents are being overly pushy. He cherishes them greatly.

This book is something of a love letter to diaspora kids. Peter is a third generation Korean Canadian (his grandparents immigrated to Canada), so he doesn’t have quite the same experience as someone who’s second gen like me, but his family still keeps ties to their roots. He’s one of three Korean kids at his school (him, his sister, and an upperclassman named Samuel), where he feels drawn to Sam and creates a Korean solidarity bond with him. While being one of few Korean kids at his school is lonely, and Peter does experience some insecurity over not knowing Korean, racism and identity struggles aren’t the focus of the book. His Korean heritage is simply the canvas on which the events of the story unfold, informing his interactions with the people and the world around him.

The true focus of the story is two-fold: dealing with the disappointment of finding out that the reality of your dream job isn’t what you expected, and coping with powerlessness when a loved one is sick and your family is hiding it from you. Both of these themes are explored and woven together in a really lovely way, and both felt intensely relatable for me as someone who has experienced both.

Peter goes on an excavation trip and realizes that digging for hours under the sun in clouds of dust doesn’t work for him and his asthma. The coolness of paleontology becomes eclipsed by the grueling, tedious work it requires. This reminded me of my own experience with aerospace engineering, one of my two undergrad degrees. I applied for the major as a space-loving nerd, thinking it was a great match for me, but when I started taking the classes for the major, I realized I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would. The feelings of failure and disillusionment that come with this realization are quite painful, and this book takes Peter and the reader through those stages of extreme emotions with compassion.

At the same time, Peter realizes his Hammy’s health is declining, and the adults are keeping secrets from him about something. He eventually discovers that Hammy is developing dementia and will likely need to move into a nursing home too far away for them to visit regularly. Unable to bear the thought of growing apart from his grandmother, Peter sets to work on a special project for Hammy that leads to an epiphany about his relationship with paleontology and the skills he cultivated through that passion.

One of the things I really loved about this book is that it didn’t treat science and art as mutually exclusive or in competition with each other. Peter draws as part of his field journal entries, and even after he decides to “break up” with paleontology, he still uses his artistic skills and even explores a creative path with them. As someone who has always loved both science and art, I thought this was a nice theme to have.

Lastly, the narrative format of this book is a huge part of what makes this book such an immersive experience. The chapters are Peter’s field journal entries with the date and the current “conditions,” which range from the literal weather to more abstract representations of Peter’s emotional state. The cute illustrations by Julie Kwon help us visualize Peter’s perspective and add personality to the pages. I can’t wait to get a physical copy of the book.

Content/Trigger Warnings: bullying, ableism, hospitalization of a family member

Fanart:

I’ve been experimenting with digital drawing, and it’s still pretty new to me, so excuse the roughness of the drawing. Here’s Peter with two dino friends (not drawn to scale).

About the Author:

Angela Ahn was born in Seoul, but her family immigrated to Canada before she could walk. Armed with a BA, BEd, and MLIS, she worked for several years as a teacher and a librarian, but lately has been working from home, taking care of her two children. When she can, she writes novels for kids. She’s lived most of her life in Vancouver, B.C., with brief stints working in Hong Kong and Toronto. Although she likes to blame her parents for her atrocious Korean language skills, she will admit that she was a reluctant learner. Angela’s proud to say that her children are bookworms, and that every member of her family has a stack of novels by their bed. She’s grateful to be able to write books where her children can see faces, just like theirs, on the front covers. Angela’s first book, Krista Kim-Bap, was published in 2018 and her second book, Peter Lee’s Notes from the Field, will be released March 2021.

Author Links:

Twitter | Instagram | Website | Goodreads

Koreadathon TBR

Reading Challenge, TBR,

I’m perhaps a little too ambitious about my reading this month because I escaped my reading slump, so I’m participating in multiple reading challenges, LOL. This one is for Korean books and authors and is hosted by booktubers Monica (YouTube/Twitter) and Chloe (YouTube/Twitter). You can find more about the readathon on the official Twitter account @koreadathon.

Here’s what I’ve picked for each prompt!

  1. Group Book (ok this wasn’t chosen by me): The Silence of Bones by June Hur – YA, Historical Fiction, Mystery
  2. Book with a person on the cover: Rogue Heart by Axie Oh (companion to Rebel Seoul) – YA, Science Fiction
  3. Book translated from Korean: Human Acts by Han Kang – Adult, Historical Fiction
  4. Book featuring a diaspora Korean character: Stand Up, Yumi Chung! by Jessica Kim – MG, Contemporary
  5. Book featuring Korean mythology: The Dragon Egg Princess by Ellen Oh – MG, Fantasy (Note: this is a secondary world fantasy with worldbuilding that’s inspired by Korean mythology and folklore)

Author Interview: Axie Oh

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Continuing with the Asian author interview series, today I have special guest Axie Oh to talk about her debut sci-fi dystopian YA debut, Rebel Seoul, out this fall on September 15th!

Rebel Seoul

From Goodreads:

After a great war, the East Pacific is in ruins. In brutal Neo Seoul, where status comes from success in combat, ex-gang member Lee Jaewon is a talented pilot rising in the ranks of the academy. Abandoned as a kid in the slums of Old Seoul by his rebel father, Jaewon desires only to escape his past and prove himself a loyal soldier of the Neo State.

When Jaewon is recruited into the most lucrative weapons development division in Neo Seoul, he is eager to claim his best shot at military glory. But the mission becomes more complicated when he meets Tera, a test subject in the government’s supersoldier project. Tera was trained for one purpose: to pilot one of the lethal God Machines, massive robots for a never-ending war.

With secret orders to report on Tera, Jaewon becomes Tera’s partner, earning her reluctant respect. But as respect turns to love, Jaewon begins to question his loyalty to an oppressive regime that creates weapons out of humans. As the project prepares to go public amidst rumors of a rebellion, Jaewon must decide where he stands—as a soldier of the Neo State, or a rebel of the people.

Pacific Rim meets Korean action dramas in this mind-blowing, New Visions Award-winning science fiction debut.

Now, for the interview! As always, my comments are in bold and labeled “SW.”

SW: Can you tell us a bit about where the idea for Rebel Seoul came from?

Axie: The idea for REBEL SEOUL came from a very productive senior year of college watching anime and K-dramas. Haha. Jokes aside, I’ve always loved anime, K-dramas and books. I was also a creative writing and East Asian history double major in college, so I love writing and history. But the actual spark that lit the flame of REBEL SEOUL was a dream (really, all writers should depend on their dreams for ideas). In the dream, a girl was standing on top of the tallest building in Seoul, and in the distance, she heard someone singing a song. I woke up from this dream crying because something about the song moved me so deeply. I thought to myself—what about the song would make me/her cry? Who is she? How did she get up there? Was this the first song she’d ever heard? The dream was cold. I set the book in winter. The girl was fierce. I made her a supersoldier.

SW: I’ve never had a dream that has inspired a story, but hopefully it will happen in the future because your dream sounds so cool.

Rebel Seoul has been pitched as Pacific Rim meets kdramas. Were there specific kdramas that inspired the story?

Axie: So many! But the dramas that most directly inspired the story would be: Shut Up Flower Boy Band, Gaksital, and School 2013. Shut Up Flower Boy Band and School 2013 are both realistic high school dramas that deal with the day-to-day life of students and their hardships and relationships, joys and growth. Gaksital is an amazing historical action drama about a masked freedom fighter in Korea during the 1930’s Japanese colonial era. The themes in both shows (combined with the futuristic settings and tech of anime) directly influenced REBEL SEOUL.

SW: I’m tempted to watch Shut Up Flower Boy Band, if only because Kim Myungsoo, a member of my favorite kpop group, Infinite, is in it, haha. Gaksital sounds completely up my alley in terms of genre!

A good part of the work of writing speculative fiction is drawing on reality to make your world convincing. What kinds of research did you do for Rebel Seoul, if any?

Axie: Most of my research for REBEL SEOUL was in Korean words and honorifics since I use Korean to complement the voice of my narrator. My first language is English, so I wanted to make sure my Korean was accurate and reflective of the language (since it’s written out in English, not Hangeul). I’m indebted to the keen eyes of my Korean readers, as well as my Korean copyeditor. Other research included: looking around Seoul when visiting family, reading other works of fiction written by Korean and Korean American authors, and watching K-dramas and films.

SW: Representing languages that don’t use the Roman alphabet is always tough and something I’ve dealt with myself while writing. This factors into character name decisions all the time for me.

Speaking of character names, I noticed that there are a lot of Korean characters in YA named Jaewon. There’s Jaewon from Ellen Oh’s Prophecy, Jaewon who’s Daniel Bae’s brother in Nicola Yoon’s The Sun is Also a Star, and now your protagonist for Rebel Seoul. How did you decide on his name, and what was the overall process of coming up with names for your characters like?

Axie: I love PROPHECY’s Jaewon! By the time I read PROPHECY, REBEL SEOUL’s Jaewon had already inhabited his name, so I just thought of it as a fun coincidence. Now with Nicola Yoon’s Jaewon, I wonder if we all had the same naming process! For me, I wanted a name that would be easy to pronounce for English-speakers, since I knew it would be Romanized (converted from Korean to Roman/Latin script). As anyone who has an ethnic name knows, it really matters that our names are pronounced correctly. Whatever name I chose for my protagonist, it would be a real Korean name, and I wanted it to be pronounced correctly. But for how I actually chose the name, at the time I was watching a Korean drama called “Can You Hear My Heart” starring Kim Jaewon; hence, Jaewon was born (but with a different surname). In another revision, I later changed his surname to “Lee” because my actor inspiration for Jaewon became Lee Jong Suk. So, Kim Jaewon  + Lee Jong Suk = Lee Jaewon. The other characters’ naming process was less complicated, but no less thought out. I really believe names are important.

SW: I agree! I swear I spend more time coming up with names for my characters than writing sometimes.

What would you say was the most difficult part of writing Rebel Seoul?

Axie: The actual drafting of REBEL SEOUL was fun, as were the revisions I completed with help from CPs and beta readers. The most difficult part were the revisions post-winning the New Visions award, mostly because I rewrote a lot of the book. I drafted the book in 2013-4, won the award in 2015, and then rewrote most of the novel in 2016. By then, it had been awhile since I last worked on it. I had gone a year through grad school and written whole books since that initial draft, and it was a challenge to face the novel, flaws and all. I managed, with the help of my brilliant editor, to revise the novel into the best possible version of itself, but…it was difficult, to say the least!

SW: Rewriting is definitely tough because you have to apply tough love and tear down what you’ve created to rebuild in a better form.

What was your favorite part of writing Rebel Seoul?

Axie: My favorite part was how a lot of my own love of Korea—the country, the people, the culture—appeared in the book without conscious intent on my part. In a way, I was re-discovering my love of Korea while writing the book—its back alleys, food, music, fashion, everything. The ways these elements came out in the book as I was writing it constantly surprised me!

SW: I guess that’s the beauty of #ownvoices, being able to incorporate the things you know and love into your writing. 🙂

Last question is a fun one. If Jaewon had a character theme song, what would it be and why? (does not have to be a song sung in English!)

Axie: I love this question! Jaewon’s theme song would be “Just (그냥)” by Zion T. featuring Crush. When I heard it for the first time, I thought, “This is Jaewon’s theme song!” Lyrics include:  If you’re saying hi / Because I look down / Don’t worry about hurting my feelings / And just pass by (translated lyrics from: 1theK). It’s such a melancholy song and captures how Jaewon feels at the start of REBEL SEOUL—a self-imposed loneliness that refuses to let others in.

SW: I am a huge sucker for loner types, haha. I can’t wait to finally meet Jaewon when Rebel Seoul releases. Thanks a bunch for the interview!

AxieOh_Headshot copyAxie 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 is currently pursuing 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 puppy, Toro (named after Totoro).

Review for The Prophecy Trilogy* by Ellen Oh

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*Also called the Dragon King Chronicles

My Summary: The kingdom of Hansong and its neighbors are under attack by Yamato forces and demon hordes, led by the Demon Lord himself. An ancient prophecy foretells the arrival of a hero, the Dragon Musado, who will unite the Seven Kingdoms and defeat the Demon Lord by collecting the three sacred treasures. Kira, cousin and bodyguard to the heir to the throne, is gifted with special powers that allow her to sense demons. Although her priority is keeping her cousin safe for the future of the throne, she soon discovers that she has a great destiny of her own awaiting her.

Review:

Slight spoilers regarding the romance plot! Beware!

I am honestly so happy this trilogy exists because there aren’t any others like it that I know of. An action-adventure fantasy YA story set in a Korean-inspired alternate universe? The moment I found out about it, I was like, “NEED.”

And Ellen Oh doesn’t fail to deliver. The series balances a fast-paced, quest-driven plot with character development and solid worldbuilding. The relationships between the characters stand out the most with me: Kira’s protective and loving relationship with her cousin Taejo; her part-affection, part-annoyance banter with her brothers; her supportive parents who believe in her until the last (*cries because I love supportive parents*), her cute friendship-turned-romance with Jaewon, her special bond with Nara (she is my favorite secondary character, I love her!), and her complicated relationship with herself and journey to accepting her own greatness.

At first I thought Kira would fall into the “I’m Not Like Other Girls and am misogynistic toward them because I’m physically strong and not stereotypically feminine” trap because it sounded like it at the beginning. I’m glad the series eventually proved me wrong with portrayals of women’s strength and bravery, combat-related or otherwise, a very showy subversion of the feminine/beautiful=weak/stupid trope, and Kira’s heartwarming friendship with Nara (I would read a whole series on Nara, to be honest).

I also appreciate how the romance panned out. No insta-love/lust, overdone love triangle, no glorification of assholery. Doubt and conflict, yes, but also mutual care and trust. YA needs more of this.

Also, my favorite snippet of dialogue from the entire series:

“Your hair is so short. Are you a girl or boy?”

“I’m a warrior,” Kira answered with slow, deliberate intent.

Current gender: warrior. TBH.

Recommendation: Read it. It’s a quick read and a great escape from the monotony of mundane life. (Can you tell that I really want to be a swordsmanperson?)

P.S. The covers are gorgeous and I am forever disappointed that the version of King with the tiger silhouette didn’t end up on the final cover. When I was at the National Museum of Korea in September, I saw a crown almost exactly like the one on the cover of King and had to take a picture because why would I not?)