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Dragon Pearl

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Dragon Pearl
By Yoon Ha Lee
Disney/Hyperion, 2019. Fiction.

Min is a thirteen-year-old gumiho - a fox-spirit able to shape-shift and use fox magic, called Charm, to influence those around her. She lives on Jinju an incomplete planet where no one has very much money and her home's filtration systems break down often. Min's adventure begins when an inspector from the Thousand Worlds Space Force shows up at her house looking for her older Jun who has apparently deserted the Space Force in search of the Dragon Pearl. Min runs away from home to clear Jun's name, find the Dragon Pearl - a mystical object capable of creating new planets, and explore the Thousand Worlds for herself. What results is an epic adventure involving run-ins with gamblers, pirates, mercenaries, corrupt Space Force captains, and ghosts.

This impressive space odyssey - the newest from the Rick Riordan Presents imprint - seamlessly blends Korean mythology and common sci-fi conventions into a fast-paced adventure. This book succeeds where so many other world-building adventures fall short - Lee crafts and intricately describes a new universe without sacrificing complex characters. Readers see Min change and grow as a character (literally, in many cases since she spends most of the book disguised as other characters) as she learns more about the universe around her and grapples with ethical questions of right and wrong. This is a highly original space adventure that is sure to be popular with fans of Rick Riordan or Rick Riordan Presents books.
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