Et cetera : What We're Reading: Dragon Pearl

This book, "Dragon Pearl" by Yoon Ha Lee, is highly recommended by Rick Riordan, and that's really all a young reader of fantasy needs to know! This is the first of a series of books about Thousand Worlds, where a young girl named Min dreams of going. Her family's planet, Jinju, is dusty and desperate, wasting away.

Min's family are fox spirits, which gives them special abilities, to space shift and to Charm. These are very useful, but Min's mother forbids the use of magic, fearing the consequences if their identity as foxes is discovered. By using Charm, Min can smell emotions on people, and in the first few pages, Min smells trouble. A stranger appears at their door, asking questions and demanding answers. The investigator has information; the Dragon Pearl, thought to be a legend, has resurfaced!

Min's brother Jun, who was overjoyed to be accepted into the Thousand Worlds' Space Forces as a cadet, has been accused of desertion. Because he and Min have talked about being cadets for many years, his family knows this is not true. Min yearns to join the Space Forces as well but is too young. At thirteen, she has two long years to wait until she is old enough to take the entrance exams.

Something must be done! Min decides to sneak away and clear the name of her brother and the family. In the words of author Rick Riordan, "Dragon Pearl will be like nothing you've ever read: a zesty mix of Korean folklore, magic, and science fiction that will leave you longing for more adventures in the Thousand Worlds!"

~Connie