Booklist Reviews
Min is shocked to hear her brother, Jun, has deserted the Space Force in search of the legendary Dragon Pearl. Eager to prove his innocence, she sets out to find him, and to do so, she'll need to use her family's ancestral magic—they're shape-shifting fox spirits who have preternatural charm—a skill that has not endeared them to others. Along the way, Min outthinks pesky space security, earns money at a gambling den, survives a laser fight with mercenaries, impersonates a dead cadet, and breaks a planet-wide quarantine of the Fourth Colony to rid it of its vengeful ghostly inhabitants. Luckily, she has some new friends on her side, Haneul, a female dragon, and Sujun, a nonbinary goblin. Lee's written a unique space opera infused with elements of traditional Korean mythology. Not only are Lee's characters refreshingly diverse both in race and gender identity, but the mythology mixed with sf means there is something for many readers to enjoy. Billed as a stand-alone, this is ideal for readers who want fantasy epics without the commitment to multivolume stories. Grades 4-7. Copyright 2018 Booklist Reviews.
Horn Book Guide Reviews
Thirteen-year-old Min has a powerful secret: she's a fox spirit disguised as a human; she can shape-shift and use magic to alter others' perceptions. Min enthusiastically wields these powers when she ditches her "dismal life" on the barren planet Jinju to track down her brother Jun, a Space Forces cadet who's gone AWOL. Lee's richly detailed, cohesive, original vision is a lively mash-up of outer-space sci-fi and Korean culture and folklore. Copyright 2019 Horn Book Guide Reviews.
Horn Book Magazine Reviews
Thirteen-year-old Min is feisty and clever, and she has a powerful secret: she's a gumiho, a fox spirit disguised as a human. Min can shape-shift and use Charm (fox magic) to alter others' perceptions and emotions. She enthusiastically wields these powers when she ditches her "dismal life" on the barren planet Jinju in order to track down her brother Jun, a Thousand Worlds Space Forces cadet who's gone AWOL. Min's epic adventure leads to run-ins with spaceport security guards, gamblers, and ghosts. She impersonates a dead cadet on a starship battle cruiser and encounters the legendary Dragon Pearl, a mystical orb that creates life. Lee has a knack for world-building. His richly detailed, cohesive, original vision is a lively mash-up of outer-space sci-fi and Korean culture and folklore: starships have gi, an energy flow; pirates fly in groups of four because it's a number that signifies death; characters, both supernatural and human, eat gimchi and play the board game baduk; Min befriends a dragon cadet who can summon the weather—?sometimes inadvertently—and a dokkaebi (Korean goblin) who carries a magical spork. The dokkaebi is also a nonbinary character, who's referred to with gender-?neutral pronouns—a small detail that's woven in matter-of-factly and just as smoothly as all the other strands in this engaging space opera. tanya d. auger January/February 2019 p 96 Copyright 2018 Horn Book Magazine Reviews.
Kirkus Reviews
This latest in the Rick Riordan Presents imprint launches Korean mythological creatures into outer space. Thirteen-year-old Min cannot believe her older brother, Jun, has deserted his Space Force post, as he's been accused of doing. Naturally, Min runs away from home to clear her brother's name. It's a Rick Riordan trademark to thrust mythological figures into new settings. Fans will breathlessly watch while fox-spirit Min charms her way onto a hijacked starship, ending up on her brother's military star cruiser on the way to the lawless Ghost Sector. Lee has created an adrenaline-filled space opera with mythological creatures living alongside humans. Min and her family are gumiho, or shape-shifting foxes, but they present as human to hide their magical natures. She takes on the identity of Jang, a male cadet killed in battle, and enlists the aid of two other supernatural Space Force cadets: Haneul, a female dragon, and Sujin, a nonbinary goblin. Min is first and foremost a te enager on a mission and a magical being second. The ambivalence of her identity (fox or human, male or female, hero or traitor) echoes ethical questions that many kid readers face. It is refreshing to see both Korean elements and a nonbinary character seamlessly integrated into the storyline. Narrator Min explains Korean mythology smoothly as the action progresses for readers with no previous knowledge. A high-octane, science-fiction thriller painted with a Korean brush and a brilliant example of how different cultures can have unique but accessible cosmology and universal appeal. (pronunciation guide) (Science fantasy. 8-12) Copyright Kirkus 2018 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.
Publishers Weekly Reviews
In this highly original novel by Lee (the Machineries of Empire series for adults), 13-year-old Min must venture to the stars of the Thousand Worlds in order to find her older brother, Jun, who is suspected of deserting the Space Forces to search for the legendary Dragon Pearl. Min's quick wits and technical prowess come in handy, but it's her abilities as one of the fox people to shape-shift and charm others that prove vital after she leaves her home planet of Jinju aboard the freighter
School Library Journal Reviews