Dragon Pearl

Written by Yoon Ha Lee

304 pages

Published by: Rick Riordan Presents (Disney Book Group)

Publication date: 15th January 2019

Summary (from Goodreads):

Rick Riordan Presents Yoon Ha Lee’s space opera about thirteen-year-old Min, who comes from a long line of fox spirits. But you’d never know it by looking at her.

To keep the family safe, Min’s mother insists that none of them use any fox-magic, such as Charm or shape-shifting. They must appear human at all times. Min feels hemmed in by the household rules and resents the endless chores, the cousins who crowd her, and the aunties who judge her. She would like nothing more than to escape Jinju, her neglected, dust-ridden, and impoverished planet. She’s counting the days until she can follow her older brother, Jun, into the Space Forces and see more of the Thousand Worlds.

When word arrives that Jun is suspected of leaving his post to go in search of the Dragon Pearl, Min knows that something is wrong. Jun would never desert his battle cruiser, even for a mystical object rumored to have tremendous power. She decides to run away to find him and clear his name.

Min’s quest will have her meeting gamblers, pirates, and vengeful ghosts. It will involve deception, lies, and sabotage. She will be forced to use more fox-magic than ever before, and to rely on all of her cleverness and bravery. The outcome may not be what she had hoped, but it has the potential to exceed her wildest dreams.

This sci-fi adventure with the underpinnings of Korean mythology will transport you to a world far beyond your imagination.

Why I can’t wait to read this:

Inspired by folklore and mythology= yay! Korean folklore and mythology = even better!
The main character is descended from a long line of fox spirits – I particularly love stories about mischievous fox spirits and even spent a substantial period of my time studying folklore in Japan in studying the origins and permutations of the mythology surrounding foxes (there are similarities and differences between the stories in China, Korea and Japan…ask me sometime if you’re really bored!)
It is a science fiction book, specifically a space opera, which I adore. I also think that there aren’t enough space opera books for a younger audience so am particularly excited by this!
‘Min’s quest will have her meeting gamblers, pirates, and vengeful ghosts. It will involve deception, lies, and sabotage.‘ How could you not want to read a book which has these two lines in the summary?! It sounds awesome!
I also love the cover!