She changes back to human form, scattering food all over the kitchen and revealing the very secret she was afraid an investigation would uncover: that she, like the rest of her family, is a gumiho.
When their visitor has the audacity to threaten to investigate their entire family, Min becomes enraged. Min noticed that her mother’s been breaking her own rules throughout this encounter, so why should she obey them? Min is perturbed when her mother politely offers to share food with someone who would accuse her brother of such appalling disloyalty, but she relishes the opportunity to transform herself into a table so she can eavesdrop on the ensuing conversation-even though her mother forbids the use of magic.
Jun worked too hard to get into the Space Forces to throw away his career like that, and it’s not like him to make waves or bend the rules (unlike his far more troublesome sister). But Min’s dream of serving the Space Forces with her brother is threatened when an investigator comes to her family’s home bearing news about Jun: he claims that Jun deserted to find the Dragon Pearl, sought for its incredible power to terraform an entire world within a single day.Īs surprised as she is to learn that the Dragon Pearl is not merely a legend, Min finds the possibility of her brother being a traitor even more unbelievable. Thirteen-year-old Min longs for the day she can leave behind the daily drudgery of maintaining hydroponic units, preparing food, and cleaning air filters to join the Thousand Worlds Space Forces, just like her older brother Jun.
Perhaps I would have found it to be an exciting introduction to science fiction and space adventures as a middle grade age reader, but the reader I am today-the one who most enjoys character-driven stories with strongly developed interpersonal relationships of all kinds-didn’t find Dragon Pearl particularly compelling, despite appreciating its foundations.
Though I did indeed love the general idea of this book, I also felt that the story itself was far too rushed and could have been better executed. Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee is the latest book from Disney-Hyperion’s Rick Riordan Presents imprint, whose goal is “to publish great middle grade authors from underrepresented cultures and backgrounds, to let them tell their own stories inspired by the mythology and folklore of their own heritage.” I was especially intrigued by Dragon Pearl with its fusion of space opera and Korean mythology ( which Yoon Ha Lee wrote about here), and I’ve been wanting to read more by this book’s author after being captivated by his short story “The Coin of Heart’s Desire,” inspired by Korean folktales about the Dragon King Under the Sea.
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