Reviews with content warning for Death - Dragon Pearl

I love learning about new cultures and pantheons. The discussion around the spirits was interesting and I loved the idea of terraforming similar to Earth 2. It makes my little heart pitter patter. A lot of the characteristics were based on Korean beliefs and I have not studied that before.

I liked the stark contrast between the places she's describing. I liked the way the tech operated with flow as it worked well within the story. I struggled a little bit with the term "luck" being applied all over the place. It felt a little arbitrary that everything bad happened because of luck. It made it feel like the characters had no agency.

I liked the representation where, universally, pronouns were displayed to help communication. Min knew to look at the symbol to ensure she spoke to or about someone correctly.

I hated she got what she wanted most while not dealing with fallout from her lies. It didn't matter if she hurt her friends, abandoned her family to clean up her mess, or put the lives of an entire ship in danger. This is not only wrong, but also perpetuates stereotypes about the fox spirits. And her magic has no limits? That doesn't make any sense. She's allowed to engage her magic when she's unconscious and incredibly ill. The only mention she makes of problems with the magic is after holding it for MONTHS without end (a skill she's barely used before now) is a slight tiredness in her bones she hadn't noticed before. Come on! Jun's note was never mentioned nor how it was supposed to communicate something to his family. Then why have the note?

Content Warnings by Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee - Book Trigger Warnings
Representation:

Korean* characters (author openly identifies)
Non-binary side character
Brief mention of a poly relationship (m/m/m)

Content Warnings

meshell's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

My kiddo and I enjoyed this story together - I'm familiar with Yoon Ha Lee's work from Ninefox Gambit (and the Machineries of Empire series, which I liked!) and I enjoyed sharing this kid friendly adventurous coming of age tale.

It also inspired us to read more about Korean mythology and how it was connected to this novel as well. There is also an educator's guide available for this book from Disney Books.

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wheelygoodreads's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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goldendreams's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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nytephoenyx's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Really liked this one. I wasn't expecting the space opera and I liked that twist on a story about kitsune. It was a little slow at the beginning, but immersive enough that it didn't bother me. I liked Mein's character development, especially considering how rash she was in the beginning. Consequences followed through on actions, which I really appreciated. Generally an interesting story with interesting characters and I'd like to read more about them!

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moonbreak8's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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shriya_vn's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

It doesn’t feel like it’s talking down to the reader, so that’s nice for people like me who are older than the target demographic. It’s a fun read with great action and mythological influence.

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