Mini review: 

DNF

Trigger warning: Trauma after the disappearance of a family member. Being cast out of society. Up till the point I read. 

I received this E-ARC via Disney Book Group and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 

I was so excited to read this! I love middle grade. Unfortunately I didn’t like it. 

I really enjoyed the beginning and the world building! I also liked the MC and her family. 

As I read on I started to lose interest. I no longer cared for the plot or the characters. It was a meh experience. 

Still recommend.

There were a lot of things I really liked about Dragon Pearl, but I was a little bit disappointed, too.  I think it was the pacing more than anything.  Certain parts flowed well, but parts were slow and other parts wrapped up too quickly.  Overall, I enjoyed it though.



Min is a 13 year old gumiho, a fox.  She can change shapes and use her magic to get into people's heads.  She can make them believe that they never saw her or that someone didn't  pass by them.  She is rarely in her fox form, and usually looks like a young girl.  Her brother Jun is in the space force and Min was hoping to join him there in two years.  But a man shows up at their house and says that Jun was a deserter.  Min knows that can't be correct, so she sneaks away to find out what happened.  It's believed that foxes are no longer around and people are afraid of them.  So Min has to use her powers, but not get caught.



She is able to finally get onto Jun's ship after a lot of other issues.  She takes on the body of a ghost she meets on the ship and pretends to be a cadet.  She finds out more about Jun's mission and why he was missing.   Min must also get the Dragon Pearl before it ends up in the wrong hands. 



There is a decent amount of action at times and also some betrayal that made the story interesting.  I also loved how there were gumiho, ghosts, tigers, dragon, goblins, space pirates, and more.  I ended up giving Dragon Pearl 4 stars.  It was closer to 3  1/2, but there was enough I liked to push it up a bit.  



Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for my copy for review.

What I Liked
So many cool things about this book! The weaving in of Korean mythology in a future other-planet setting was done very well. I’ve seen a lot of books with gumiho mythology in them lately; this book skips past the part of the mythology that paints them as trickster ladies but incorporates other common threads of gumiho lore. There are also goblins, ghosts, dragons, and tigers as mythical creatures in this book, all in space, and the two joining was just really cool. Min is a likeable character whose drive to find and exonerate her brother is very relatable.
 
What I Would Have Liked to See
The ending seems to be leaving room for a sequel or series, but I’m not entirely sure where a sequel would go. I would LOVE to see another book in this universe, though, so hopefully the author comes up with some way for Min to go on another adventure.
 
My Favorite!
The ships having qi and being affected by good and bad luck. The engineers basically realigning the ship’s qi was such a cool idea! 
 
TL;DR
Fox spirit Min sneaks into the Space Forces so she can find her AWOL brother and maybe also find the Dragon Pearl, a legendary object that can bring life to worlds, or destroy anything in its path.

This middle grade science fiction story is based on Korean mythology. Min is a thirteen-year-old fox spirit who lives on Jinju - a planet that isn't quite terraformed - with her aunts and cousins. Because fox spirits are distrusted, her whole family keeps their heritage a secret. Her older brother Jun has joined the Space Forces with the goal of seeing all of the Thousand Worlds and perhaps finding a way to find the long lost Dragon Pearl which was used for terraforming in order to finish the terraforming job on Jinju.

One day an agent comes to their house and tells them the Jun has disappeared. It is thought that he deserted from the Space Forces in order to go on a hunt for the Dragon Pearl. Min can't believe that her brother would desert and is determined to go off to find him. She has all kinds of adventures from meeting an unknown relative who runs a gambling den using her fox powers to mercenaries who get involved in space battles.

Once she makes it to her brother's ship, she finds herself impersonating Cadet Jang who died in the battle that resulted in the capture of the ship she was on. Jang has become a ghost who agrees to let Min use his body so that she can find out who murdered him and get revenge. As Cadet Jang, she meets two other Cadets - Sujin who is a goblin and Haneul who is a dragon - and they become her friends. While most of the crew is human, the captain is a tiger named Hwan. 

As she learns about being a cadet, she is also trying to find out more about her brother and what happened to him. She learns that many different factions want to find the missing dragon pearl. Her captain can see how it can be used in warfare because something that builds can also be used to destroy. She needs to find the pearl to keep it out of the hands of those who want to use it to destroy, but she also doesn't want to put it in the hands of anyone who just wants to use it to make themselves more wealthy by charging huge princes to fix planets. 

She travels to the Fourth Colony and a planet where all the residents are vengeful ghosts who angered the disease spirits with Captain Hwan right on her tail. There she learns about her brother, finds the pearl, and has the course of her life determined. 

This was an action-packed story filled with adventure. Middle graders will enjoy meeting Min and her friends. They will also enjoy reading about fox spirits, vengeful ghosts, and a pearl that can remake worlds.

Thiiiiiis was fabulous. I'm not a huge fan of stories set in space, and I don't adore middle grade novels, usually, but this was pretty great. The characters were interesting and varied and suitably complex, the folklore infused throughout was fascinating, and the story was just...solid. I'm looking forward to more of Min and her brother's adventures.

Although I've loved all the other Rick Riordan Presents books, I was a little skeptical about this one because the premise seemed like A Lot?? Like I'm here for Korean trickster fox spirits, and I'm here for space opera, but both of them combined seemed like....a lot?? But it actually all worked together really well, and that will teach ME a lesson about doubting Rick Riordan's empire.

It's a really fun story and a great example of how easy it can be to make a story inclusive! (eg in the space army, everyone's nametags have gender pronoun identifiers, making it simple and easy for the narrator to identify the nonbinary characters)

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC I received! Below is my honest opinion of the book.
This book started off so strongly, but for me, devolved into trying to do too much. For the first 25-30% of it I was hooked. I liked Min's character and her pluck. I thought the scene with her aunt's gambling parlor seemed a bit like a random side-quest, but I was okay with it. I initially loved the combination of mythology with sci-fi elements, and her gumiho family.
The book, however, lost me once she began her life as Jung on the ship, and never really pulled me back in after that. (Although I loved the inclusion of a main non-binary character!!!) The ship scenes seemed to drag, and too many loose ends and coincidences simply made me lose interest. I didn't have the stamina to stay invested in each plot thread, or each magical inclusion (ghosts, plus dragons and goblins, plus various animal shapeshifters, plus space). I think it additionally suffered from pacing issues, with the first 30% of the book moving so quickly, then grinding to a much slower pace once she was on the ship.
I really wanted to like this book, and will still recommend it, as I believe that it has a potential fanbase out there for specific kids that have the attention span and dedication to this mythological sci-fi world. I think it fills a very niche genre, and for that I give it applause.

The latest from Disney's Rick Riordan Presents line gives readers a space opera, Korean mythology, ghosts, nonbinary characters, and moral quandaries! Min is a 13-year-old shapeshifting female fox spirit who lives with her widowed mother and extended family on the planet Jinu. Her older brother, Jun, is part of the Space Force - where Min intends to follow him in a few years, when she hits age 16 - but things change when an investigator shows up at Min's home, with news that Jun has deserted his post and is rumored to be searching for the Dragon Pearl, a mythical object that could help turn planets into paradises... or destroy them. Determined to find her brother and clear his name, Min runs away from home and finds her way onto a starship; when the ship falls under mercenary attack, she wakes up on the very ship her brother served on: the Pale Lightning. Assuming the form of Jang, a cadet who died during the mercenary attack and subsequent rescue attempt, Min tries to unravel the mystery of Jun's disappearance, and stumbles onto a plot much bigger than she could have imagined. She joins forces with Jang's friends: Hanuel, a female dragon spirit, and Sujin, a nonbinary goblin spirit and continues her detective work.

Dragon Pearl is a space opera, complete with space battles, intrigue and shifting loyalties, and a mythos, based on Korean mythology, all of which come together to build an epic adventure that middle grade readers will devour. Min faces racism/species-ism as a fox spirit; she and her family present as humans, because foxes have a bad reputation for trickery being untrustworthy. She has to lie to Jang's friends to keep her secret; that guilt is with her day in and day out, especially as her own friendship with them grows. She has to break rules for the greater good: to find her brother, who's also considered a deserter. She'll deal with the fallout as it comes; Min's family is her priority. Is she a hero? Is she a traitor? It depends on whose point of view you're viewing from. The same can be said of the Dragon Pearl, which can create a lush homeworld or destroy a planet. Is it a valuable treasure or a cursed trinket?

Let's talk about the rich characters Yoon Ha Lee creates. Min and her fellow cadets inhabit a universe where rank and personal pronouns are part of the uniform. Sujin, the goblin cadet, uses "they/their" pronouns and no one has an issue with it. Sujin is a funny, creative character whose gender identity fits seamlessly into the Dragon Pearl universe. They wield a magical spork, for heaven's sake. That's the exciting news! Haneul is a dragon spirit who can communicate with the weather; the Pale Lightning's captain is a tiger spirit who exudes charisma and a more than a wee bit of menace. Min, a fox spirit, exudes Charm to head off potential problems at the pass and is clever, constantly thinking of her next moves to get her to her goal. An exciting adventure, moral conflict, and rich character diversity make this one a nice addition to your fantasy middle grade collections, and yet another hit from Rick Riordan's Disney imprint.

Dragon Pearl has a starred review from Kirkus.

*Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the Digital Review Copy!*

OH. 
My. 
Goodness. 

I adored this story so much! The adventure was nonstop and the mythology that was so intrinsic in this Sci-Fi adventure was absolutely perfect. Min was such a wonderful character and her dedication and curiosity and impulsiveness brought her to life. The world building was SO good that I really do want more adventures in this universe. 

Really, my review comes down to this: buy this book when it comes out. b/c it's great.

Korean mythology in SPACE! I was so excited to read this book, and so grateful to have gotten an ARC to review. I loved the supernatural components, loved digging deeper into Korean mythology, and loved the complexities of the characters. The setting was lush and rich, and the conflict and character relationships hooked me. I loved the supernatural/mythological creatures and the character's family history of their magic, both of which made this feel like an updated myth in and of itself. I would love to see more development of this world and characters in sequels, and I think students would really love this book. This is a wonderful middle grade read.

*Thanks so much to Disneybooks for sending me an e-arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Oh my gosh! Space and mythology— yes please! My daughter read this with me and cannot wait to share with her friends, especially her Korean American friend. As with other Rick Riordan Presents titles, this book led to questions about her friend’s culture. I enjoyed the sci-fi aspect.

*I was given this arc by Disney books on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

3/5

My feelings on this book are a little complicated so I’m just going to go over what I liked and what I didn’t: 

Dislikes: 
* I expected it to read more like younger middle grade, and was surprised that it felt more like I was reading YA. This isn’t necessarily anything against the book itself, but it wasn’t quite what I expected 
* The main character Min I really grew to like, however she did not read like a believable 13 year old to me. She was very mature, always seemed to pick up things on the drop of a hat, and seemed to know instinctively how to do things just for the purposes of the story, with no explanation of how she knows how, since she lived on a planet that didn’t teach her those things. 
* The pacing felt really strange to me. For a lot of the book it felt like too much was happening while simultaneously nothing was being accomplished. 
* The middle section of the book was somewhat hard to get through. This section takes place on a spaceship which makes it more surprising I didn’t love it, as normally l love things that take place on a spaceship. This part seemed to really drag and was pretty boring to me. I was really looking forward to the spaceship part of the story, so that was disappointing. It honestly felt like nothing was really happening here.
* The rational Ravenclaw in me had trouble understanding Min’s rash decision to jet across the galaxy in search of her brother, especially at her age, with no thoughts whatsoever about how she would do it. 

Likes: 
* there were characters who identified as non-binary and it was completely normal. It was part of the story, but the other characters didn’t blink an eye. I thought this was very well done, and super important for the middle grade age group to be reading. 
* The first twenty percent and the last twenty percent I found very interesting. 
* The writing itself. I think the author is a good writer, and she is good at describing things. I’d read from her again. 
* The main character, Min. While I mentioned I didn’t feel like she felt her age, I did like her, especially towards the end. 
* The mythology. By far my favourite part of the book, I absolutely loved all of the mythology in this book. It was fascinating, intricately woven into the story without feeling like it was being spoon fed or anything. The mythology was absolutely fantastic, and I hope that there are more books in the future with Korean mythology because it’s so cool. 


All in all, I enjoyed parts of this a lot, especially the magic and mythology, but the story itself fell flat for me. 

I do think younger audiences in the middle grade age range could get a lot out of this book, though.

This book was kind of incredible and wonderful and absolutely one hundred percent something you need to be reading. I've only ever read one other Yoon Ha Lee book before, and I wasn't the biggest fan of the writing style in that one, but I had really enjoyed the story, and THIS ONE does not disappoint. The writing style was muuuuch more accessible and enjoyable and the story itself was just a treasure.

Thirteen year old Kim Min is the absolute greatest. She gets into all kind of trouble, but she always finds a way out, and she never gives up. All she wants is to find her brother and save her planet, and even though everyone sees her as a troublemaker, she has a heart of gold and I just want to hug her all the time. 

The other characters around her were also a delight. Jun was lovely and I want to see all the adventures they go on together. Jang was so great, I loved him and how they helped one another. Haneul and Sujin were the absolute best and I loved the friendship between the three of them.

I highly recommend this book, it was so much fun to read and the Korean mythology was such an amazing aspect of the story that I really loved.

I really love how this book combined a solid Sci Fi world with mythologies from Korea and did it in a way that felt seamless. From fox spirits to ghosts to other folklore, DRAGON PEARL built a world that felt familiar in some ways but fairly unique in others. Min is a good protagonist to follow, as she's tough and spunky and has a lot of clever moments that the reader can enjoy. Her devotion to her family is also relatable, and her love for her brother Jun is one of the stronger aspects of her personality. For me, though, it was harder to get into this just because I am not a big fan of Sci Fi, and I don't think that DRAGON PEARL really moved outside the box enough for me to take exception. That said, fans of Sci Fi will probably find a lot of like with the narrative, and I can definitely see how kids and early teens would enjoy the story and the characters.

DRAGON PEARL is another hopeful addition of Own Voices works into children's literature, and given that Sci Fi really needs more diversity it adds a strong new voice and story to the mix. But if you aren't a Sci Fi fan to begin with, it may not be your cup of tea.

*Thanks so much to Disneybooks for sending me an e-arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
*this review may contain slight spoilers, first paragraph of review depicts information all found in the goodreads summary

2.5 / 5 stars
Dragon Pearl follows the adventure of Min as she embarks on a quest to seek her brother to clear his name.  Min’s brother is condemned for his potential abandonment of his post in the Space Forces.  Min does not believe that he is a traitor to his duty, so decides to find him and clear his name.  Min is a thirteen-year-old girl with “fox-magic” that she can manipulate to her own various advantages.

I was really intrigued by this story from the beginning to about thirty percent into the book.  However, after the thirty percent, it began to gradually grow flat for me.  This book is categorized as middle-grade but I honestly don’t view this as a middle-grade book.  The language in this book is fairly advanced for a younger audience.  If anything, I would say this is extremely upper middle-grade or young adult.  Also, I don’t think Min reads like a thirteen-year-old protagonist.  Min is extremely mature for her age in this book and she somehow is able to do most everything on her own.  

*slight spoiler warning

The book started to fall flat once she was on the Pale Lightning.  The storyline almost seems to go in a different direction and too many things begin to happen at once.  I honestly found this section to the end to be quite boring and confusing.  I started to become annoyed by Min and I no longer felt intrigued by her journey or purpose.  I was also indifferent towards each new character.  This is total opposition from my feelings from the first thirty percent, because I thought the story was well-developed during this section.  At times this book attempts to read as middle-grade but then it is suddenly disrupted by language and other inclusions.  Min was just not a very personal character to me and I lost all connection with her over time.  This book takes an all-action sort of route as it seems like something is always continuously happening.  Also certain elements were repeated quite a bit which was a little annoying.  

I should probably include some positives now.  I really liked the inclusion of magic and mythology.  I did think some of the magic was a bit too unrealistic and extreme, but I genuinely enjoyed most of magical portrayal.  I thought Min’s family history and people were interesting, as well as the world that Min lives in.  I also appreciated the author’s subtle inclusion of addressing gender in a way that is desired by each unique individual.  The author recognizes that people should address each person by how they view themselves.  All characters were supportive of this inclusion and no shaming or insensitivity was included.  This was a normal recognition for all characters which was definitely refreshing to see in a book intended for a young audience.

I can’t honestly say that I would recommend this book.  The story definitely fell flat for me and it was somewhat a struggle to finish.  I do hope that a young audience and other readers will appreciate this book though.

Min is a fox spirit with superpowers like shape-shifting, plus she lives on another planet. Cool, right? Unfortunately, her mom won't let her use her powers because everyone hates foxes, and Jinju was improperly terraformed so life is harsh and dreary. Then an investigator arrives claiming her beloved brother Jun deserted from the Space Forces to hunt for the Dragon Pearl, a mythical artifact of immense power. Min immediately sets out to clear his name, a journey that takes her into space battles, swarms of angry ghosts, and lots of toilet scrubbing. The blend of Korean mythology and science fiction is delightfully fresh. However, Min's relentless good fortune strains credulity.

What a delightfully fun read! I loved the backdrop of Korean mythology and the way ideas of gi and luck flows were taken not just as superstition but as science, in a way that didn't diminish the society's engineering prowess; I LOVED Min and her determination; the whole cast of characters was amazing. The story didn't end the way I expected it to, but it ended well, and I had such a fun time watching the characters navigate their confusing situations and learn about their world. I hope to see more middle grade from Yoon Ha Lee in the future!

This is a forthcoming book to be published under the Rick Riordan imprint. Sometimes I find them tough to read because I want to compare them to Rick Riordan's book and that is not really fair. Like part of me actually thought at one time, well this book is okay, but its not as funny as some of his (Rick Riordan) other books. Oops. Wake up, reader!

The world building here was interesting, and the magical characteristics of some of the supernaturals, who live amongst humans was also good. I was not as enthralled with the main character overall, I didn't really think I knew who she was. Maybe the nature of the magic she possessed made her difficult to know. I found the action a little slow at times, but it really picked up at the end. One can see many interesting angles that sequels could take. 

I could actually see myself appreciated a second book in this world even more than a first now that the stage, so to speak, is set. One could see many adventures with Min and company throughout the 1000 Worlds.

This was a really fun middle grade adventure novel. I loved to see a sci-fi option in this imprint! The blend of fantasy in a space adventure really worked. The world building was fascinating and while I know this is a stand alone, it would be amazing to get more in the Thousand World setting, with Min and her brother going on adventures together. I think that kids are going to love this book and Min's improbable, fantastic adventure.

As a side note, I tagged this with "queer-themes" because there are a handful of side and background LGBTQ characters, including someone plot important who uses they/them pronouns. It was great to see that just as something going on in the side,without any special attention brought to it.

Wow! What an incredible story! I loved this dive into Korean mythology and fell in love with the strong characters and the unique world Yoon Ha Lee built. This is a great title in the Rick Riordan Presents imprint and I can promise I'll be telling everyone to pick it up. I can imagine so many kids loving this story.