This was a beautifully done mystery with a summer camp element to it. I enjoyed the way the main character had a problem with speaking in rhymes. It was great to read that the relationship with Ronnie and her father. It was a great concept for someone of Korean descent getting adopted into a white family, that really showed a new angle. I thought the supernatural element worked perfectly and glad it had that horror element that I was looking for based on the cover. Jenna Lee-Yun has a great writing style and it left me wanting to read more from them.

Jenna is a master at weaving fun, creepy atmospheric stories. Honest to goodness, I haven’t had this much fun reading MG since Neil Gaiman’s Coraline. The Korean lore, the lovable characters, the camp story vibes building with an unfolding suspense/horror/mystery is so gripping, I felt - more than once - like I was engrossed in a movie, rather than reading a book. Def a wonderful read, and the perfect book to recommend to reluctant - and voracious - readers!!

I cannot say enough good things about this book! For a debut novelist, I was BLOWN AWAY by Jenna’s skill as a storyteller. Ronnie’s story held me captive all the way through to the end. First and foremost, it was a camp story and camp stories will always have a special place in my heart. Second of all, there were ghosts and goblins and witches and familiars and it was such a FUN cast of characters. Third of all, the Korean lore was so cool. I loved learning about it. And last, the bonds of family and friendship were woven seamlessly throughout the story and were so lovely. I can’t wait to see where Ronnie’s story takes us next!

I am not joking when I say THE LAST RHEE WITCH is one of my favorite books ever written. It’s not just the eerie mystery threading its ghostly fingers through the pages; or the deeply immersive atmosphere, which brings to mind crackling campfires and the wind-whispers of trees; or the campground-haunting gwishin and shadow-lurking dokkaebi drawn from Korean lore; or the prickly cat who seems to always turn up when things get really scary; or the team of witch-aunties who hold secrets from years past close to their chests; or the combination of new and old friendships weaving together as if by magic as danger creeps ever closer… It is all of these things and more. There are spine-tingling elements, yes, but the most wonderful part of THE LAST RHEE WITCH is the story nestled at its heart: the story of Ronnie, who is ninety-nine percent certain that ghosts don’t exist, and even more certain she doesn’t need anyone but her best friend, Jack. Both certainties are proved wrong. When she arrives at summer camp, things start getting weird. A figure dressed in white floats above the old Rhee manor, and tales of the ghostly woman who haunts the campground spread, bearing rumors that tragedy will befall those who anger her; tragedy which seems to be following Ronnie at every turn. Soon, Ronnie’s beliefs about family, friends, and the supernatural begin to crumble. What follows is a heart-wrenching mystery that stretches back to Ronnie’s childhood, bringing up memories of her deceased mother and revealing other memories both lost and stolen. This is a ghostly mystery steeped in Korean lore, but it is also the story of a young girl reconnecting with someone she loved and lost as she pieces together the mystery surrounding her mother’s death—and discovers the threat now hunting her. It is a beautiful and deeply moving story, one I will return to again and again. I am one-hundred percent a fan of this book, and I hope readers of all ages will fall in love with it, too.

I really enjoyed reading a Korean-American take on ghost stories when so much of what’s out there is Anglo-American. This story is filled with good stuff: friendship, camp adventures, protective aunties, and creepy other-worldly beings.

For me, the pacing lagged significantly in the front half of the book and shifted into a satisfying cadence in the back half. The twists and turns (and discoveries) felt the most well-developed and believable near the end of the story. And it was a delightful ending.

This is a book I’d recommend to middle grade readers who love ghost stories. I also love it for its representation of a Korean-American experience.

The Last Rhee Witch is just so, so good!! It has everything: witches, magic, family, friendships, Korean folklore, and so much heart. I cannot wait to recommend this to the kids at the library!

I. Loved. This. Book.

The Last Rhee Witch was a fantastic paranormal tale about family, friends and growing up. Steeped in Korean Folklore this books has it all, ghosts, goblins, family, and tradition. The story incorporates realistic relationships with friends and parents that kids will relate too. I found that I could not put this book down and I cant wait to see what the author comes out with next.

Ronnie is a twelve year-old girl who lives with her father; her mother died when she was give. Perhaps because of the loss of her mother, Ronnie and her father are both extremely risk-averse, and both rely heavily on statistics to decide which activities are safe and which aren't - so it comes as quite a surprise when her very protective father who keeps a close eye on her at all times suggests that Ronnie spend two weeks at summer camp. To help ease the separation, Ronnie's best friend and neighbor, Jack, is attending the same camp, and Ronnie tries to stick close to Jack at first; however, her roommate, Olivia, is determined to make a new friend, and latches on to Ronnie as well, making it hard for Ronnie to keep Jack's exclusive attention. In the beginning, this is a fairly typical account of a fairly typical summer camp - but then things get strange.

From the moment Ronnie arrives at camp, odd things happen. In keeping with Ronnie's Korean heritage, she sees a ghostly figure that may be a gwisham, the ghost of the camp that haunts the woods. She meets Boojuk, a cat that inhabits the camp, as she meets the camp counselors - who are themselves all Korean, so a few aspects of the camp have a decidedly Korean influence. During a scavenger hunt, Ronnie and her friends find a plaque with Korean hanja that looks familiar, rather like the family name on her birth ring. Slowly, Ronnie discovers that the rhyming that has plagued her since her twelfth birthday is a sign that she's a witch; more disturbingly, a Rhee witch, being hunted by a dokkaebi, a demon.

This is a fun and fast-paced novel aimed at middle school students, who are the same approximate age as the main characters. It includes a small amount of Korean mythology that helps set it apart from similar novels, as well as characters who explore how to find and make friends in a new environment. Recommended for readers middle school to adult.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I just finished reading an eARC of the Last Rhee Witch by Jenna Lee-Yun that was provided by NetGalley.

Veronica "Ronnie" has never been quite... enough. She's never been Korean enough, or adventurous enough, or popular enough. And now, she's been doing this weird thing where she rhymes all the time. Her single dad, concerned about her, ships her off to summer camp where her best friend Jack will be for two full weeks. While Ronnie's there, she gets a glimpse of the terrifying gwishin, a horrifying ghost from Korean folklore. As Ronnie unpacks the mystery of the gwishin, she also unpacks the mystery of her past, and herself. Full of danger, adventure, and excitement, The Last Rhee Witch is a fun middle-grade fantasy about friendship, found family, and connecting to your roots.

This one was so fun! I loved learning about all of the Korean folklore, as well as going on this two week adventure with Ronnie! Ronnie was a relatable protagonist, filled with self-doubt, bravery, and love. I have to say the stakes also felt pretty high for a middle grade novel, which I really appreciated. Interspersed with the real life or death moments, were moments that feel more life or death to a middle grader-- like navigating friendships, growing apart, and climbing the ropes course! Ronnie also had such a great arc throughout the novel, and I hope we get a follow up so I can see what her life is like after camp!

Thank you to NetGalley and Disney Publishing Worldwide for this DRC.
Ronnie Miller, a twelve-year-old Korean American girl, suddenly can’t stop rhyming. Her widowed father sends away to camp with her best friend Jack. The camp is one the grounds of an old family manor, a family, as the ghost story around the camp is told, that has all been murdered with a red scarf wrapped around their neck. Ronnie quickly falls into problems with keeping old friends, making new friends, figuring out if she’s seeing thing or is that really a gwishin, and deciding if dokkaibi are real?
I loved this book. It was so much fun to watch Ronnie grapple with all this. Her spacing out, being afraid of lots things yet taking lots of chances were understandable. Her worries over relationships with her father, her dead mother, and Jack and Olivia were relatable. Boo the cat was a great additional. Fun and heartwarming.
#TheLastRheeWitch #NetGalley

Loved this fantastic spooky middle grade. The lore was fascinating and the characters were relatable. This is definitely an engaging read for a wide variety of MG readers. Highly recommend.