wolffyluna

Min is a young gumiho - a fox shapeshifter - on the backwater planet of Jinju. She is looking forward to when she's old enough to join the Space Forces like her older brother. Her family gets the news that her older brother has deserted the Space Forces to go in search of the mythical Dragon Pearl, a artifact that has great terraforming powers. Min knows her brother would never desert, and runs off in search of him.

I really enjoyed Yoon Ha Lee's Machineries of Empire series, and I borrowed this book from the library because more Yoon Ha Lee! I like that author! I wanted to read more of his stuff! ...but this meant that it took me a little longer to get into this book than was ideal, because of the mismatch of expectations. This is a middle grade novel. It is really different from Machineries of Empire, both in tone and structure. This isn't a bad thing, it's a middle grade novel and MoE is very adult, but still, it took me a little while to recalibrate myself. And once I did, I really enjoyed it. (It also, amusingly, starts picking up some more MoE-like plot points past the halfway mark, which I quite enjoyed. Said plot points are very much versions of themselves written for twelve year olds, but they were still fun, and this is aimed at twelve year olds anyway.)

It's a rolicking adventure story featuring Korean folklore IN SPAAAAAACE! It's really fun, and I love watching Min try and solve problems and getting herself in deeper.

If you're looking for a light space opera story, and shapeshifting foxes and ships with gi sound like an excellent addition to space opera, I'd suggest Dragon Pearl. I'm having trouble describing it with words other than 'fun.' It's good.