Today, we're spreading a little pre book birthday BUZZ about a new title COMING SOON from Aladdin/Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing! It's the second installment in the Lia Park series, and it does not disappoint! I LOVED the first title (check out my review here), so I couldn't wait to get my hands on this one for another dose of all the mystical, magical, cultural fun (and danger!) that await Lia and her friends. This time around, we're heading off to IMS....that's International Magic School...but you'd be wrong if you thought it would be all schoolwork and no play (or danger!) because there is SO MUCH MORE AT WORK! Ladies and gents, tuck in closer to the screen as we dive between the pages of today's book of choice...
Lia Park series, Book 2
by
Jenna Yoon
9781534487963
Aladdin
About the book...
Twelve-year-old Lia Park and her best friend, Joon, are now full-time students at International Magic Academy after defeating corrupt diviner Gaya, and their first assignment is an ambitious one. The evil nine-headed monster and King of Darkness, Jihaedaegukjeok, wants to destroy the three Heavenly Heirlooms that create fire and light to plunge the world into darkness and destroy humanity.
The heirlooms can only be destroyed if they are all together, so over time, they have been hidden carefully with magic. Except now, one of them is missing. Lia, Joon, and their classmates have been tasked with recovering the lost heirloom and bringing it to IMA for safekeeping. They expected the task to be difficult, but the number of obstacles the magic trainees run into makes Lia start to wonder if the sabotage could be coming from someone inside the school.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oh my goodness...what has Lia gotten herself into?
I was all over the place with this one...not in my love of the book, because I loved it, but in my choice of the villain within! At first I thought, yeah, that's the culprit, and then I would read a little more and think but that person is REALLY sketchy, and the pattern would repeat. I did have a defining moment of triumph in my decision making process, but it comes at a CRUCIAL point if you're paying attention to the details, and...I'll let you discover it for yourself. See if you spot it when you're reading and report back! Moving forward...
I love there's just as much story as there is history, and culture immersion. You get a history lesson without it feeling like a lesson. You learn about Lia's Korean heritage as she's learning about her powers (and mayhap why they're malfunctioning!), making friends, keeping friends, and just whom she can REALLY trust. She's faithful to her core, unless you give her a REALLY good reason to doubt you, and while that easy trust gets her into some jams here (especially one in particular...eek!), I wouldn't want her any other way. She's real, she's authentic, she's easy to connect with, while being someone readers can learn from and grow with. Her passion for learning, doing the right thing, and giving people a chance are heartwarming. Her steadfastness in her friendships is inspiring. The fact that she doesn't call it quits when it seems the world is pretty much against her is remarkable, and just goes to show you that inner strength definitely starts with belief in yourself and the infinite things you are capable of.
A great read for Middle Grade fans of all ages, and an exciting adventure to be had between the pages.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About the author...
Jenna Yoon studied Art History at Wellesley College and received her master’s degree in Korean art history from Ewha Womans University. She’s lived about half her life in both Korea and the United States. When she’s not writing, Jenna loves to travel, find yummy eats, play board games, and take skin care very seriously. Currently, she lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband and two kids.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Special thanks to Lindsey at Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing for the copy for review. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, or the publisher, feel free to click through the links provided above. This title is out today, so seek thee out a copy wherever books are sold.
Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!
No comments:
Post a Comment