Overview

Age range 9 to 11 So annoying. In Young-hee's life everything feels wrong. It seemed like only yesterday that herworld was just as it should be. But now her dad is gone, her mom isoverextended, and Young-hee is forced to move back to Seoul-and not a nicepart of Seoul, either. To make matters worse, the girls at her new school arenasty, and her little brother Bum is an insufferable, attention-hogging pain. Then Young-hee stumbles into a magical world, where the fairy stories of herchildhood are real and all the frustrations of her everyday life fade away-untilBum is kidnapped, and the only way Young-hee can save him is by finding themagical pullocho plant. Soon, she is plunged into an epic quest, encounteringdragons and fairies and facing decisions that affect not only Bum, but the fate ofan entire world. In Young-hee and the Pullocho, debut novelist Mark James Russell puts aKorean spin on an evergreen fantasy trope, interweaving Korean folktales withthe story of a young girl who, without realizing it, is in search of herself. Readersof all ages will want to join Young-hee as she journeys from the dingiest part ofSeoul to enchanted lands that prove more beautiful-and more dangerous-thanshe ever could have imagined.

Full Product Details

Author:   Mark James Russell
Publisher:   Tuttle Publishing
Imprint:   Tuttle Publishing
Dimensions:   Width: 12.70cm , Height: 1.80cm , Length: 19.10cm
Weight:   0.255kg
ISBN:  

9780804844970

ISBN 10:   0804844976
Pages:   256
Publication Date:   12 May 2015
Recommended Age:   From 12 to 18 years
Audience:   Young adult ,  General/trade ,  Teenage / Young adult ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Temporarily unavailable  
The supplier advises that this item is temporarily unavailable. It will be ordered for you and placed on backorder. Once it does come back in stock, we will ship it out to you.

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Reviews

A likable, modern heroine, Young-hee deals with challenges that, while sometimes dreamlike, bring about definite changes in her viewpoint. This quick-paced adventure story is one of the few middle-grade novels available here that reflect Korean culture and lore. -- Booklist

I definitely recommend this book for young adult readers (middle school and above I would think) and adults, especially those who like fantasy and/or fairy tales. It's entertaining, full of fun fairy/folk tales, colourful characters both good and bad (and some who are neither or both) and a story that comes alive because of the author's fabulously descriptive writing. I giggled, I got annoyed, and I cried but more importantly, I was engaged in and with the story <b><i>ATK Magazine</i></b>

Author Mark James Russell does an incredible job with descriptive language; readers will want to reread the descriptions of the landscape, characters and events simply so they can enjoy the sentences a second time. --KidsReads

Spirited Away meets Labyrinth, a engaging fairy tale in the classic mold. I don't have kids of my own--but if I did, I'd gladly hand them Young-hee and the Pullocho. --Peter Watts, author of Starfish, Blindsight, and the Hugo Award-winning novella The Island

The book cleverly intersperses the main plot with classically presented Korean folktales, emphasizing the mythical nature of the characters and introducing them without TOO much clunky explanation. --The Korea Herald I definitely recommend this book for young adult readers (middle school and above I would think) and adults, especially those who like fantasy and/or fairy tales. It's entertaining, full of fun fairy/folk tales, colourful characters --both good and bad (and some who are neither or both) -- and a story that comes alive because of the author's fabulously descriptive writing. I giggled, I got annoyed, and I cried...but more importantly, I was engaged in and with the story... --ATK Magazine For Young-hee, 13, nothing about her family's return to Seoul after five years in Canada has been pleasant. When she discovers a hidden door to a vibrant magical land, it's a welcome escape from her life's depressing realities. Young-hee's younger brother accompanies her on her second trip through the portal, and during that trip, he falls for a trap set by a crafty dokkaebi (goblin). So Young-hee makes a desperate deal with the dokkaebi: She will go on a journey to find a pullocho, a rare magical plant, and exchange it for her brother's freedom so they can both return home. Russell enriches his debut novel with many details borrowed from Korean folk tales. Fans of stories within stories will enjoy the tales included here(...) --Kirkus A likable, modern heroine, Young-hee deals with challenges that, while sometimes dreamlike, bring about definite changes in her viewpoint. This quick-paced adventure story is one of the few middle-grade novels available here that reflect Korean culture and lore. --Booklist Her journey is fantastic and full of rich mythological creatures that come to vivid life under Russell's pen...each chapter ends with a little story, a folktale that is often elaborated upon or retold or alluded to in some way in the narrative itself. This technique gives texture to the narrative and adds a richness to the detail. It also connects Young-Hee's story to the stories that are already in existence. A very neat way to make readers interested in folklore. --The Book Wars blog .. .the ending of this book was extremely well written. There is a plot twist, that is both surprising and easily explained; small clues for it are scattered throughout the book. [...] Overall, Young-hee and the Pullocho could be best described as a Korean cross between The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe and the Percy Jackson series. --Kids' BookBuzz blog Author Mark James Russell does an incredible job with descriptive language; readers will want to reread the descriptions of the landscape, characters and events simply so they can enjoy the sentences a second time. --KidsReads blog We all need to escape from our grey existence every now and then, and this book is a very enjoyable way of doing it. --Philip Gowman, London Korean Links

Author Information

Mark James Russell is a Canadian journalist and writer who has been living in Korea since 1996. He has written extensively about Korean entertainment and culture for newspapers and magazines. He is the author of K-Pop Now! (Tuttle Publishing 2014).

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