This is a delight!

The Last Fallen Star by Graci Kim is a mythological adventure going from one realm to another. Riley Oh wants nothing more than to be like her family and do magic, but as a saram -- someone who is non-gifted -- she is essentially barred from any involvement. When her older sister conspires a way to share their family magic, Riley is thrown into an adventure to not just understand her family's legacy, but of a prophecy that dooms them all. With angry goddesses, a lost star, a dragon-scooter named Boris, sentient houses, and hungry ghosts, Los Angeles is full of mythological adventures for witches everywhere!

Much like the other books in the Rick Riordan Presents line, The Last Fallen Star has engaging world-building, both whimsical and practical, and an exceptionally strong third act. Riley's stakes are intense, setting things up perfectly for the sequel. What I love most of all is the dynamic between Riley and Hattie. It's wonderful to see such a strong sister dynamic in a fantasy book, and their love for each other is palpable as they would do anything to make the other happy (and safe!). I cannot wait to see how this develops in the next book.

Perfect for young readers who are going through a strong mythology and witch phase!

A copy was provided to me by NetGalley. All opinions are my own!

Graci Kim's The Last Fallen Star is a Korean (American) story written in the tradition of Rick Riordan. Set in Los Angeles among a Korean cultural mythos, the story follows Riley Oh as she searches for belonging as the only non-magical saram among a community of fully-magical witches. When Riley and her adoptive-sister Hattie perform a forbidden spell that puts Hattie's life in danger, Riley must find not only her own form of magic but also her self-confidence in order to save her sister.

The story is perhaps necessarily derivative of Rick Riordan and his Percy Jackson series, but Kim's voice adds freshness to the well-worn framework. In addition, the inclusion of OwnVoices stories adapting Riordan's structure is a wonderful goal. The Last Fallen Star offers a beautiful window and mirror that many students wouldn't have been able to find in this sub-genre of writing. It's a stunning addition to the Riordan-esque collection.

The plot is somewhat interesting, but the writing style is that of a children's book. Which is a good thing, because this is for children. I like that this is basically asian Percy Jackson, I learned a lot about Korean mythology!

~~~~ 3.5 Stars ~~~~

This MG read was a quick, entertaining, jaunt through Cali. It had a very relaxed vibe with laid back, modern dialogue. The premise was awesome with unique mythological creatures and an interesting explanation for their Magic. This Korean tale of Magic, Family (both given and chosen), Friends and Power merged nicely with the modern day backdrop.

The writing was good if not a tiny bit succinct. Although it did tend to be predictable at times, it still was fun exploring this fantastical world. Then there was the foooood! There was a whole lot of eating going on and this foodie appreciated all of the enticing shout outs to yummy cuisine.

The pace was steady but not frantic as the plot... needing to save the quickly diminishing life of a sister... called for (but never really delivered). I felt little to no suspense even though there should have been (strike# 1). There also was no struggle with conflict resolution. Things just simply worked. No pain for the gain = a slightly cranky reader here (strike# 2). BUT I let both transgressions slide (for the most part) because the rest was undeniably entertaining.

Overall:

The world building was the star here AND even though I'm more of a character driven novel enthusiast, I still enjoyed this read. I might not be the exact demographic for this book though... it definitely has a younger (than myself) vibe... but I enjoyed it all the same.

If you're on the fence or just plain curious, you should definitely give this book a shot ESPECIALLY if you like a read with a strong female MC coming of age with close relationships, Magic and loads of mythical creatures and fantastical scenarios happening right smack dab in the middle of modern day California. It is a fun, clean, magical adventure suited for all ages.

~ Enjoy

*** I was given a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review ***

This book is so much fun!! I adore all witchy books, and this one was fascinating and such a delight. Loved getting to follow Riley on her adventure to claim her own Korean magic--and prove to her community of witches that she does belong and can work a magic that will make them all proud. Loved all the aspects of Korean folklore woven into this story, plus the book has empowering messages of learning to understand others--and ourselves!--with more nuance and compassion. An important new book that MG readers will have a blast reading.

The Last Fallen Star has one of the most innovative worlds and magic systems I’ve read about in a very long time. And the plot was captivating as well! It was action packed and full of unexpected twists and turns.

Hattie and Riley are such interesting main characters, and I absolutely loved their relationship. Many books take two sisters and pit them against one another or have them reluctantly help one another because they’re family. It was a breath of fresh air to see two sisters who deeply care for one another and put the other’s happiness before their own.

My main gripe with this book is the way the kids talk. The – I guess you would call it slang? – they were using was extremely jarring. Every few pages, I’d be pulled out the book by another phrase. Some examples:

“No wayyy,” a few of them exclaim. “You have all the good goss,” someone else says. Jennie smirks. “Yes way.”
“Don’t know any of the deets”
“Jenny is officially the worst”
“Uh-huh, I’m totes obsessed”
“TBH, it’s a bit rich of him to say I shouldn’t need magic when he low-key uses it all the time”

Since no one I’ve ever spoken to talks like that, those types of speech patterns shocked me into thinking about how I’d never hear people talk that way, and therefore drew me away from the story.

I felt like all the right ingredients were present in this book. It has intriguing plot twists, a wonderfully new type of magic system, as well as truly interesting main characters. I really can’t put my finger on why, but despite all these qualities, and despite how well-written I found the characters, I never fully connected with any of them. This meant that much to my dismay, when bad things were happening to the characters, I didn’t much care. Well, to rephrase, I did feel badly, but mostly I just wanted to continue reading to figure out what was going to happen plot-wise. This didn’t ruin the book for me by any means, as there were many other wonderful elements of this book that drew me in instead. I also expect that many others will care deeply about these characters, so take my opinion here with a grain of salt!

Overall, this was a very good first book, and I’ll be looking forward to reading more of Graci Kim’s work in the future.

(https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3809096008)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book was one of my new favorite reads! I adored it. The characters were stunningly done, and the author did a great job making them come to life and making you feel for them and their problems. The worldbuilding was exquisite, and I fell in love with the Gifted Clans and their cool powers! Emmet is my spirit animal. "Emotions give you wrinkles" is my new catchphrase! All in all, I adored this book and the mythology in it, and I recommend it if you enjoy mythology and Percy Jackson-esqe books.

I had high expectations going into this read and I wasn’t disappointed in the slightest. The Last Fallen Star follows Riley Oh, a young Korean-American girl who happens to be the only non-magical member of her adoptive family. When she and her sister, Hattie, attempt a spell to share Hattie’s magic, things go horribly wrong and Riley is launched into a series of adventures and revelations in order to save her sister.

The Last Fallen Star begins as a story about being the outsider and wanting nothing more than to fit in, but slowly becomes a story about discovering who you are and where you belong in the world. The characters are fun and well-rounded, their personalities shining through each interaction. Their motivations are clear and remain central to the plot. The action is nearly non-stop with fun twists and reveals that draw you in and make it difficult to put the book down.

I also appreciated how the mythology was presented throughout the story. Each figure, creature, and object was explained in an easy to understand way while also fitting in with the narrative tone. Since the story is told from Riley’s perspective, the explanations are simple and straight forward (how a kid would explain something that’s simply part of their life), which makes everything easier to understand for those who don’t know Korean mythology.

The Last Fallen Star is a fun and exciting novel from start to finish. As someone who loves mythology of any kind, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story and hope to read more from Graci Kim in the future.

I HAVE TO WRITE THIS REVIEW IN ALL CAPS. WHY, YOU ASK? WELL, IT'S BECAUSE I WANT TO SCREAM HOW MUCH I LOVED THIS STORY. MAGIC. WHO DOESN'T ENJOY A STORY WITH MAGIC? I FOUND THE CHARACTERIZATIONS REALISTIC AND RELATABLE. THE PLOT HELD ME THE ENTIRE TIME. I THOROUGHLY ENJOYED THE BOOK IN ITS ENTIRETY. I STRONGLY RECOMMEND IT TO LOVERS OF YA.

Riordan does it again! I absolutely love this imprint! The Last Fallen Star is a wonderful book I would recommend to anyone. Especially kids of the same background, and teachers to bring into their classroom. I loved this heartfelt story of adventure.

I grew up reading Rick Riordan's works, but this is the first book I've read that was part of Rick Riordan Presents. While I like the platform that it gives to multicultural mythologies, I can't help but compare it to Riordan's Percy Jackson series.

Overall, I found that this series fell a bit flat. The Korean mythology wasn't fleshed out enough, and terms that I'm not familiar with were thrown around without much explanation. Also, I found the characters were underdeveloped. So many side characters were kind of just there. Sure they serve some sort of purpose at one point, but a majority of them weren't interesting. The plot itself was also just okay and a lot of the conflict was resolved rather quickly. Despite the flaws that this had, I'm glad that this series is a good step for introducing people to Korean mythology.

What a ride! I absolutely fell head over heels for this heartfelt, adventurous, and magical debut middle grade from Graci Kim. This is 100% an author to watch and I can't wait for the next book and the continuing adventures of Riley, Emmett, and the rest of the squad!

Think you NetGalley for this eARC!

In this Rick Riordan Present series, we’re introduced to Riley- a Korean-American almost-13-year-old. She was adopted into a family of magically gifted healers, though she is ‘saram’ (without magic). Riley and her sister, Hattie, come up with a plan to share Hattie’s magic... but things to not go as planned.

Honestly, this was a DNF for me. I tried.
This book differs from other RRP books I’ve read in that we start with a protagonist fully versed in the mythological world. That means there is a LOT of exposition needed to get everyone up to speed. In the other books, readers get to learn alongside the characters, which allows it to not be ‘so much.’ I was able to get about a third of the way through, and just struggled with being invested at all. I’m sure that some people will really love this book. It definitely has a great plot line, I just personally couldn’t get through the extra long exposition.

This book was really cute! I don't often read middle grade books, but I really love the rick riordan presents line. I love learning about different mythologies, and it's so refreshing to have stories that focus on non-western mythologies as well. The writing was funny and easy to get through, and I really enjoyed all of the main characters. The plot was intriguing, and the ending left me very excited to see where the story is going to go from here.

When the publication of THE LAST FALLEN STAR was first announced, I was indescribably excited — I mean: the book promises witches, Korean mythology, heritage & magic, and themes of family and belonging. What more could an Asian-American girl ask for? After reading, I'm pleased to announce that I was not let down, not even a single bit. THE LAST FALLEN STAR exceeded each and every one of my expectations, and has reached it's way into my heart as one of the best middle grade fantasies I've ever had the honor to read. Yes, it's really *that* good.

Riley Oh has got to be one of the most relatable protagonists I've ever met. Almost 13, Riley is a lot of things: cautious, a rule-follower, has a leaky eye bladder (long story short, read the book), and loves her family and friends more than anything else in the world. Despite having virtually nothing in common with Riley — I'm not Korean, adopted, or living in a gifted society with divine elemental powers — Riley's character truly spoke to me. The idea of feeling not-fully-integrated in a society, and wanting so desperately to just *fit in* is a theme that I think many diaspora children & teens, including myself, can relate to. Other than that, I'm overly emotional and a goody-two-shoes all the way, so I was truly just cheering Riley on the entire time.

While Riley is undeniably the star (hehe) of the book, THE LAST FALLEN STAR is a story that belongs equally to all the side characters — which, frankly, is a huge feat. From characters who accompany Riley along her journey, such as her best friend Emmett, to characters who only get a little page time, such as Riley's Eomma and Appa, and her sister, Hattie, each character is fleshed out so incredibly well. I may or may not have gotten inexplicably extremely attached to each and every one of them.

My favorite part of the book, though, would be the worldbuilding. Graci Kim managed to catch my excitement, weaving a world that I desperately wish younger-me could explore. The magical world is seamlessly embedded within normal LA society, and I just know that so many younger readers are going to swept away by the portals, magical creatures, goddesses, illusions, and all the magic hidden in plain sight. Paired with a plot that is genuinely twisty, THE LAST FALLEN STAR is an exquisite debut not to be missed.

**3/5 stars**

[eARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.]

What an adventure this was! The Rick Riordan Presents team has certainly mastered its brand... While I do enjoy diving into multicultural mythologies, and I am a firm believer in their importance to young, multicultural readers, I am beginning to lose confidence in the RRP formula. I think what has made previous RRP books successful is not how well they are able to mimic the charm, wit, and adventure of the PJO series, but rather how they stand on their own with the strength of their characters, stories, and worlds.

Unfortunately, The Last Fallen Star fell short in those respects. Very little time was spent building the Korean mythos world, and I feel even less was spent establishing the characters. Riley is a perfectly lovable protagonist, though somewhat flat. She is lovable to a fault in that there is nothing to improve about her: she has no flaws, nothing complicated or interesting. She is outspoken and brave, always making a selfless choice— even when it is an absolutely devastating one. While strong characters are important, especially young girls, I think this book could have been improved with a little more development of its protagonist. That Riley is a sort of outcast in her community is not quite enough, because it is not a character trait. I applaud her confidence and her sense of self-worth, and I hope it inspires young readers. Still, though, she would be a stronger character if there was room for growth, beyond just “growth” in the magical sense, as in the growth of her powers.

Riley’s supporting cast are also rather weak and uninteresting, which was a disappointment. No one in particular stands out, nor would I be able to explain to anyone what makes each character unique. They all seem to run together.

The world building is also something that needed a little bit more care and time. I think there were some attempts to make up for the lack of world building with some “info-dumps.” But even after finishing the book, I still feel like there is a huge gap in my understanding of how this world of Korean myth and magic operates. The glossary helps, but I do not think that the reader should have to rely on the glossary to understand the world. The natural order of the fantasy world should be woven into the narrative, not heaped around the book haphazardly. I believe this is a series, so I definitely see room for growth here!

As for the plot, it seems underdeveloped. Some of the dialogue, especially towards the end, is suspiciously convenient. Major plot points and issues get resolved in as little as a few lines of dialogue. As a result, the stakes never seem very high. The pacing played a role in this issue, too. Too much happened in the last 20% of the book, and too many really intriguing questions set up in the first act all got answered at once. Why not leave a few questions for the next book? Though I am sure that Graci Kim will weave another lovely sequel regardless, as a reader was not left wanting much more, since everything I wanted to know was resolved.

At the end of the day, I am just a knit-picker who picks up on things young readers will simply overlook. I am confident that The Last Fallen Star will be successful in its mission to empower young Korean readers to write their own stories of magic and myth, and to love who they see in the mirror— just like how Riley loves herself for who she is! This book is also an opportunity for non-Korean readers to learn more about Korean myth, culture, and identity in an appealing adventure context. Educators will hopefully see the value of this opportunity and include it in their multicultural curriculums.

So, a solid read, though not as satisfying as I would have liked. 3 stars for having lovely writing, being inspiring, and for being fairly imaginative. Graci Kim can only improve.

Riley Oh is the adopted daughter of Gifted Clans Witches and she wants more than anything to be one herself. But unfortunately Riley is a saram, a mortal with no magic who therefore cannot become a witch. Riley has all but given up on her dream but her adopted sister Hattie refuses to accept that. They find a spell that will allow Hattie to share her magic with Riley but it isn't as easy as it sounds. And predictably everything goes badly. Now Hattie's life is on the line and Riley is tasked with hunting down the last fallen star in order to save her sister. Riley doesn't do it alone though. She is joined by her best friend Emmett and along the way she receives help from unlikely acquaintances and...even her enemies? Yeah it's pretty epic.

When I saw this book was about Korean witches I was immediately intrigued. First off, there are not many witch books in general but especially in the middle grade genre. So I was extremely excited when I saw that. On top of that Korean mythology is so interesting and something I know a little bit about from watching, you guessed it, k-drama's. I think it's such a fascinating mythology that is never really portrayed in Western media so I am super grateful that this book now exists so young readers have the opportunity to learn about this culture at a young age. And I am even more happy that young Korean American kids can read this book and see themselves represented.

Now onto the world. Absolutely stunning. The magic system is very cool. It's based off of the elements but each clan has a particular specialty such as the Gom who are healers and the Gumiho who are illusionists. The backdrop to this mystical world is modern day Los Angeles which made the story even more fun to read about. We got to see famous west coast landmarks while also learning about Korean culture within the city. Noraebang's, otherwise known as karaoke rooms, seem like a real fun time and I'm so sad they are not really around where I live! This brings me to another part of this book that I really loved. I was a sucker for all of the k-culture references. As I mentioned earlier I do watch k-dramas (honestly they're the best I highly recommend them) but I am also a fan of k-pop so I got a lot of the easter eggs/references that the author made. There were even some Percy Jackson references! I am always here for references to PJO. There were also some other pop culture references (especially Disney) that I was living for but I won't spoil them all for you!

Next are the characters. I really liked Riley even though I don't think I would have at another time in my life. I have recently recognized the fact that I am an emotional person and therefore also suffer from Riley's "leaky eyeball syndrome" as Emmett likes to call it. I was able to really sympathize with her because of my own recent realization and that really endeared me to her. Emmett is who I am in public aka hating emotions. Riley and Emmett were like two sides of my personality and I really connected with them. Even though I sometimes thought that Emmett was a bad friend because he liked to rub it in Riley's face when she was wrong and he was right, I realized that was probably from fear for her rather than smugness. There were also some side characters that I didn't think were going to be important but they actually played a pretty important role in the story. I really loved that Graci Kim turned pretty much all my expectations on their heads. I expected characters to be a certain way but then they ended up proving me wrong and growing throughout the book. This happened with ALL characters not just Riley. In this growth Kim also taught valuable lessons that I think is extremely important for youths to read about. I honestly wish I had this book when I was younger.

Even though this is a glowing review I do have a few critiques. First off the characters speak in slang that no one speaks in anymore. No one actually says "OMG." It really came off as someone older who was writing this and was out of touch with how the kids speak these days. Honestly it made me laugh (in a good way!!) but I am not going to fault the book for this since it is indeed targeted at a younger audience. And to be fair, I am not from California (I'm a New Yorker) so maybe that is how the youths speak over there. Another thing I wasn't super on board with was how the conflict was resolved. I'm still a little confused about everything. I'm not sure how discoveries were made or how some things are even possible but I imagine I will find out in a future book.

I absolutely cannot wait until the next book comes out. I 100% recommend checking this book out. It was fun, funny, entertaining, and an all around feel good story. Not to mention that I learned a lot from it. Life lessons and Koreans culture things. Please read this book I promise you will not be disappointed.

I'm a huge fan of the Percy Jackson series. My own kids just finished the first book and loved it. But they will love this one even more. My kids are half Korean and they know nothing about Korean mythology. I'm guessing most people don't! Not only is it fun to learn about another culture but the characters Graci Kim introduced us too are lovable. They are kids you wish you could be friends with. It does follow the familiar formula (kid thinks they're nothing special, chaos ensues, kid finds out they are the key to unlocking something big) but nothing else is the same. This was such a fun read. I can't wait for my kids at home and my students at school to read it. I will definitely be recommending it to teachers and librarians.

**I received an ARC from the publisher on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

My first read of 2021 and it was a great book to start the year off with. The Last Fallen Star is wonderfully written. I loved all the characters and learning about Korean mythology. It's definitely a must read for fans of Rick Riordan. I can't wait for the next book to come out.

The thing Riley Oh wants the most in the entire world is to be a real Gom, to have healing magic like her adopted family and to feel like she belongs. Riley and her adopted sister Hattie decide to use a forbidden spell during Hattie's ceremony to join the clans that will allow Riley to share Hattie's magic for a period of time. However, when they are about to complete the spell in front of the elders and their family, the head of their clan stops them and reveals life-shattering news to Riley: she is not a saram, a person with no magic, she is a Moraji, a member of the exiled clan of witches that tried to destroy the other clans. Worse than that, Riley's adopted mother, father, and aunt knew who she was. Now that the clan knows, they give Riley's adopted mother, father, and aunt a choice: they can give up all of the magic or disown Riley. Not wanting her family to lose their magic, Riley flees to her house to pack her bags, but before she can Hattie and Riley's best friend Emmett catch up to her and refuse to let her leave. Hattie decides that they should attempt another forbidden spell to summon a goddess to give Riley magic. The spell doesn't work as planned, and in order to save Hattie, Riley and Emmett must find the last fallen star. In the process of looking, they discover the exiled Moraji clan, Riley's powers, Emmett's lost mother, new friends, and Riley discovers her place in the world.