Another strong contender in the Rick Riordan Presents stable, this one focused on Korean mythology and magic with a strong female protagonist of middle school age. The story moves quickly and the world building seems natural with enough explanation that readers unfamiliar with Korean culture can understand what is happening but no so much it begins to feel like a lecture. This volume is set in the mortal realm (specifically around Los Angeles), with strong final chapter indicators that the next volume will be set in the spirit realm. There's even a cute reference to Riordan's Percy Jackson series that implies the characters of this series occupy the same world as Percy and Co.

Graci Kim adds another cultural layer to the Rick Riordan Presents series. Kim draws on Korean mythology to weave a story of identity that is fun, engaging, and that helps us learn more about stories passed down.

I recommend the Rick Riordan Presents books to teachers and students whenever I can — and The Last Fallen Star comes highly recommended.

Before this, I had read all of the Percy Jackson books and one of the Rick Riordan Presents (Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky). I haven't met a Rick Riordan ( or Presents) book that I haven't liked. I loved this The Last Fallen Star by Graci Kim. What I will say is that there's usually a template for these books: average teenager (usually an outcast) finds out that they're actually a god (or gifted), joins other teenage gods/gifted, and together they go on a multi-step quest to solve the conflict.

The template is a little different in The Last Fallen Star; Riley Oh, the main character, is NOT gifted, and her quest starts with an effort to join the gifted clans who have adopted her. The book includes Korean myths (like Gumiho and Dokkaebi) and BTS lyrics and mentions of Korean food and Kdramas, With the awesome action-filled plot that comes with a Rick Riordan book and the K-Culture, I think this book is going to appeal to a lot of people.

If you enjoy stories by Rick Riordanyou will love this book. This is the first book and I’m looking forward to the rest of the series.
I thoroughly enjoyed the characters, the myths, and the food of Korea. The author did a great job linking family and friends to the heroines task. I raced through the book so fast I may have to reread it.
The author mentioned wanting to see themself in a book, and I would love to see more inclusive books written. We need to know everyone’s stories and every person should be able to see themself in a book.
Excellent middle schooler read.

This book was received as an ARC in exchange for an honest review . Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

Reading this book felt like a mystery joyride full of mythical creatures and so much adventure that this book will definitely leave you finished when you are done. Published with the creative mind of Rick Riordan, I was not disappointed with this book. The family sister bond between Hattie and Riley was nothing like I have ever read before . Being inspired by the magic Hattie will receive when becoming a Gi and finding out that Riley was adopted with no magic inherited, Hattie shares her new magic with Riley and while adventures await them we all know that magic does come with a price. This book will be extremely popular with our young readers and definitely a potential battle of the books nomination.

We will consider adding this title to our JFICTION collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars .

Just finished reading this book, where should I start? The storyline was great. Touching story about two sisters. One born into a family, one adopted. Do not want to give away the story. So here are some keywords. Sisters, loyalty , mythology, betrayal, family. A must read for 2021.

My kids are big fans of Rick Riordan, but they have not really enjoyed many of the RR Presents books...this one included. As a teacher, I appreciate that he's trying to be inclusive of every culture, but some of them just don't work as well, and it's beginning to dilute the brand.