What would you be willing to risk if you had almost nothing to lose?
Mirae allows a sick friend to give her a dangerous lifeline: a job in the imperial kitchens that will allow her to send money back to her father and younger sister. There’s just one major catch: She has zero cooking skills. Her only strength is a belief in the ocean spirit that protects her village and guides her to find shellfish to sell at market. Somehow, she safely travels from her village to the capital, but an early mishap earns negative attention from the crown prince and nearly costs Mirae her position; however, the young woman’s belief in her country’s old spirits and connection with nature guide her to a dangerous gift that can protect the nation while potentially costing Mirae everything.
The Queen of the Spirit Woods is Sharon Choe’s debut novel, and it’s unique blend of Korean history and folklore that I haven’t experienced in other books. (Maybe I’m just not looking in the right places?) Mirae’s experiences as an underqualified kitchen maid, the palace intrigue, and the blending of the spirit and mortal realms kept me riveted. I’m not familiar enough with Korean folklore to recognize the supernatural denizens possessing Mirae or that she interacts with throughout her journey, but their vitality and distinct characteristics encouraged me to explore them more deeply. (Perhaps some deep dives into scholarly sources are in my future in between work on my MBA courses.) The scenes and chapters set in the spirit realm or interacting with various spirits were a highlight for me, and I would have loved for the focus to be on Mirae’s transformation and how it played into the court politics.
This novel is billed as YA romantasy, though, so Choe includes an unsatisfying romance between Mirae and a young nobleman, Wonshik, who was the best friend of the crown prince before leaving court. This nobleman isn’t a throwaway character; he plays a critical role in the climax. I’m just a little bored of love stories being shoehorned into most media for younger consumers. Mirae’s journey as a medium for the spirits, plus the political upheaval, have enough meat to carry the plot. Some descriptions also try to turn her relationship with Jae, the crown prince, into the third point of a love triangle, which the text did not support. Jae comes to respect Mirae and trust her more than most in the court, but I would not say he was in love with her by the end of the book. Even if he had been, the importance he places on social class would prevent Jae from acting on his feelings; however, less jaded readers may be charmed by the relationship between the privileged young man and peasant girl. Just be warned that it’s more complicated than two young people trying to find a way to be together.
Aside from Mirae’s experiences with the various spirits, the strongest part of The Queen of the Spirit Woods was her friendships and relationships with other women. Her journey begins with a merchant friend providing her with a forged identity tag and job letter because the friend knows Mirae’s family desperately needs financial help. Once she arrives in the imperial kitchens, another maid protects Mirae from the head chef by covering her lack of cooking skills and gradually teaching her how to be more effective at her job. The queen consort doesn’t take Mirae under her wing simply out of goodwill, but she also demonstrates how women can support each other in a mostly male-dominated society. Additionally, many of the spirits present as female and are described as women and girls in various stages of life. I appreciated how Choe included the bonds women create with each other instead of creating a protagonist who is so “unlike the other girls” that she can’t relate to her gender. (The majority of the kitchen maids don’t accept her, but they’re afraid her bad luck and sloppy skills will get the head cook’s negative attention drawn to them.)
While I wasn’t here for the romance in The Queen of the Spirit Woods, I didn’t finish the book unsatisfied. The climax actually left me longing for more, and I hope that there will be a sequel that explores events after the final pages. There are still many things for Mirae to do with and for her ten thousand spirits, and the future of a nation may be resting on her learning how to harness their abilities and become a hero.
4 Burning Handkerchiefs out of 5
Creative Team: Sharon Choe (author)
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing | Atheneum Books for Young Readers
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