The Fox Maidens
- Subject
- Fairy Tales & Folklore - General
- Age
- Teen
- Format
- Trade Paperback
- Pages
- 320
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Publishers
- Size
- 15.7 cm × 22.9 cm
- ISBN
- 9780062685124
From the bestselling, award-winning creator of Almost American Girl comes an epic new graphic novel fantasy—a queer, feminist reimagining of the Fox Maiden legend from Korean mythology. Perfect for fans of Nimona, Squire, and The Prince and the Dressmaker.
Kai Song dreams of being a warrior. She wants to follow in the footsteps of her beloved father, the commander of the Royal Legion. But while her father believes in Kai and trains her in martial arts, their society isn’t ready for a girl warrior.
Still, Kai is determined. But she is plagued by rumors that she is the granddaughter of Gumiho, the infamous nine-tailed fox demon who was killed by her father years before.
Everything comes crashing down the day Kai learns the deadly secret about her mother’s past. Now she must come to terms with the truth about her identity and take her destiny into her own hands. As Kai desperately searches for a way to escape her fate, she comes to find compassion, and even love, in the most unexpected places.
Set in sixteenth-century Korea and richly infused with Korean folklore, The Fox Maidens is a timeless and powerful story about fighting for your place in the world, even when it seems impossible.
About the author
Robin HaAuthor
Robin Ha is the New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of Cook Korean!: A Comic Book with Recipes, as well as the graphic novel memoir Almost American Girl and historical fantasy graphic novel The Fox Maidens. Her comics and illustrations have also appeared in various publications, including The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times, as well as in anthologies highlighting Asian American culture: Rise: A Pop History of Asian America from the Nineties to Now, New Frontiers: The Many Worlds of George Takei, and Shattered: The Asian American Comics Anthology (Secret Identities). Robin grew up reading and drawing comics. At fourteen she moved to the United States from Seoul, Korea. She studied illustration at Rhode Island School of Design. She now lives in Virginia.
Data provided by BiblioShare.
What reviewers said
“Ha puts a queer and feminist twist on the origins of the Fox Maiden from Korean folklore in this fantastical graphic novel. Across cleanly rendered, digitally illustrated panels with starkly highlighted hues in reds, blues, greens, and yellows, Kai tenaciously attempts to change her fate, encounters a familiar face on a parallel journey, and finds compassion and love along the way.”
“Ha employs a limited but versatile color palette to create a world that feels grounded in real history yet imbued with magic. The inkbrush-like digital illustrations are evocative of traditional Asian art and contrast poignantly with the book’s contemporary treatment of nonconformity, queerness, and intergenerational trauma. A lushly illustrated fantasy that feels ancient and modern at the same time.”
"Ha’s magnificent storytelling reclaims, reveals, and honors [Korean women's] strength."
"A worthy addition to the canon of myths retold through the female lens that will appeal to any who enjoys the monster’s backstory."
“Action packed and exciting, this family drama is full of unexpected twists and turns. The art is rich with historical details, beautiful nature scenes, and fast paced fight scenes. Lovers of ghost stories, kdramas, and queer retellings of fairy tales will find much to enjoy here.”
"A book that makes you want to devour the patriarchy. The Fox Maidens is a beautiful dive into Korean history, mythology, and social issues we can all learn from." — Laura Gao, author and illustrator of Messy Roots
