Author(s): Kat Cho

Young Adult Fiction

An addictive fantasy-romance set in modern-day Seoul.  

Eighteen-year-old Gu Miyoung has a secret--she's a gumiho, a nine-tailed fox who must devour the energy of men in order to survive. Because so few believe in the old tales anymore, and with so many evil men no one will miss, the modern city of Seoul is the perfect place to hide and hunt.  

But after feeding one full moon, Miyoung crosses paths with Jihoon, a human boy, being attacked by a goblin deep in the forest. Against her better judgment, she violates the rules of survival to rescue the boy, losing her fox bead--her gumiho soul--in the process.  

Jihoon knows Miyoung is more than just a beautiful girl--he saw her nine tails the night she saved his life. His grandmother used to tell him stories of the gumiho, of their power and the danger they pose to men. He's drawn to her anyway. When he finds her fox bead, he does not realize he holds her life in his hands.  

With murderous forces lurking in the background, Miyoung and Jihoon develop a tenuous friendship that blossoms into something more. But when a young shaman tries to reunite Miyoung with her bead, the consequences are disastrous and reignite a generations-old feud . . . forcing Miyoung to choose between her immortal life and Jihoon's.

Lucy's Review:

We first meet schoolgirl Gu Miyoung perched above the rooftops of Seoul stalking her prey under a full moon. She is a gumiho, a nine-tailed fox of Korean legend, and must feed on gi (similar to, but not the same as, mauri in te reo Māori) to survive. Unlike her mother, Miyoung doesn't rip men apart to feed but seeks out those who have caused harm and removes them from the world. It's a form of justice ... or that's what she tells herself.

Ahn Jihoon is a charming slacker who lives with his halmeoni (grandmother) after his mother abandoned him. Taking the dog out for a walk one night, he runs into a terrifying dokkaebi (goblin) in the forest and is rescued by a kick-ass Miyoung. In the process, he sees her true self - tails and all - while she loses her yeowu guseul, her gumiho soul in the form of a bead.

Miyoung runs off but then, on Monday morning, a transfer student is introduced to Jihoon's class ...

There's a growing trend in YA for culturally specific fantasy so, when you combine that with the current Hallyu (Korean Wave) of K-Pop and K-Dramas taking over the world, Wicked Fox is hitting all the marks. Like a cross between (a much-better-written) Twilight and Percy Jackson, Kat Cho's debut novel is a super satisfying read. Packed full of Korean culture and mythology, Cho gives the occasional explainer but really expects you to figure it out - just like Rick Riordan does with his mythologies. I'm just really excited to see an Asian writer writing a book (not a manga or manhwa) set in Asia, featuring only Asian characters ... and which is available in English!

It's fun, taut (with life and death stakes), cutely romantic and a wee bit violent but also deals with issues of parental abandonment, abuse, friendship and identity. For age 14+