"The Last Fallen Realm" by Graci Kim

The Last Fallen Realm (June 6, 2023) by Graci Kim.

*This is the final novel in a trilogy.*

*Casual spoilers included for those who haven’t read the previous books.*

The last fallen star (Riley Oh) and the last fallen moon (her soul-twin and newly adopted brother, Dahl Oh) are expected to lead the Gifted Clans into the Age of the Final Eclipse. Riley doesn’t have Dahl’s swagger or Hattie’s (her older sister by one month) conviction. They are both born leaders. But Riley’s a 13-year-old with no gifted powers, despite technically being a divine celestial being, and zero leadership qualities. And now the fabric amongst the realms is tearing, allowing divine creatures to visit other worlds. There’s a bulgae (fire dog) from the Godrealm in the Mortalrealm and a certain imugi (a creature that’s part snake and part yong) of the Spiritrealm also pops up in the Mortalrealm. The remaining goddesses, the daughters of Mago Halmi, are acquiring an army to prepare for one MegaRealm. Two of the goddesses are deceased, but the Three-Legged Crow, Nine-Tailed Fox, Mountain Tiger and Moon Rabbit Goddesses are stirring up trouble for Riley and company. She needs to retrieve Mago’s Fire (disguised as a fidget spinner) and the key of all keys. She knows that those two items will unlock her and Dahl’s true potential and then they can save the realms from the goddesses.

            Prepare yourself for a Korean mythology-filled adventure involving talking moon bunnies, a mini-golf competition that might involve death and magical gummy candies. It’s a world of wondrous world-building (picture “folded space”), fast pacing, realms-wide technology, Korean magic and the awkwardness of new, young love. Readers see Riley grow from the wallflower she’s comfortable being into the heroine she’s always had the potential to be. The cast of characters is innovative but also sympathetic. Themes of family and friendship prevail. The final middle-grade novel in the Gifted Clans trilogy is high-stakes and completely satisfying. The story has a lot of heart, but humor, too. It is a triumph.

            Book One: The Last Fallen Star

            Book Two: The Last Fallen Moon