The Last Fallen Star by Graci Kim (the mitten read aloud .TXT) 📗

All Korean words used in this book have been transliterated according to the Revised Romanization of Korean system.

Copyright © 2021 by Graci Kim

Introduction copyright © 2021 by Rick Riordan

All rights reserved. Published by Disney • Hyperion, an imprint of Buena Vista Books, Inc. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. For information address Disney • Hyperion, 77 West 66th Street, New York, New York 10023.

First Edition, May 2021

Stock images: watercolor 61613686, sun 89398255, moon 1471622636/Shutterstock

Designed by Joann Hill

Cover artwork © 2021 by Vivienne To

Cover design by Joann Hill

ISBN 978-1-368-06128-5

LCCN 2020027527 (ebook)

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020027527

Follow @ReadRiordan

Visit www.DisneyBooks.com

To my eomma and appa, whose love is the reason I exist.

To my sisters, Ally and Joya, whose love is the reason this story exists.

And most of all, to my Spudman, whose love (and patience) is the reason this book exists.

Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Introduction

1 My Family of Healing Witches

2 Saturday Is Temple Day

3 Even Witches Go to School

4 How to Open an Enchanted Safe

5 Time to Get Initiated, Witches

6 The Tiger Is Out of the Bag

7 Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way

8 Noah Noh and the Dojang

9 Um, Mago Halmi, Is That You?

10 The Dark Sun and Dark Moon

11 The Cheollima and His Cookies

12 Don’t Forget to Smile

13 Where Does the Bearded Man Buy His Suits?

14 The Best Boba Teas in Town

15 Potato Sacks and Truth Bombs

16 Of Course There’s a Prophecy

17 Why Is There Always a Catch?

18 It’s Time to (Rescue) Party

19 Anyone Hungry for Seoulful Tacos?

20 Halmeoni’s Soul Animal Is a Magpie

21 Make Way for the Bionic Girl

22 Taming of the Inmyeonjo

23 Are Family Reunions Always This Awkward?

24 Let’s Get Down to Business

25 Dokkaebi Rules of Engagement

26 The Dokkaebi Takes His Bite

27 Ticktock, Ticktock Goes the Heart

28 Nuh-uh, She Didn’t!

29 Get Your Battle Gear on, Fambam!

30 The End Is Also the Beginning

Epilogue

Glossary

About the Authors

THAT WAS MY FIRST THOUGHT WHEN reading The Last Fallen Star. Graci Kim does such an amazing job of blending Korean mythology into the modern world, I am now wondering how I ever lived without knowing all this cool information. Turns out, right under our noses in Los Angeles, there is an entire society of Korean witches with deep connections to the Godrealm. I am so glad LA finally has something to brag about besides being the entrance to Hades’s Underworld.

Which of the six gifted witch clans would you choose to be in? Each one is amazing, with its own patron god and special powers. I’d love to be Miru—the protectors—because their patron is the Water Dragon Goddess, but there’s no way I could be that fast and strong. I’m big into reading and history, so the Horangi clan is appealing, but as you’ll soon see, this clan of scholars doesn’t have the best reputation right now. In fact, they’ve been exiled from the other five clans. Bummer.

I guess my next choice would be the Gumiho. I’ve always liked the Nine-Tailed Fox Goddess. Being able to cast illusions could be really helpful. On those mornings when you’re in a rush and don’t have time to get dressed, just cast an illusion on yourself and look however you want! Their motto is Beauty and Influence. I think they’d get along really well with Aphrodite’s kids!

The hero of our story, Riley Oh, isn’t sure where she belongs. Her family is in the Gom clan—the great magical healers—and Riley would love to get confirmed as a healing witch when she turns thirteen, like her sister, Hattie, is about to do. Unfortunately, Riley is a saram—a person born with no magic at all. She was adopted, and her biological parents weren’t witches. Riley’s adopted parents are awesome, however, and she gets along great with her sister. Still, it’s super hard being the only one in the family without magic.

Then Hattie has a brilliant idea. They will cast a spell during Hattie’s initiation that will let Riley share half of Hattie’s power! Sure, the spell is forbidden. They’ll have to steal it from their parents’ safe. They’ll also have to perform the spell in front of the Council of Elders and the entire congregation of the five clans on temple day, but what could possibly go wrong?

Um…you can probably guess how that turns out.

Riley discovers that her past is a whole lot more complicated than she realized. By trying to share Hattie’s power, she unleashes an avalanche of unintended consequences, and brings secrets to light that were meant to stay buried forever. If she is going to save her family, the witch community, and the entire mortal realm, she had better discover her true powers quickly, and figure out who she can trust among the mortals, witches, and gods.

I have to admit, I fell down on the job while I was reviewing Graci’s manuscript. I started reading and immediately got hooked. I was halfway through the book before I remembered, “Oh, right, I’m supposed to be editing this.” Then I went back and looked for stuff to edit, and I just got hooked into the story again. That’s how good it is.

You’re going to fall in love with this world right away. Riley’s best friend, Emmett, is the kind of guy you want on your team. He loves baking and bringing you treats. He likes to dress up pets in strange costumes. He claims he is allergic to emotions, which just made me want to give him a big hug! He totally needs to meet Nico di Angelo and share a batch of cookies. Hattie is the best big sister, and she and Riley have the sweetest sibling relationship even though they’re so different. The families in the witch clans are all so messy and loving and complicated—just like real families! And did I mention the food? Oh. My. Gods. Tornado fries. Bulgogi tacos. Gimchi salsa. Miniature donuts. Sign me up.

Speaking of eating, I ate this book way too fast.