A BRUSH WITH MAGIC

A California girl makes an unexpected friend during a summer abroad visiting relatives in Seoul.

Twelve-year-old Yumi is taking her first trip to South Korea, her parents’ homeland, along with her 16-year-old sister, Minji. Yumi hopes the trip will help the sisters be close again, but she soon feels left out when Minji leaves her behind to explore with their teenage cousins. Forlorn, Yumi spends her days with Harabujee, her beloved grandfather, who teaches her brush painting, tells her Korean fairy tales, and shares old memories of Yumi’s mom’s childhood. One day, Yumi goes to a neighborhood art store, where she finds an unusually beautiful brush. But when she brings it home and tries to paint with it, a dokkaebi, or Korean goblin, emerges. At first it seems that Dodo, the goblin, will alleviate Yumi’s loneliness. She shape-shifts into Yumi’s look-alike, makes paintings come to life, and leads her on adventures through the city. But Dodo’s erratic behavior soon has Yumi wondering whether she can trust her, while simultaneously allowing her insights into Minji’s own feelings about growing up. Apt details of contemporary Korean life are woven naturally throughout the narrative, and the well-rounded characters are welcome representations of the diversity of modern-day Korean youth. Fantastical elements are seamlessly woven into this engaging, entertaining story. Park’s charming brush painting–style spot art adorns the text.

A universal coming-of-age tale becomes extraordinary through an encounter with Korean folk magic.