THE LAST RHEE WITCH AND THE NINE-TAILED FOX

In this sequel to 2024’s The Last Rhee Witch, Ronnie returns to Camp Foster for witch training and winter fun with friends—only to encounter another dangerous supernatural creature.

Korean American Ronnie arrives at camp eager to learn some new spells. She’s dismayed to discover that last summer’s friends have kept in touch with each other through social media, which her father has forbidden her to use until she’s older, leaving her feeling like an outsider. She’s also shocked to learn that the camp (which is run by her late mom’s coven sisters, Ms. Hana, Ms. Akemi, Ms. Pavani, and Ms. Lia) is being visited by a gumiho—a shape-shifting, trickster fox spirit from Korean folklore. The gumiho beguilingly promises to fulfill people’s deepest desires in exchange for measures of their gi, or life force, which it desperately needs. Along with absorbingly ratcheting up the lively narrative’s tension on the way to an eerily lit climax beneath a lunar eclipse, Lee-Yun offers a genuine path to resolving conflicts equitably through Ronnie’s recognition that some give-and-take must happen on both sides. This insight serves her well: By the end, not only has the gumiho become a sympathetic (even cutely appealing) character, but Ronnie and her friends are tighter than ever. Names and other contextual clues point to a racially and culturally diverse supporting cast.

A pleasing, strongly paced tale with a folkloric twist and solid social-emotional underpinnings.