Reviews

The Fox Maidens by Robin Ha

haileyannereads's review

dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Content warnings: sexual assault, violence

This is a tough read, but not in a bad way. It's a story of generational trauma, violence against women, and cultural expectations. The illustrations are beautiful, the story is haunting- it's a heartbreaking and beautiful graphic novel.

frogsinthesummer's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

doomham's review

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

bookishbrenbren's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

A beautifully illustrated GN about the tale of the Gumiho and what it means to live outside of the boundaries society builds around girls and women. The other major theme of the work which I LOVED was how our ideas of morality are shaped by our experiences and contexts. Gumiho is not just 'evil' bc she's a demon, she is a girl who seeks to punish those who harmed her and those who would treat her life as worthless. She has her own sense of morality, killing only those who have rotten souls.

She saves meorhu and helps her even after meorhu has betrayed her and tries to help tamjin kill her. At that point you begin to question both meorhu and tamjin's morality bc why do they need to harm gumiho?? Why is meorhu inherently better off as a wife (later an unfavored, second wife) than as gumiho's companion? THEN Kai also has her own struggle with morality - is it better to break her mother's heart and never return as a human, or is it better to kill and eat bad people? First she determines one way, later choosing the other.

You're never quite sure who to cheer for and I love that idea. 

The story itself is a little slow and looking back, some pieces don't really need to be in there or needed to be much more fleshed out. The rebellion for instance doesn't make much sense to only be relevant for a chapter. Then the ending, as others have said, is very rushed and feels a little tacked-on at the end. That being said, I like that the ending called attention to how

queer people are sometimes forced to live outside of society or give up their families before they can live authentically and openly

. 

I find it so interesting that so many East Asian demon tales are women who have been wronged or done wrong. I'm sure this is a common theme in lore around the world but it's something I've been reading more about in Japan and Korea lately. 

darknutmeg's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

dracaryslace's review

adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

4.0

gkim9779's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

jbavaro's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

sleepylit's review

dark emotional inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I picked this book up because I love foxes and the legends around them. I ended up really loving this story! I honestly wish there was more - less time skips and more detail, but overall the story was great and truly encapsulates the power of women. 

shayfiction's review

adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

5.0