A review by macroscopicentric
Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee

adventurous emotional 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

3.0

This was simple and charming. Jebi is a meek but sweet and determined protagonist, and the parallels to Korea and Japan give the mythology a satisfying sense of having a lot of depth that we don’t get directly from the book. The overall effect is very fairy tales-ish, where the book flows as you’d expect and you get just enough of the magical rules to feel satisfied that there’s a consistent system, but it’s not a naive book and that’s also part of its charm. It’s a fairy tale, there are trials for the protagonist, and some things are unfair, and the ending feels like an ending even though we know there’s more to tell.