Genre: Young adult literature, fantasy.
Key Stage: Age 14+
Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa (2019)
Plot: Raised by monks in the Silent Wind temple during her childhood, Yumeko is trained to hide her Yokai nature: half kitsune and half human. She is not allowed to use her powers or punishments will fall upon her. Until the day where her home burns down, her master leaves her with the ancient scroll that they have been protecting. The scroll ancient holds the prayer that summons the dragon who will grant one wish every thousand years. After one such wish brought destruction and chaos to the land of Iwagoto, the scroll was divided into three pieces and hidden away. Kage Tatsumi-samurai of the Shadow Clan is under orders to obtain the scroll at any cost. But when fate brings Yumeko and Kage together, Yumeko travels with Kage under his protection. Kage seeks what she has hidden away, and her deception could ultimately tear them both apart.
They are the key to the fate of the world itself.
I really enjoyed this book because it shows how each character is feeling by talking in their perspective. In addition, the book itself is very intriguing and adventurous which is the type of book I like. One thing that really annoyed me though was that the book ended with a cliff hanger because now I don’t know what happened next (it’s the first in a trilogy).
I would recommend this book to Year 8+ because some of the vocabulary is hard to understand, however the author really tries to make us understand what the story is about. I give it a solid 5 stars.
Reviewer: Zain, Year 7