Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa

 

    For this week's book review, I read Shadow of the Fox, by Julie Kagawa. This was a highly engaging tale about adventure in a historical Japanese setting. This is first and foremost a fantasy novel, however it is really enjoyable to also learn a lot about ancient Japan, along with many Japanese legends.

    This story is told from two very different perspectives. The primary protagonist is Yumeko, an innocent teenage girl who has lived in a temple with monks her entire life. She has never seen any other parts of the world, and only knows what the monks have told her. However, Yumeko is hiding a secret from the rest of the world; she is a kitsune, a magic shape-shifting fox with the ability to create illusions. The secondary protagonist is Tatsumi, a samurai on a mission from his mysterious, immortal daimyo. Both of these character's personalities are complete opposites, creating many interesting scenarios throughout the book.

    The conflict in this story is that a scroll was stolen from Yumeko's temple by demons, and she was sent to recover it. Along the journey, she meets Tatsumi, who was also sent to recover the same scroll, but for different purposes. They agree to work together until they reacquire the scroll, even though they want the scroll to have a different final destination. Their conflicting motivations create visible tension, resulting in a more interesting experience for both protagonists. Also, Yumeko is still hiding that she is a kitsune, a deadly secret that could come back to haunt her, but could also save her life.

    There were a lot of things in this book that I really enjoyed reading about. The plot in this book is heavily driven by character's motivations and decisions. This really helped make the progression feel natural, like nothing was forced and the events could feasibly happen. Julie Kagawa, the author, did a spectacular job of writing all of the side characters in and sliding them in next to the main characters, creating a vivid, full world. There were also some basic Japanese words used throughout, something I found very interesting as I am currently learning to speak Japanese in school. 

    I would highly suggest that anyone read this book. I think that this book has something for everyone. Fantasy readers, historical fiction readers, and even romance readers would find something in this book that would draw them in. This book is also the first book in a trilogy, and I also suggest reading the other two books after you finish Shadow of the Fox. This is a really great, fun book to read, and I think you should definitely add it to your list of books to read as soon as possible.

- Collins