Today I get to share with you the second book in the Lia Park series! I reviewed the first book last year and couldn't wait to get my hands on the second one. It was released last week!! The second book is Lia Park and the Heavenly Heirlooms by Jenna Yoon. It is a middle grades novel series recommended for ages 8 to 12.
From the Publisher:
Perfect for fans of the Gifted Clans and Aru Shah series, this thrilling second book of the middle grade fantasy Lia Park series sees Lia and Joon on a mission to protect important magical objects—and themselves—from a mysterious enemy.Twelve-year-old Lia Park and her best friend, Joon, are now full-time students at International Magic Academy after defeating corrupt diviner Gaya, and their first assignment is an ambitious one. The evil nine-headed monster and King of Darkness, Jihaedaegukjeok, wants to destroy the three Heavenly Heirlooms that create fire and light to plunge the world into darkness and destroy humanity.
The heirlooms can only be destroyed if they are all together, so over time, they have been hidden carefully with magic. Except now, one of them is missing. Lia, Joon, and their classmates have been tasked with recovering the lost heirloom and bringing it to IMA for safekeeping. They expected the task to be difficult, but the number of obstacles the magic trainees run into makes Lia start to wonder if the sabotage could be coming from someone inside the school.
From Me:
The second book in the series does not disappoint. Lia and Joon are beginning at the International Magic Academy and of course there is almost an immediate attack and Lia and Joon are off with their friends to help the adults save the world. It has the same sense of adventure mixed with Korean legend and magic. They travel in Korea and visit many famous sites. Throughout the book there are conflicts between Lia and Joon as well as other friends. Lia questions her friendship with Joon and his true loyalties even though they have been best friends their entire lives.
I love that through the fantasy story there are snippets about the Korean history and culture. The story is a page turner. It takes a little while to set the scene and introduce the school, but the adventure is a good one. There are some Korean words in the book as well. I love the twists and turns in the book as well as the unpredictability of the story. This series is a fun fantasy series that weaves in information about Korean culture and history. It is perfect for a middle grades class to read as well as talk about friendships, Korea and more. It is a story kids will enjoy reading. You do not have to have read the first book to get into the second. There are only a few references to what happened in it and it is explained well in the new book. I hope you will check out this book as well as the entire series. You will not be disappointed.
