The Pearl Hunter
By Miya T. Beck
3/5
()
About this ebook
Set in a world inspired by pre-Shogun era Japan, this is a stunning debut fantasy in the vein of Grace Lin about how a young pearl diver goes to the ends of the earth to rescue her twin sister, who has been stolen by a ghost whale.
Kai and Kishi share the same futon, the same face, and the same talent for pearl diving. But Kishi is the obedient daughter, while Kai tries to push the rules, and sometimes they fight. Still, when Kishi is stolen and killed by the legendary Ghost Whale, nothing will stop Kai from searching for her, deep in the ocean, hoping for a way to bring her back to life.
But such a rescue is beyond the power of an ordinary mortal. Kai strikes a deal with the gods: she’ll steal a magic pearl in exchange for her sister’s soul. As she journeys across treacherous land scape, Kai must navigate encounters with scheming bandits, a power-hungry war lord, and a legion of conniving fox spirits. And when a new friendship becomes something almost as powerful as her love for her sister, Kai must make impossible choices and risk everything just to get home again.
Woven through with Japanese culture and legends, this many-layered story will grip readers of all ages.
Miya T. Beck
Miya T. Beck is a native Californian who always had a deep interest in the Japanese side of her heritage. Though she tried and failed to become fluent in Japanese, her studies did introduce her to the myths and fairy tales that inspired her debut novel, The Pearl Hunter. A former daily newspaper reporter and magazine writer, she lives in Brooklyn with her family.
Related to The Pearl Hunter
Related ebooks
The Kicho: The Dolls of Society, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHear No Evil Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCain Roberts, P.I. A Noir Fairy Tale Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Dream Come True -- Billi Bear, Medicine Woman, and Spider Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWaking the Burning Valley: Ashes of the Past Saga, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Very Wolf Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKunlun Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Dream of the Past (Book 1 in the Dream Series) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLady Of The Snakes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fornax Rising Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEast Village Witch Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Freedom Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Witchlanders Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Narwhal Problem Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Deadly Promise: The Promise Series, #2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBeneath the Rumbling Earth Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCecilia: The Last Croilar Tier: The Cecilia Series, #1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Ice Monster Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Inside the Egg: Seven Wardens, #9 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Jade Bones Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Traffik: The Stolen Girls Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLife of Miracles along the Yangtze and Mississippi Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPilfering Pirates: Two Girls Versus The Galaxy, #2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMagic Sack Come Back Come Back Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPoisoned: Dawn's End Book Two Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStolen Lives: Zahara Series, #2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMyths and Legends of the Sioux Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHaunted Holiday Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Flavor Of Cultures Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLibrary Alive! Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Children's Fantasy & Magic For You
The Chocolate Touch Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fortunately, the Milk Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lodestar Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The School for Good and Evil: Now a Netflix Originals Movie Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Exile Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Unlocked Book 8.5 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Howl's Moving Castle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Into the Wild: Warriors #1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Stellarlune Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Legacy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: The Classic Fantasy Adventure Series (Official Edition) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Keeper of the Lost Cities Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Alice In Wonderland: The Original 1865 Unabridged and Complete Edition (Lewis Carroll Classics) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCoraline 10th Anniversary Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Coraline Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Alice in Wonderland: Down the Rabbit Hole Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bridge to Terabithia Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Graveyard Book Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Phantom Tollbooth Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Neverseen Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Secret Garden: The 100th Anniversary Edition with Tasha Tudor Art and Bonus Materials Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Winnie-the-Pooh Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nightfall Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Silver Chair: The Classic Fantasy Adventure Series (Official Edition) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Prince Caspian: The Classic Fantasy Adventure Series (Official Edition) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hobbit Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Amari and the Night Brothers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Everblaze Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Last Battle: The Classic Fantasy Adventure Series (Official Edition) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Grimm's Fairy Tales Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The Pearl Hunter
3 ratings1 review
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got an eGalley of this book through NetGalley to review.Thoughts: I really enjoyed the beginning of this book. It's a fun adventure and I enjoyed Kai and Ren as characters. There are some issues here right out of the gate. There are inconsistencies with timing during travel and things like that. There were also some things that happened that didn't seem plausible, like the meetings with the Gods at the beginning...for some reason no one else in the world really believes they exist but our main character just takes interacting with them for granted?The story follows Kai as she seeks to recover her sister from a legendary Ghost Whale by stealing a pearl from a legendary fox. Her adventure leads her through many trials and she makes an important friend along the way. There are heavy coming of age themes and also discussion of twins who start to grow apart. The world-building has a heavy Asian influence to it.I would have rated this four stars except for the ending. I mean what the heck?! The author ruins this book in the last paragraph. It ends up feeling incredibly unfinished and leaves the reader with a million questions. The very end of this made me feel like I wasted my time reading this. This definitely could have used some better editing and consistency throughout the story and the author should have re-thought that ending for sure.SPOILER ALERT---------------------I absolutely cannot understand how the last two sentences are supposed to undo everything that happened earlier in the book. Why didn't Kai forget everything too? Is the General still alive and coming to invade their village now or did he stay dead? Is Ren still stuck with the bandits and miserable? Just so many questions, it really pissed me off.SPOILER END-----------------------My Summary (3/5): Overall this was a decent middle grade fantasy read with a lot of adventure and magic. The book is engaging and decently written. Some inconsistencies throughout the story and a horrible ending made me drop this from a 4 to a 3 star rating. Personally I would skip this, but I did like some aspects of the story so I might try and read something by Beck in the future, as she matures as a writer.