Graci Kim has not only created a complicated character with depth, but she brings readers into the world of Riley Oh and helps us to walk a mile in her shoes.Įveryone, no matter their age, struggles to find their place in the world. She may have a sister who is her best friend and loving parents, but when you struggle to find your place, all the love in the world does not matter. As she watches her family and friends excel, it must be crushing for Riley to try and stay positive in this environment. For all her life, Riley believes herself to be the odd duck because of a lack of unique talent. She feels like she does not belong because amongst a world of magic, she is normal.

She is filled with doubt that has her hiding from everything and everyone. With only a couple of days to save Hattie, Riley and her friend Emmett must confront their own painful past to save the future. This act of teenage rebellion sets off a chain reaction, placing Hattie in danger and Riley on a godly quest to find the Last Fallen Star, a weapon of immense power that the Cave Bear Goddess wants in exchange for saving Hattie. It turns out that Riley is a member of the banished clan of Horangi witches. When the scheme goes awry, Riley’s parents tell her the truth about her past. Teenaged confidence leads Riley and Hattie to concoct a plan to use Hattie’s initiation ceremony as the opportunity to cast a spell that would share her magical powers with Riley. Riley is excluded from this tradition because she is a saram.

From the sidelines of life, Riley watches Hattie prepare for her initiation ceremony as a Gom witch. The problem that Riley has is that she is saram, a non-magical being. Her loving adoptive parents and her sister Hattie have taught her the different spells that Gom witches use to heal. From the time she was a baby this is the only family Riley has known. Riley is the adopted daughter of loving parents who happen to be Gom (healer) witches. Readers are introduced to the world of thirteen-year-old Riley Oh and her life in a world of Korean witches in modern day Los Angeles. The Rick Riordan Presents Banner at Disney Books has another hit on their hands with Graci Kim’s newest work The Last Fallen Star.

The last fallen star