Shadow of the Fox Blog Tour: Guest Post by Julie Kagawa

I am so happy to be part of the Shadow of the Fox blog tour. It is truly an honour to host Julie Kagawa, as she has been one of my favourite authors for so long. 

I also was able to request a piece that meant a lot to me, as I'm so fascinated by language, especially Japanese. So I hope you enjoy this post as much as I did. 

The Language of Shadow of the Fox 

Language was very important to me while writing Shadow of the Fox, especially the specific meaning of certain names.  For example, Yumeko, the kitsune protagonist of the story, has a very specific name. Yume is 'dream' in Japanese, so her name translates to dream child or child of dreams.  Tatsumi's demon possessed sword Kamigoroshi literally means 'godslayer,' and his family name  Kage (pronounced 'kah geh' not 'cage') is Japanese for 'shadow.'

Similarly, the families of Iwagoto are all named after the elements. The four Great Clans are the Hino, Mizu, Kaze and Tsuchi: Fire, Water, Wind and Earth.  The minor clans make up the Tsuki, Sora and Kage: Moon, Sky and Shadow, while the Imperial family is the Taiyo, the Sun clan.  The clans often reflect their families' element, with members of the Fire clan being seen as impulsive and hot tempered, the Earth clan as stubborn and immovable, and the Shadow clan as secretive and mysterious.

Even the names of the cities and buildings are important.  Chochin Machi, a small town that Yumeko and Tatsumi come across in their travels, means 'Lantern Town,' and is strung with thousands of red paper lanterns that light up the night.  The Shadow clan's home castle is Hakumei-jo, which means Twilight castle.  The Hayate shrine in the Wind district of the Imperial city means 'gale.' From the people to the towns to the forests and buildings, almost every named thing has a hidden meaning. And while most of them are not in the glossary at the back of the book, I took great care in all the names that went into Shadow of the Fox.  

Shadow of the Fox is available from any good book shop or online retailers. For my review of the book, go here. 

The Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 384 

Publisher: HQ Young Adult 

Released: 1st of November 2018 

One thousand years ago, the great Kami Dragon was summoned to grant a single terrible wish—and the land of Iwagoto was plunged into an age of darkness and chaos.

Now, for whoever holds the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers, a new wish will be granted. A new age is about to dawn.

Raised by monks in the isolated Silent Winds temple, Yumeko has trained all her life to hide her yokai nature. Half kitsune, half human, her skill with illusion is matched only by her penchant for mischief. Until the day her home is burned to the ground, her adoptive family is brutally slain and she is forced to flee for her life with the temple’s greatest treasure—one part of the ancient scroll.

There are many who would claim the dragon’s wish for their own. Kage Tatsumi, a mysterious samurai of the Shadow Clan, is one such hunter, under orders to retrieve the scroll…at any cost. Fate brings Kage and Yumeko together. With a promise to lead him to the scroll, an uneasy alliance is formed, offering Yumeko her best hope for survival. But he seeks what she has hidden away, and her deception could ultimately tear them both apart.

With an army of demons at her heels and the unlikeliest of allies at her side, Yumeko’s secrets are more than a matter of life or death. They are the key to the fate of the world itself. 

What I Have to Say 

This was basically an anime with the unique style and twists I've come to know and love from Julie Kagawa. Though without the actual animation bit, naturally. Kagawa has taken some of the stereotyped characters from Japanese anime and given them her own touch, managing to keep the characters that anime fans know while giving them a touch that is so specific to Kagawa's writing.

This book is everything I've ever wanted. Kagawa has brought in so many myths and creatures from Japan and brought them to life in a beautiful and vivid world. I love the epic quest style story and the twists and turns that used to create this story. It's so amazing how a simple fantasy structure can be so revitalised with a different type of mythology to draw from for inspiration. 

Yumeko is the sweetest. I love her so much. From the first page, I was drawn into her character, how she had the trickster side of the fox but there was also a side of her that was a sweet kind caring human girl that peeked out through her actions at some points during the book. I also love the fact that her strength is shown so much through tactics and tricks rather than outright fighting. It's become a bit of a problem with YA that all of the supposedly "strong" female characters are strong just because they can fight. It's great to see someone who's definitely a strong female character but who relies more on illusions and tricks as well as her knack for persuasion to get what she wants. 

Tatsumi is great as well, though maybe a little predictable that he's falling into a romance with Yumeko. And Okame! So many sarcastic comments about being a ronin (disgraced samurai) and his drinking and general roguish nature. I laughed out loud so much at some of the jokes in these books, especially some of Okame and Yumeko's lines. 

This was one of those books that I almost didn't want to pick up each day because it meant I was closer and closer to finishing it and having no more to read. I can't wait for the sequel. 

My thanks go to HQ for providing me with this copy for review. 

The Poet X by Elizabeth Agevedo

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 368 

Publisher: Electric Monkey 

Released: 3rd of May 2018 

Xiomara has always kept her words to herself. When it comes to standing her ground in her Harlem neighbourhood, she lets her fists and her fierceness do the talking.

But X has secrets – her feelings for a boy in her bio class, and the notebook full of poems that she keeps under her bed. And a slam poetry club that will pull those secrets into the spotlight.

Because in spite of a world that might not want to hear her, Xiomara refuses to stay silent.

What I Have to Say 

I'm not a massive fan of just sitting and reading poetry, especially with something like Slam where it's supposed to be read allowed, but I liked this book so, so much. The combinations of the story and the poetry meant that I could see Xiomara reading the poems. The beautiful cover is one that gets so stuck in your mind that it makes Xiomara so, so easy to picture. It was the perfect combination of Slam poetry and prose. 

I loved Xiomara's passion and the emotions that were stirred up in this book, especially when it came to her poetry around her family. It struck me that she and her brother had a lot of big secrets they were hiding from the rest of their family. 

I also really liked the romance. It felt so real and easily broken, especially considering her parents opinions on dating. I do think there's something about hidden romance that makes you more worried and invested in the characters. 

I promise, you will not be let down by this book. 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Electric Monkey for providing me with this copy for review. 

The Ship Beyond Time by Heidi Heilig

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 400
Publisher: Hot Key Books 

Released: 23rd of March 2017

Nix has spent her whole life journeying to places both real and imagined aboard her time-traveling father’s ship. And now it’s finally time for her to take the helm. Her father has given up his obsession to save her mother—and possibly erase Nix’s existence—and Nix’s future lies bright before her. Until she learns that she is destined to lose the one she loves. But her relationship with Kash—best friend, thief, charmer extraordinaire—is only just beginning. How can she bear to lose him? How can she bear to become as adrift and alone as her father?

Desperate to change her fate, Nix takes her crew to a mythical utopia to meet another Navigator who promises to teach her how to manipulate time. But everything in this utopia is constantly changing, and nothing is what it seems—not even her relationship with Kash. Nix must grapple with whether anyone can escape her destiny, her history, her choices.

What I Have to Say 

The perfect sequel to the wonderful The Girl From Everywhere. When I finished The Girl From Everywhere, I couldn't wait to explore more of the world, or should I say worlds, that Heilig has created and more of the mechanics of navigating. It's rare for a book to give you exactly what you want, but The Ship Beyond Time most definitely gave me everything I wanted and so much more. 

I enjoyed the philosophical questions that were raised throughout the book. The questions about whether or not the navigators should use their ability to change things, whether in the worlds of myth or history were so fascinating. And Kashmir's doubts about whether he was truly a real person if he had been created by Nix turning up in his home were just heartbreaking. 

I have just adored both these books. I'm not ready to leave the world of navigators behind yet, so I'm hoping  that Heilig will write more books about Navigating, if not about Nix and Kashmir. 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Hot Key Books for providing me with this copy for review.