Lia Park and the Missing Jewel
by Jenna Yoon (Author)
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Booktalk: Twelve-year old Lia Park just wants to fit in. Her parents work with a mysterious organization that makes them ridiculously overprotective. Lia’s every move has been scrutinized since she was born, and she’d love to have the option of doing something exciting for once. So when she gets invited to the biggest birthday party of the year–and her parents say she can’t go–Lia sneaks out.
But her first act of rebellion not only breaks her parents’ rules, but also an ancient protection spell, allowing an evil diviner spirit to kidnap and ransom her parents for a powerful jewel that her family has guarded for years. With just the clothes on her back and some very rusty magical skills, Lia finds herself chasing mysterious clues that take her to her grandmother’s home in Korea.
From there, she has to make their way to the undersea kingdom of the Dragon King, the only person who knows where the powerful jewel might be. Along with her friend, Joon, Lia must dig deep and find courage to stand up for those who are weak–and become the hero her parents need.
Snippet:
Left foot forward, left foot back, right foot forward, right foot back. I closed my eyes and moved to the sound of the beating drum. My arms swept through the air as I drew a figure eight using alternating circular motions.
“Loosen your legs, Lia. You need to relax,” instructed Master Jinho.
“Ne, Seonsaengnim.” Yes, teacher. Even before he said it, I knew. Nerves had gotten the best of me, and my legs were too stiff. I tightened the belt around my uniform and took a deep breath to clear my mind.
In front of me, Joon stepped in perfect rhythm with the drum. To the untrained eye, it probably looked like we were dancing. But this was actually a pretty deadly practice called Taekkyeon, a traditional Korean martial art. Even before Taekkyeon was officially listed as a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage, we’ve been practicing it for centuries. Keeping it alive.
Joon glanced at the holographic image of Master Jinho shooting out from the silver box in the middle of the room.
Master Jinho clapped his hands and, to no one’s surprise, said, “Excellent pumbalbgi, Joon.”
I wanted to roll my eyes, but I smiled and nodded in agreement. Pumbalbgi, or Stepping-on-Triangles footwork, was super important, and today Joon had it down.
Maybe I’d be just as relaxed as Joon if my magic power manifested like his had. Everyone knew that if you didn’t have any inkling of magic by the age of twelve, it was most likely something that would never happen.
I turned twelve a few months ago.
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