First published 2009
Jade Blossom spends her days within the confines of her family's Inner Court in seventeenth-century Korea. Custom dictates that girls from respectable families remain home until marriage. Her older brother returns from his excursions with tales that captivate her. He describes visits to the marketplace, journeys to mountain grave sites where ancestors rest, and lessons in reading and painting. He shares conversations with their father about commerce, politics, and the adventures that only boys may pursue. Jade Blossom accepts what fate has determined for her, yet her curiosity about the world beyond those walls grows stronger each day. She wonders if she will ever witness these places herself. This sheltered girl begins making bold attempts to expand the boundaries of her restricted existence.
Genres: historical-fiction, coming-of-age, asian-american, family-drama
Vibes: intimate, lyrical, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, sheltered-protagonist
Setting: Korea, Inner Court
Period: 17th-century
96 pages · Kindle Edition · Clarion Books