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The Loom Tree
Ninth House
meets
Babel
for fans of myth and folklore in this contemporary fantasy about a Korean-American college student at a magical university where fairy tales intersect with family heritage to unleash powers beyond imagining.
“You always wanted magic to be real.”
Sharon and her daughter V’s points of origin hold common threads—both Korean American teenagers, raised by single mothers and searching for identity in the California suburbs. But during a Finals week celebration, high schooler V, compelled by strange impulses, crawls into a hollow tree trunk. That night in a fever haze, she sees gleaming strands of illegible text hovering over her body—flowing between her and her mother, leading to a long-forgotten diary.
With the aid of a luminous quill, a fountainhead of Sharon’s memories spill onto the faded pages. V witnesses her mother map out her past through drawings, diagrams, and reclaimed histories of her brief time at Alvsdahl, an exclusive East Coast college. Here, legacies and heiresses claimed descent from Bluebeard or Cinderella, grappling for control over family stories that could grant them terrifying abilities or burn them to ash. An Asian girl with an unknown inheritance was no one—until her discoveries cracked open Alvsdahl’s secrets.
Sharon’s rewritten narrative—of classroom rivalries, animal professors, debauchery in the woods, threatening Godmothers, and world-shattering powers—unfolds line by line as V desperately tries to help her mother, ultimately learning how to wield Sharon’s story to transform them both.
Lyrical and tender, Angela Mi Young Hur’s The Loom Tree is a magical campus novel centering two young women walking the thorny path toward adulthood, the fractures between parents and their children, and the global mythologies connecting us all.
“You always wanted magic to be real.”
Sharon and her daughter V’s points of origin hold common threads—both Korean American teenagers, raised by single mothers and searching for identity in the California suburbs. But during a Finals week celebration, high schooler V, compelled by strange impulses, crawls into a hollow tree trunk. That night in a fever haze, she sees gleaming strands of illegible text hovering over her body—flowing between her and her mother, leading to a long-forgotten diary.
With the aid of a luminous quill, a fountainhead of Sharon’s memories spill onto the faded pages. V witnesses her mother map out her past through drawings, diagrams, and reclaimed histories of her brief time at Alvsdahl, an exclusive East Coast college. Here, legacies and heiresses claimed descent from Bluebeard or Cinderella, grappling for control over family stories that could grant them terrifying abilities or burn them to ash. An Asian girl with an unknown inheritance was no one—until her discoveries cracked open Alvsdahl’s secrets.
Sharon’s rewritten narrative—of classroom rivalries, animal professors, debauchery in the woods, threatening Godmothers, and world-shattering powers—unfolds line by line as V desperately tries to help her mother, ultimately learning how to wield Sharon’s story to transform them both.
Lyrical and tender, Angela Mi Young Hur’s The Loom Tree is a magical campus novel centering two young women walking the thorny path toward adulthood, the fractures between parents and their children, and the global mythologies connecting us all.
455 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 30, 2026
About the author
Angela Mi Young Hur
4 books130 followersAngela Hur received a BA in English from Harvard and an MFA in Creative Writing from Notre Dame, where she won the Sparks Fellowship and Sparks Prize.
Folklorn was included in The New York Times Book Review’s Top 10 Sci-fi/Fantasy of ‘21 and NPR’s Books We Love. Also featured in Newsweek, The Boston Globe, LitHub & elsewhere. The novel was also optioned by AMC TV Networks for series development. (Now no longer, but what a ride!)
Before publication, Folklorn was chosen by Kelly Link for a Tin House novel mentorship through the Tin House Summer Workshop.
Hur has taught English Lit & Creative Writing at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, in Seoul, Korea. She’s also taught for Writopia, a non-profit providing creative writing workshops for children & teens.
(*note: The Queens of K-Town was published by MacAdam/Cage in ‘07, but she wrote it in 3 months and it definitely shows. She doesn’t get royalties. It was like her demo tape, so Folklorn is her true debut.)
bluesky: @angelahur.bsky.social
insta: @angela.miyoung.hur
Folklorn was included in The New York Times Book Review’s Top 10 Sci-fi/Fantasy of ‘21 and NPR’s Books We Love. Also featured in Newsweek, The Boston Globe, LitHub & elsewhere. The novel was also optioned by AMC TV Networks for series development. (Now no longer, but what a ride!)
Before publication, Folklorn was chosen by Kelly Link for a Tin House novel mentorship through the Tin House Summer Workshop.
Hur has taught English Lit & Creative Writing at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, in Seoul, Korea. She’s also taught for Writopia, a non-profit providing creative writing workshops for children & teens.
(*note: The Queens of K-Town was published by MacAdam/Cage in ‘07, but she wrote it in 3 months and it definitely shows. She doesn’t get royalties. It was like her demo tape, so Folklorn is her true debut.)
bluesky: @angelahur.bsky.social
insta: @angela.miyoung.hur
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews
October 3, 2026
I am a huge fan of Angela Mi Young Hur and had high hopes for The Loom Tree. There were many aspects of the novel I greatly enjoyed and appreciated, so I will start there. I love stories that involve folklore and fairy tales, and The Loom Tree delivers that and more. Almost every character is connected to a fairy or folk tale. I love the idea of exploring history and the power of storytelling, especially how it changes from oral transmission to written. The novel explores how family tales and history are woven into the lives of the descendants of the original tales. Are they trapped in or destined to repeat the stories they are connected to, or can they break free? Can one write one’s own story or is one trapped by the past?
I loved the diverse cultures represented in the characters and tales. My two favorite tales are The Invisible Being and The Snow Child. I appreciate the exploration of language and lost languages, specifically Wampanoag. I loved the Frog Prince in this story. I also liked the characters based on being a giant and a wooden person.
The Loom Tree is about family and found family. It is about understanding your roots. It explores the relationship between parents and children. It is a story of identity and finding one's place in the world. Zella was my favorite character and loved all the book references. I loved how the role of music and archivism played a big part in the story. The part I found most interesting were the “variant stories”. The Loom Tree delves deeply into perception, being seen, and unseen. I loved the beginning and the end. The middle was too long and too much, bringing my rating down to 3.5
I loved the diverse cultures represented in the characters and tales. My two favorite tales are The Invisible Being and The Snow Child. I appreciate the exploration of language and lost languages, specifically Wampanoag. I loved the Frog Prince in this story. I also liked the characters based on being a giant and a wooden person.
The Loom Tree is about family and found family. It is about understanding your roots. It explores the relationship between parents and children. It is a story of identity and finding one's place in the world. Zella was my favorite character and loved all the book references. I loved how the role of music and archivism played a big part in the story. The part I found most interesting were the “variant stories”. The Loom Tree delves deeply into perception, being seen, and unseen. I loved the beginning and the end. The middle was too long and too much, bringing my rating down to 3.5
Did Not Finish
May 5, 2026DNF @ 67%
It's giving literary Gossip Girl meets reincarnated fairy tale characters, with a Matrix subplot. I'm not sure where the Babel comp came from, but there was a little bit of Ninth House if you squint.
Usually, it's hard for me to say no to all of the above, but this didn't work out for me. I actually liked the first smaller portion of the novel before Sharon started attending Alvsdahl because it felt like a coming of age novel with snarky and witty writing.
But when Sharon got a ride to the college with a couple of other students, it pretty much lost me because it turned into a lit fic-esque Gossip Girl with such pedantic characters that I just couldn't find it in me to care for anyone. Other than V and Sharon, none of the characters felt developed to me. They felt more like figments of Sharon's imagination than fully realized characters.
Ngl, the scene where Sharon's professor turned into a giant frog was my favorite. Sadly, there wasn't enough magical fairy tale-like moments to sustain my interest. They seemed to happen off-screen.
Also, there were a lot of one-sided conversations/monologues where a reborn fairy tale character would infodump the worldbuilding or their backstory/history to Sharon. This didn't really make for an exciting read.
Thank you to Erewhon Books and NetGalley for this arc.
It's giving literary Gossip Girl meets reincarnated fairy tale characters, with a Matrix subplot. I'm not sure where the Babel comp came from, but there was a little bit of Ninth House if you squint.
Usually, it's hard for me to say no to all of the above, but this didn't work out for me. I actually liked the first smaller portion of the novel before Sharon started attending Alvsdahl because it felt like a coming of age novel with snarky and witty writing.
But when Sharon got a ride to the college with a couple of other students, it pretty much lost me because it turned into a lit fic-esque Gossip Girl with such pedantic characters that I just couldn't find it in me to care for anyone. Other than V and Sharon, none of the characters felt developed to me. They felt more like figments of Sharon's imagination than fully realized characters.
Ngl, the scene where Sharon's professor turned into a giant frog was my favorite. Sadly, there wasn't enough magical fairy tale-like moments to sustain my interest. They seemed to happen off-screen.
Also, there were a lot of one-sided conversations/monologues where a reborn fairy tale character would infodump the worldbuilding or their backstory/history to Sharon. This didn't really make for an exciting read.
Thank you to Erewhon Books and NetGalley for this arc.
July 8, 2026
Real Rating: 4.25* of five
The Publisher Says: Ninth House meets Babel for fans of myth and folklore in this contemporary fantasy about a Korean-American college student at a magical university where fairy tales intersect with family heritage to unleash powers beyond imagining.“
You always wanted magic to be real.”
Sharon and her daughter V’s points of origin hold common threads—both Korean American teenagers, raised by single mothers and searching for identity in the California suburbs. But during a Finals week celebration, high schooler V, compelled by strange impulses, crawls into a hollow tree trunk. That night in a fever haze, she sees gleaming strands of illegible text hovering over her body—flowing between her and her mother, leading to a long-forgotten diary.
With the aid of a luminous quill, a fountainhead of Sharon’s memories spill onto the faded pages. V witnesses her mother map out her past through drawings, diagrams, and reclaimed histories of her brief time at Alvsdahl, an exclusive East Coast college. Here, legacies and heiresses claimed descent from Bluebeard or Cinderella, grappling for control over family stories that could grant them terrifying abilities or burn them to ash. An Asian girl with an unknown inheritance was no one—until her discoveries cracked open Alvsdahl’s secrets.
Sharon’s rewritten narrative—of classroom rivalries, animal professors, debauchery in the woods, threatening Godmothers, and world-shattering powers—unfolds line by line as V desperately tries to help her mother, ultimately learning how to wield Sharon’s story to transform them both.
Lyrical and tender, Angela Mi Young Hur’s The Loom Tree is a magical campus novel centering two young women walking the thorny path toward adulthood, the fractures between parents and their children, and the global mythologies connecting us all.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: Folklore, fairy tales, and fiction all contributed DNA to the central storytelling spine of Author Hur's tale told here. It was fascinating because the matter-of-fact presentation, and response within the story, to fantastical elements like erudite animal professors of magic thoroughly entertained me.
I was less sure of myself than I'm accustomed to being when it came to untranslated passages...I can get most European languages wrapped in my head but Korean's completely outside my familiarity zone. I had to work harder, and was not always in the mood to do so. Cultural blind spot detected! I realize how much of this story was context. I wouldn't give it to an average high-school kid because I wouldn't expect them to have enough familiarity with the fairy tales and folklore referenced just yet.
Plenty of adults who don't batten on story mechanics and cultural transmission of ideas are going to need Professor Wikipedia and Doctor Google as consultants, too. Which brings to mind a point I might be reading too much into: I enjoyed the inclusion of science in Author Hur's storytelling milieus. It's a very true observation, science is all about making data tell a story only it gets called a proof not a tale, theory not lore, and so on.
A fascinating way to make a novel. It resonated with me on most every level. I did not ever feel an emotional closeness to or connection with the characters; I believe that is Author Hur's design, as they're enmeshed in storytelling systems not simply responding to events messily and randomly as most people do. It's effective and, as soon as I clocked this explanation for why I felt...apart from...the characters I appreciated the subtlety of the effect. (Now, of course, someone will bring up a quote from Author Hur saying the opposite is true because that's how V and Angela both operate in this story!)
I enjoy dark academia stories. I thoroughly love school-set magical tales; I never left Roke Island after 1969. I think the truth of human intelligence being a function of pattern detection and creation is never more clear than in this area of storytelling. Even though I identified (or invented) why I felt distanced from the characters, I still can't offer that fifth star because that coldness, that remove from their inner workings, left me unmoored at key moments. It's not a fatal flaw, and it doesn't feel like an authorial oversight or a judgment error. It is always the case that the author writes the book they want to write not specifically the one I-the-reader want to read; but potential other readers should know where this specific reader found wants unmet in case they have similar storytelling needs.
Immersion into the systems of Story is as much fun as immersive storytelling, when one knows that's what's offered and is what one is in the mood for. A tale to enjoy, an experience of pleasure and satisfaction is within, so come and get it.
The Publisher Says: Ninth House meets Babel for fans of myth and folklore in this contemporary fantasy about a Korean-American college student at a magical university where fairy tales intersect with family heritage to unleash powers beyond imagining.“
You always wanted magic to be real.”
Sharon and her daughter V’s points of origin hold common threads—both Korean American teenagers, raised by single mothers and searching for identity in the California suburbs. But during a Finals week celebration, high schooler V, compelled by strange impulses, crawls into a hollow tree trunk. That night in a fever haze, she sees gleaming strands of illegible text hovering over her body—flowing between her and her mother, leading to a long-forgotten diary.
With the aid of a luminous quill, a fountainhead of Sharon’s memories spill onto the faded pages. V witnesses her mother map out her past through drawings, diagrams, and reclaimed histories of her brief time at Alvsdahl, an exclusive East Coast college. Here, legacies and heiresses claimed descent from Bluebeard or Cinderella, grappling for control over family stories that could grant them terrifying abilities or burn them to ash. An Asian girl with an unknown inheritance was no one—until her discoveries cracked open Alvsdahl’s secrets.
Sharon’s rewritten narrative—of classroom rivalries, animal professors, debauchery in the woods, threatening Godmothers, and world-shattering powers—unfolds line by line as V desperately tries to help her mother, ultimately learning how to wield Sharon’s story to transform them both.
Lyrical and tender, Angela Mi Young Hur’s The Loom Tree is a magical campus novel centering two young women walking the thorny path toward adulthood, the fractures between parents and their children, and the global mythologies connecting us all.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: Folklore, fairy tales, and fiction all contributed DNA to the central storytelling spine of Author Hur's tale told here. It was fascinating because the matter-of-fact presentation, and response within the story, to fantastical elements like erudite animal professors of magic thoroughly entertained me.
I was less sure of myself than I'm accustomed to being when it came to untranslated passages...I can get most European languages wrapped in my head but Korean's completely outside my familiarity zone. I had to work harder, and was not always in the mood to do so. Cultural blind spot detected! I realize how much of this story was context. I wouldn't give it to an average high-school kid because I wouldn't expect them to have enough familiarity with the fairy tales and folklore referenced just yet.
Plenty of adults who don't batten on story mechanics and cultural transmission of ideas are going to need Professor Wikipedia and Doctor Google as consultants, too. Which brings to mind a point I might be reading too much into: I enjoyed the inclusion of science in Author Hur's storytelling milieus. It's a very true observation, science is all about making data tell a story only it gets called a proof not a tale, theory not lore, and so on.
A fascinating way to make a novel. It resonated with me on most every level. I did not ever feel an emotional closeness to or connection with the characters; I believe that is Author Hur's design, as they're enmeshed in storytelling systems not simply responding to events messily and randomly as most people do. It's effective and, as soon as I clocked this explanation for why I felt...apart from...the characters I appreciated the subtlety of the effect. (Now, of course, someone will bring up a quote from Author Hur saying the opposite is true because that's how V and Angela both operate in this story!)
I enjoy dark academia stories. I thoroughly love school-set magical tales; I never left Roke Island after 1969. I think the truth of human intelligence being a function of pattern detection and creation is never more clear than in this area of storytelling. Even though I identified (or invented) why I felt distanced from the characters, I still can't offer that fifth star because that coldness, that remove from their inner workings, left me unmoored at key moments. It's not a fatal flaw, and it doesn't feel like an authorial oversight or a judgment error. It is always the case that the author writes the book they want to write not specifically the one I-the-reader want to read; but potential other readers should know where this specific reader found wants unmet in case they have similar storytelling needs.
Immersion into the systems of Story is as much fun as immersive storytelling, when one knows that's what's offered and is what one is in the mood for. A tale to enjoy, an experience of pleasure and satisfaction is within, so come and get it.
Read
February 5, 2026An adult literary fantasy written for all of us children of fairy tales, about preserving our stories and histories and passing them on, defying those who seek to deny, diminish or erase us.
My take on “East of the Sun and West of the Moon” and Ungnyeo the Bear Woman of Korean origin myth, set on a college campus and stretching across a dual timeline between a mother and a daughter. Also featuring a moody musician son of Bluebeard, a fragile daughter of a lesser Cinderella, and many other borderless, cross-cultural figures of fairy tale, folklore, and proto-myth spanning continents.
A love letter to the study of interdisciplinary liberal arts and to coming-of-age narratives of adolescence and motherhood, full of mythic and pop-cultural archetypes and identity-cultivation through music, literature, film, fashion, infatuation and desire.
My take on “East of the Sun and West of the Moon” and Ungnyeo the Bear Woman of Korean origin myth, set on a college campus and stretching across a dual timeline between a mother and a daughter. Also featuring a moody musician son of Bluebeard, a fragile daughter of a lesser Cinderella, and many other borderless, cross-cultural figures of fairy tale, folklore, and proto-myth spanning continents.
A love letter to the study of interdisciplinary liberal arts and to coming-of-age narratives of adolescence and motherhood, full of mythic and pop-cultural archetypes and identity-cultivation through music, literature, film, fashion, infatuation and desire.
Did Not Finish
March 29, 2026Not the right book for me, unfortunately. As a British-descended New Zealander, I'm pretty far from being Korean American, which doesn't mean I don't very much enjoy books by Korean Americans sometimes. It's hit or miss, though, and this one was a miss.
Not so much because of the Koreanness, though. There were two reasons I didn't love it. One was that many of the characters are manifestations of folk tales, and it's not always clear (to someone who doesn't know all of the folktales really well) which ones, and so I felt like I was always missing essential context and whole scenes of dialog would make very little sense. I could figure out the untranslated Korean, at least in general, most of the time, but the folklore part only occasionally.
The other reason, which is more personal to me, is that at least as far as I read, the characters are all more or less damaged and alienated and also not great people, not kind or generous or warm or forgiving or supportive, which are the kind of people (real and fictional) I like to spend time with. So I took a break to see if I wanted to go back, and discovered that I didn't.
Well written, well edited, just not to my taste.
Not so much because of the Koreanness, though. There were two reasons I didn't love it. One was that many of the characters are manifestations of folk tales, and it's not always clear (to someone who doesn't know all of the folktales really well) which ones, and so I felt like I was always missing essential context and whole scenes of dialog would make very little sense. I could figure out the untranslated Korean, at least in general, most of the time, but the folklore part only occasionally.
The other reason, which is more personal to me, is that at least as far as I read, the characters are all more or less damaged and alienated and also not great people, not kind or generous or warm or forgiving or supportive, which are the kind of people (real and fictional) I like to spend time with. So I took a break to see if I wanted to go back, and discovered that I didn't.
Well written, well edited, just not to my taste.
April 25, 2026
"Local history matters too."
Legends always have some root in history, no matter how mystical or fantastical.
Living in Oklahoma, I've been aware of many different Native stories, some of which factor into this book.
Blending tribal mythology, childhood fairy tales, and Korean folklore, the author has created a truly original story. The magic finds V in a redwood tree and among the pages of her mom's fading magic journal, pushing her out of her comfort zone into a wealth of magic she never knew existed, leading to the core of all things, embroidered in a giant wooden hoop.
This book was honestly a perfect storm for me. And Zella, the Librarian Archivist, is my favorite character. (You'll see.)
"There's only so much continual fraying until we all come undone."
Legends always have some root in history, no matter how mystical or fantastical.
Living in Oklahoma, I've been aware of many different Native stories, some of which factor into this book.
Blending tribal mythology, childhood fairy tales, and Korean folklore, the author has created a truly original story. The magic finds V in a redwood tree and among the pages of her mom's fading magic journal, pushing her out of her comfort zone into a wealth of magic she never knew existed, leading to the core of all things, embroidered in a giant wooden hoop.
This book was honestly a perfect storm for me. And Zella, the Librarian Archivist, is my favorite character. (You'll see.)
"There's only so much continual fraying until we all come undone."
July 19, 2026
The Loom Tree by Angela Mi Young Hur
Note: My review is based on the audiobook ARC/ALC, so please excuse any character names that may be spelled incorrectly.
Sadly, this story did not work for me. Not nearly as well as it should have, given the tagline of “You always wanted magic to be real”. Instead of being about magic, it felt more like an assortment of fairy tales and folklore that never fully came together into a coherent narrative.
We have a pair of POV characters: Sharon in an older timeline and her daughter “V” (I did audio; apologies if it's spelled differently) in a recent timeline. The story is mostly Sharon’s, as we follow her in college through her diary, and then V’s as she follows in her footsteps.
This story is a very loose definition of dark academia. It would be more accurately marketed as a fairy tale amalgamation. While it takes place around a school, it lacks the academic intrigue, mysteries, or hidden secrets that I associate with dark academia. Instead, the setting feels more like a backdrop than the heart of the story.
The novel is undeniably ambitious, introducing a wide range of folklore, philosophy, mythology, and thematic ideas. Unfortunately, many of those concepts never felt fully developed or integrated into the narrative.
Things that worked for me:
The juxtaposition between Asian-American subcultures: the rich versus the middle class, city kids versus the rural. That was a real-world difference that was interesting and invited us readers into a world that we may not have experienced. It is always wonderful to experience and learn through fiction.
The found family aspect. I do enjoy our characters having someone who cares for them and who will risk helping.
The reconnection with her mother was initially sweet, but sadly, it lost the momentum it could have had.
Overall, this did not work for me. I completed the work, hoping for more, and left wishing that the ending stuck better.
2.75 stars. It wasn’t bad. There were parts I appreciated, but I don’t know if I could recommend it for earning a place in people’s time.
Narrator: Since this was an Audio ARC for me, it is difficult when a major character’s voice that the narrator creates is grinding on your nerves. The roommate's voice is like a comedic version of Jewish New York, but comes across as authentic as a British accent when trying a Cockney accent.
Many thanks to RBmedia, Recorded Books, and NetGalley for providing an audio ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Note: My review is based on the audiobook ARC/ALC, so please excuse any character names that may be spelled incorrectly.
Sadly, this story did not work for me. Not nearly as well as it should have, given the tagline of “You always wanted magic to be real”. Instead of being about magic, it felt more like an assortment of fairy tales and folklore that never fully came together into a coherent narrative.
We have a pair of POV characters: Sharon in an older timeline and her daughter “V” (I did audio; apologies if it's spelled differently) in a recent timeline. The story is mostly Sharon’s, as we follow her in college through her diary, and then V’s as she follows in her footsteps.
This story is a very loose definition of dark academia. It would be more accurately marketed as a fairy tale amalgamation. While it takes place around a school, it lacks the academic intrigue, mysteries, or hidden secrets that I associate with dark academia. Instead, the setting feels more like a backdrop than the heart of the story.
The novel is undeniably ambitious, introducing a wide range of folklore, philosophy, mythology, and thematic ideas. Unfortunately, many of those concepts never felt fully developed or integrated into the narrative.
Things that worked for me:
The juxtaposition between Asian-American subcultures: the rich versus the middle class, city kids versus the rural. That was a real-world difference that was interesting and invited us readers into a world that we may not have experienced. It is always wonderful to experience and learn through fiction.
The found family aspect. I do enjoy our characters having someone who cares for them and who will risk helping.
The reconnection with her mother was initially sweet, but sadly, it lost the momentum it could have had.
Overall, this did not work for me. I completed the work, hoping for more, and left wishing that the ending stuck better.
2.75 stars. It wasn’t bad. There were parts I appreciated, but I don’t know if I could recommend it for earning a place in people’s time.
Narrator: Since this was an Audio ARC for me, it is difficult when a major character’s voice that the narrator creates is grinding on your nerves. The roommate's voice is like a comedic version of Jewish New York, but comes across as authentic as a British accent when trying a Cockney accent.
Many thanks to RBmedia, Recorded Books, and NetGalley for providing an audio ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
April 25, 2026
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I picked this up for the fairytales and the mythologies, and I wasn't disappointed in that area. I loved how multicultural the lore was, how familiar characters and concepts were presented in new ways, and how even science was thrown into the mix. It was a fantastic concept, although the worldbuilding sometimes got a bit too much at once, which could be a stumbling block for readers who aren't used to that.
It really resonated with me though as an Asian, as an Asian who'd relocated to a predominantly white country out of necessity, a daughter, and now a mother, too. I'm not Korean nor a fan of K-pop or K-dramas, so I wasn't familiar with the specifics of their culture, but there are Asian Family Things and Asian Diaspora Experiences and Issues that are universal and were captured really well in the book.
I read a review saying that most of the characters were awful and hard to root for, but I have to respectfully disagree. Yes, some were truly awful, but I could still relate to them -- probably because of my 'Asian immigrant and mother of a little girl' background. I even loved that the resolution wasn't a big fight and it was about relationships instead, some of which ended up really heartbreaking.
There were times when the writing would take me out of the immersion, particularly with dialogue that left me bemused because it didn't sound in character, or how omniscient Sharon seemed. But when I started reminding myself that this was the voice of a particular person's recollection, and there was even a magical aspect to it, I was no longer bothered.
At its core, this book is about daughters and mothers, about identity, and about how, as a people, we're more connected than we realize.
I picked this up for the fairytales and the mythologies, and I wasn't disappointed in that area. I loved how multicultural the lore was, how familiar characters and concepts were presented in new ways, and how even science was thrown into the mix. It was a fantastic concept, although the worldbuilding sometimes got a bit too much at once, which could be a stumbling block for readers who aren't used to that.
It really resonated with me though as an Asian, as an Asian who'd relocated to a predominantly white country out of necessity, a daughter, and now a mother, too. I'm not Korean nor a fan of K-pop or K-dramas, so I wasn't familiar with the specifics of their culture, but there are Asian Family Things and Asian Diaspora Experiences and Issues that are universal and were captured really well in the book.
I read a review saying that most of the characters were awful and hard to root for, but I have to respectfully disagree. Yes, some were truly awful, but I could still relate to them -- probably because of my 'Asian immigrant and mother of a little girl' background. I even loved that the resolution wasn't a big fight and it was about relationships instead, some of which ended up really heartbreaking.
There were times when the writing would take me out of the immersion, particularly with dialogue that left me bemused because it didn't sound in character, or how omniscient Sharon seemed. But when I started reminding myself that this was the voice of a particular person's recollection, and there was even a magical aspect to it, I was no longer bothered.
At its core, this book is about daughters and mothers, about identity, and about how, as a people, we're more connected than we realize.
July 8, 2026
I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway. I loved the plot. It was very different than anything I've read before. I really liked it. There are several characters in the book. Each one with their own unique personality. The two main Characters are mother and daughter. The mom Sharon has been hiding a secret from her daughter for a very long time. The story is full of magic and many fairytale backgrounds. This is the other side of the stories you grew up with. A deeper view of those stories and a darker menacing side of them. The book is slightly long. For as long as it is, I was just expecting a more exciting ending than it gave. But very well written, a good tale of its own.
July 27, 2026
Loved this even more so than Folklorn. Beautiful writing and loved how interesting and weird Alvsdahl was as a college. Loved Sharon as a character and I’ll always have a soft spot for loners lol. Some parts started to get confusing but afterwards it all made sense. Was absolutely surprised to see some Indigenous representation and mythology in this novel! Resonated so much with Fitch and being mixed raced and his feelings towards that. Loved his interactions with Sharon. Overall I loved this book! Loved the dark academia aspects and the frog professor. Can’t wait to see what Angela Mi Young Hur writes next <3
July 7, 2026
I received a copy of this book through a Goodreads giveaway!
I had high hopes for this book, especially as a Korean-American reader myself. I immediately loved reading words like "Halmoni" (grandmother), "miyyeok-guk" (미역국, seaweed soup), and the play on words with "Ghom" or 곰 as Sharon's last name ("bear" in Korean).
My hopes were soon crushed when I found myself 1/3 through the book going... How are we still worldbuilding? The writing itself is fine and intriguing, but the pacing and plot of the book feels so all over the place that it's hard to get invested. The characters, besides Sharon & Halmoni, feel like caricatures and one-dimensional fillers (Petra is the dejected, craving love, desperate student; Ruth is the uptight but compassionate prefect; Nick is the jock who doesn't know what's going on; Faye is manic pixie dream girl). I don't even think V was that interesting.
This is a large downfall of the book. It's supposedly about intergenerational trauma and folktales being passed down across cultures, and how not talking about trauma can reinforce hurt, but it's really about kind of this bumbling world of myths and intercultural.... something.... that goes somewhere sometimes.
There are often times where we just get a giant passage of myth or some folk tale to provide exposition, or when a character just info-dumps exposition onto another. It feels like nothing much happens then everything happens, but none of it really matters that much. The Loom Tree, the Spindle Whorl, warps, etc., none of those devices really felt like they were executed well to serve much purpose. If these concepts were introduced more slowly and earlier, perhaps the characters could've grappled with the world a bit more versus just fighting the Big Bad of Grand-M.
Don't even get me started on the professor frog kissing Sharon and playing it off as non-romantic. What the hell are we doing there?
I probably would've DNFed it much earlier if I hadn't gotten this through a giveaway and I didn't feel curiosity towards whether things would pan out or incorporate more of the Korean folktales. I don't think we learned anything about V enough to tell this book through her, there really wasn't much intergenerational healing going on besides "oh mom we understand each other more now and I can go study abroad and you can write again."
Overall, so much potential, such a great pitch, I did not enjoy the execution :/
I had high hopes for this book, especially as a Korean-American reader myself. I immediately loved reading words like "Halmoni" (grandmother), "miyyeok-guk" (미역국, seaweed soup), and the play on words with "Ghom" or 곰 as Sharon's last name ("bear" in Korean).
My hopes were soon crushed when I found myself 1/3 through the book going... How are we still worldbuilding? The writing itself is fine and intriguing, but the pacing and plot of the book feels so all over the place that it's hard to get invested. The characters, besides Sharon & Halmoni, feel like caricatures and one-dimensional fillers (Petra is the dejected, craving love, desperate student; Ruth is the uptight but compassionate prefect; Nick is the jock who doesn't know what's going on; Faye is manic pixie dream girl). I don't even think V was that interesting.
This is a large downfall of the book. It's supposedly about intergenerational trauma and folktales being passed down across cultures, and how not talking about trauma can reinforce hurt, but it's really about kind of this bumbling world of myths and intercultural.... something.... that goes somewhere sometimes.
There are often times where we just get a giant passage of myth or some folk tale to provide exposition, or when a character just info-dumps exposition onto another. It feels like nothing much happens then everything happens, but none of it really matters that much. The Loom Tree, the Spindle Whorl, warps, etc., none of those devices really felt like they were executed well to serve much purpose. If these concepts were introduced more slowly and earlier, perhaps the characters could've grappled with the world a bit more versus just fighting the Big Bad of Grand-M.
Don't even get me started on the professor frog kissing Sharon and playing it off as non-romantic. What the hell are we doing there?
I probably would've DNFed it much earlier if I hadn't gotten this through a giveaway and I didn't feel curiosity towards whether things would pan out or incorporate more of the Korean folktales. I don't think we learned anything about V enough to tell this book through her, there really wasn't much intergenerational healing going on besides "oh mom we understand each other more now and I can go study abroad and you can write again."
Overall, so much potential, such a great pitch, I did not enjoy the execution :/
May 15, 2026
I had read and loved Mi Young Hur's prior novel (Folklorn), and hadn't connected that this was. also her, but man, I should've. This is a hell of a follow up novel that blends generational trauma, deep academic dives into folklore and storytelling, a hell of a college and magical school coming of age, a young woman trying to know her withdrawn mother, stories enacting their power on the world, and cultural reflections of stories all come together in a hell of an amazing novel. Mi Young Hur is now on my list of "automatically get this author's next book when it comes out" authors. She describes this as a love letter to interdisciplinary liberal arts, and man, as someone who went to undergrad, it absolutely shows. If nothing else, you'll probably learn a new fairy tale or two from this. Comes out at the end of June, and highly recommended when it does.
2026
March 9, 2026ANHPI TBR
📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Erewhon Books
📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Erewhon Books
July 28, 2026
I loved this book, hence the five stars, but in many ways it isn't a great book and lots of readers will disagree with me. Looking at the reviews at the time of writing there is an almost even split between the numbers of three, four and five star ratings so it is obviously a divisive book.
It is an interesting approach to presenting a story. The majority of the story is the mother Sharon writing her experiences at the college, Alvsdahl, so that her daughter V can read them the next day. The college is not simply your stereotyped "magic college" attended by aspirational Harry Potters. It is more like a library where the items are the avatars personifications of mythological stories. There is a bad guy - an evil queen - but she is not a stereotypical bad guy and I found the way this character was written novel and interesting.
Where this book fails is that it's too long and there are too many info dumps and monologues. The story telling is rather confused with the (long) info dumps often not explained or their relevance is not explained. The characters are rather erratically and not always convincingly portrayed. If your patience for this style of writing is limited then this isn't the book for you.
However I'm a sucker for the complex and only partly explained mythology style of writing that this book employs. As I read I felt my brain being continuously battered by all the complexity and this really appealed to me. As I write I am ordering Angela Mi Young Hur's other books in the hope they will be written in a similar style. I also loved the character of Sharon, but again this is personal taste as I'm a sucker for the "no nonsense" type of hero in a story.
In my reviews I try to help you decide if this book is for you, and statistically in this case the answer is "no". You need to be be the sort of reader who likes long, complex and only partially explained plots. If this is you then go for it! If not, maybe look elsewhere.
It is an interesting approach to presenting a story. The majority of the story is the mother Sharon writing her experiences at the college, Alvsdahl, so that her daughter V can read them the next day. The college is not simply your stereotyped "magic college" attended by aspirational Harry Potters. It is more like a library where the items are the avatars personifications of mythological stories. There is a bad guy - an evil queen - but she is not a stereotypical bad guy and I found the way this character was written novel and interesting.
Where this book fails is that it's too long and there are too many info dumps and monologues. The story telling is rather confused with the (long) info dumps often not explained or their relevance is not explained. The characters are rather erratically and not always convincingly portrayed. If your patience for this style of writing is limited then this isn't the book for you.
However I'm a sucker for the complex and only partly explained mythology style of writing that this book employs. As I read I felt my brain being continuously battered by all the complexity and this really appealed to me. As I write I am ordering Angela Mi Young Hur's other books in the hope they will be written in a similar style. I also loved the character of Sharon, but again this is personal taste as I'm a sucker for the "no nonsense" type of hero in a story.
In my reviews I try to help you decide if this book is for you, and statistically in this case the answer is "no". You need to be be the sort of reader who likes long, complex and only partially explained plots. If this is you then go for it! If not, maybe look elsewhere.
August 1, 2026
⭐⭐⭐✨ 3.5 Stars
I really wanted to love this one. The premise had everything I usually gravitate toward.....dark academia, folklore, magical realism, and family secrets. The writing itself was beautiful and atmospheric, but I struggled to stay fully invested in the characters and found my mind wandering at times.😬The dual timeline and multiple perspectives occasionally pulled me out of the story instead of drawing me deeper in.
That said, I appreciated how Korean folklore and generational trauma were woven into the narrative, and the narrators, Catherine Ho and Da Eun Yoon, delivered a strong performance. I think readers who enjoy slower, lyrical fantasy with a literary feel will connect with this much more than I did.
Tropes/Themes: 🍃 Dark academia
📚 Magical university
🧵 Korean folklore & mythology
👩👧 Mother-daughter relationship
⏳ Dual timeline
✨ Magical realism
🔮 Hidden powers
🏛️ Family secrets
💔 Generational trauma
📖 Coming of age
Thank you to RBmedia, Recorded Books, and NetGalley for the ALC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
I really wanted to love this one. The premise had everything I usually gravitate toward.....dark academia, folklore, magical realism, and family secrets. The writing itself was beautiful and atmospheric, but I struggled to stay fully invested in the characters and found my mind wandering at times.😬The dual timeline and multiple perspectives occasionally pulled me out of the story instead of drawing me deeper in.
That said, I appreciated how Korean folklore and generational trauma were woven into the narrative, and the narrators, Catherine Ho and Da Eun Yoon, delivered a strong performance. I think readers who enjoy slower, lyrical fantasy with a literary feel will connect with this much more than I did.
Tropes/Themes: 🍃 Dark academia
📚 Magical university
🧵 Korean folklore & mythology
👩👧 Mother-daughter relationship
⏳ Dual timeline
✨ Magical realism
🔮 Hidden powers
🏛️ Family secrets
💔 Generational trauma
📖 Coming of age
Thank you to RBmedia, Recorded Books, and NetGalley for the ALC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
July 1, 2026
I really enjoyed this book, the complexity and layers were literally unending! Half this book I was trying to figure out what was going on, and there was so much intertwined folklore that I was constantly trying to fit the pieces together. No matter how hard I tried and the wheels turned I was absolutely perplexed for at least half the book. But once tho bc a started to fall into place I really enjoyed the ride. This was a very deep story that had so many layers inside of it, beyond complex and really shed light onto stereotypes and the power of love and friendship. Full of dark twists on fairytales and their descendants, and the things they had to go through and overcome. Such an original story, and the characters were all super unique in their own way. I would highly recommend if you like intense world building and complex in depth theorizing and imaging.
September 3, 2026
Complicated but fascinating if you're a fan of fairy tales.
July 2, 2026
Angela Mi Young Hur has such a beautiful way with words, and The Loom Tree is another novel that showcases her lyrical, thoughtful writing. This isn't a book to rush through—it's one to savour, letting the layers of family history, memory, identity, and belonging gradually unfold.
I loved how the story explored the ways the past shapes the present, and how the lives of different generations can be connected in unexpected ways. The characters felt authentic and complicated, and even when I wasn't entirely sure where the story was heading, I trusted the journey because the writing was so compelling.
This is definitely literary fiction, with a slower pace and a narrative that doesn't hand you all the answers. If you're looking for a plot-driven read, this may not be the right fit.
It's the kind of book that stays with you after you've finished.
I loved how the story explored the ways the past shapes the present, and how the lives of different generations can be connected in unexpected ways. The characters felt authentic and complicated, and even when I wasn't entirely sure where the story was heading, I trusted the journey because the writing was so compelling.
This is definitely literary fiction, with a slower pace and a narrative that doesn't hand you all the answers. If you're looking for a plot-driven read, this may not be the right fit.
It's the kind of book that stays with you after you've finished.
October 12, 2026
Most of my reading groups didn’t love this one. I absolutely did. 🔥
The Loom Tree by Angela Mi Young Hur follows Korean American teenager V and her mother, Sharon. After a strange encounter inside a hollow tree, V becomes connected to her mother’s past through an old diary. What unfolds is Sharon’s experience at Alvsdahl, an exclusive college where students inherit power through their connections to fairy tales and where discovering your own story can be dangerous.
It’s a premise full of magic, but the mother-daughter relationship is what made this feel personal. As an older reader and a mother of three daughters, I connected deeply with its questions about what we inherit, what we pass down, and what changes in the telling.
This is a smart, layered book that makes you work for both the plot and the themes. There is a lot to untangle, and I loved making those connections. The mythology, fairy tales, and allegory give you reasons to pause and think about how the pieces fit together. For me, that effort made the experience more rewarding.
What I found especially compelling was the relationship between storytelling and identity. Who gets to tell a story? Whose version survives? How much of who we become is shaped by the stories we’re given, and how much can we rewrite?
We pass stories from person to person, but we also leave our fingerprints on them. We add details, change emphasis, leave things out, and find meanings earlier generations might not have seen. Reading this as a mother, I kept thinking about what my daughters will carry forward from me and what they will make entirely their own.
I can understand how the density and layered storytelling might create distance for some readers. For me, there was enough emotional resonance to make working through that complexity worthwhile. My experience won’t be everyone’s, but this book met me exactly where I am in life.
Thoughtful, challenging, and deeply resonant. I absolutely loved it.
The Loom Tree by Angela Mi Young Hur follows Korean American teenager V and her mother, Sharon. After a strange encounter inside a hollow tree, V becomes connected to her mother’s past through an old diary. What unfolds is Sharon’s experience at Alvsdahl, an exclusive college where students inherit power through their connections to fairy tales and where discovering your own story can be dangerous.
It’s a premise full of magic, but the mother-daughter relationship is what made this feel personal. As an older reader and a mother of three daughters, I connected deeply with its questions about what we inherit, what we pass down, and what changes in the telling.
This is a smart, layered book that makes you work for both the plot and the themes. There is a lot to untangle, and I loved making those connections. The mythology, fairy tales, and allegory give you reasons to pause and think about how the pieces fit together. For me, that effort made the experience more rewarding.
What I found especially compelling was the relationship between storytelling and identity. Who gets to tell a story? Whose version survives? How much of who we become is shaped by the stories we’re given, and how much can we rewrite?
We pass stories from person to person, but we also leave our fingerprints on them. We add details, change emphasis, leave things out, and find meanings earlier generations might not have seen. Reading this as a mother, I kept thinking about what my daughters will carry forward from me and what they will make entirely their own.
I can understand how the density and layered storytelling might create distance for some readers. For me, there was enough emotional resonance to make working through that complexity worthwhile. My experience won’t be everyone’s, but this book met me exactly where I am in life.
Thoughtful, challenging, and deeply resonant. I absolutely loved it.
July 5, 2026
Thank you to Angela Mi Young Hur, Kensington Publishers and Goodreads for a copy of The Loom Tree. I don't give away spoilers in my reviews.
The first thing I saw when I read the inside cover was "You Always Wanted Magic to be Real"which intrigued me to read further. I am a new to fantasy reader (past year or so) and love discovering new to me authors.
V is the daughter of Sharon and this book is told in two POVs. Sharon's story takes up most of the book. Sharon's story begins when she was a Korean American teenager entering Alvsdahl - an exclusive East Coast college. Sharon isn't sure where she fits in - like most teenagers, including V many years later.
I did like the college setting and the other characters - especially Fitch. I liked seeing each girl develop into an adult and loved the family connections.
I just felt lost so many times in reading this book. I struggled to keep all of the details straight and many times I could not figure out if the page I was reading was about Sharon or V's POV. I think if the chapters were titled Sharon or V, it would have helped me. I grew pretty frustrated.
That said, it is a magical story and the story of how the Loom Tree constantly evolves was interesting.
The first thing I saw when I read the inside cover was "You Always Wanted Magic to be Real"which intrigued me to read further. I am a new to fantasy reader (past year or so) and love discovering new to me authors.
V is the daughter of Sharon and this book is told in two POVs. Sharon's story takes up most of the book. Sharon's story begins when she was a Korean American teenager entering Alvsdahl - an exclusive East Coast college. Sharon isn't sure where she fits in - like most teenagers, including V many years later.
I did like the college setting and the other characters - especially Fitch. I liked seeing each girl develop into an adult and loved the family connections.
I just felt lost so many times in reading this book. I struggled to keep all of the details straight and many times I could not figure out if the page I was reading was about Sharon or V's POV. I think if the chapters were titled Sharon or V, it would have helped me. I grew pretty frustrated.
That said, it is a magical story and the story of how the Loom Tree constantly evolves was interesting.
July 18, 2026
Thanks to NetGalley and RBMedia for this audiobook.
Sharon and her daughter V share a very similar upbringing. Both are Korean Americans. Both raised by a single mother. Both searching for an identity in the California subs. During a celebration of finals week, V has strange impulses. These impulses lead her to crawling into a hollow tree trunk, having a sort of hallucination that connects her and her mother. Through this, V watches her mother map out her past through drawings, diagrams, and her history at Alvsdahl. At Alvsdahl, students vie for control of their family stories in order to get terrifying abilities or die. Sharon was no one... until she wasn't. V wants to help her mother, learning how to use her story to help them both transform.
3/5 stars.. I can't lie... I didn't really enjoy this? It wasn't a bad story and it was well written, I just don't think this was for me. To be honest, I think I missed a detail somewhere and I ended up confused for a good chunk of this book.
Sharon and her daughter V share a very similar upbringing. Both are Korean Americans. Both raised by a single mother. Both searching for an identity in the California subs. During a celebration of finals week, V has strange impulses. These impulses lead her to crawling into a hollow tree trunk, having a sort of hallucination that connects her and her mother. Through this, V watches her mother map out her past through drawings, diagrams, and her history at Alvsdahl. At Alvsdahl, students vie for control of their family stories in order to get terrifying abilities or die. Sharon was no one... until she wasn't. V wants to help her mother, learning how to use her story to help them both transform.
3/5 stars.. I can't lie... I didn't really enjoy this? It wasn't a bad story and it was well written, I just don't think this was for me. To be honest, I think I missed a detail somewhere and I ended up confused for a good chunk of this book.
Did Not Finish
June 28, 2026Thanks to Erewhon Books, Angela Mi Young Hur (author), and Edelweiss for the digital review copy of The Loom Tree.
I’d rather stop at this halfway point than finish it and give it low reviews. This isn’t for me. The world didn’t feel believable, I started struggling, and I found myself not wanting to pick it back up after a break. But I think my niece will love it. It is right up her alley. DNF @ 50%.
I’d rather stop at this halfway point than finish it and give it low reviews. This isn’t for me. The world didn’t feel believable, I started struggling, and I found myself not wanting to pick it back up after a break. But I think my niece will love it. It is right up her alley. DNF @ 50%.
July 2, 2026
Review of advanced audio copy received from NETgalley and RBmedia.
I’m sorry but I DNF’d this book! I’ve listened to 30% of it and cannot really tell you anything about it. I just wasn’t pulled in at all, I have no idea what’s happened so far and carrying on at this point seems pointless. I don’t know if it’s just going over my head or if it’s just not interesting or memorable enough. Just not for me.
I’m sorry but I DNF’d this book! I’ve listened to 30% of it and cannot really tell you anything about it. I just wasn’t pulled in at all, I have no idea what’s happened so far and carrying on at this point seems pointless. I don’t know if it’s just going over my head or if it’s just not interesting or memorable enough. Just not for me.
July 2, 2026
I had high hopes for this one. The comps were great, the premise sounded interesting. But it just didn’t deliver for me.
I love the idea of magic tied to fairytales and legends from our cultures. I loved the mother/daughter aspect to the story. Even the back and forth timeline.
Sadly the story and characters never quite developed enough for me to really enjoy this book. It felt like work to get through.
I love the idea of magic tied to fairytales and legends from our cultures. I loved the mother/daughter aspect to the story. Even the back and forth timeline.
Sadly the story and characters never quite developed enough for me to really enjoy this book. It felt like work to get through.
July 11, 2026
I won a copy from Goodreads!
It is a solid 4/5 book. I though the relationship between mother/daughter was very interesting. I also enjoyed the life progression and the academic setting. I really enjoyed how the magic and folklore intertwined. There are parts that were a little confusing or hard to follow. I could also see how this is not everyone's type of book but I enjoyed reading it.
It is a solid 4/5 book. I though the relationship between mother/daughter was very interesting. I also enjoyed the life progression and the academic setting. I really enjoyed how the magic and folklore intertwined. There are parts that were a little confusing or hard to follow. I could also see how this is not everyone's type of book but I enjoyed reading it.
September 7, 2026
*Received as part of a Goodreads Giveaway*
Upon seeing this book's comparisons to Babel and its glowing review from the likes of Olivie Blake featured on the cover, I was immediately entranced. When I then received a copy from a Goodreads giveaway, it seemed as though fate wanted me to have a copy for myself. I was so sure of this book's brilliance that I saved it for whenever I would find myself in a reading slump, confident this would be just the thing to reignite my desire to read. It instead put me even farther into my slump to such a degree that I didn't read anything for a month.
I will begin by saying this book had promise. I was enchanted by V's first several chapters and her dynamic with both her best friend and her mother. However, once the book transitioned almost entirely to her mother's recollection of her time at Alvsdahl, I quickly began to lose steam. While it's quite clear the book intended to tackle intergenerational themes, Sharon's portion of the story takes up so much space that it leaves V little room to breathe.
In this same vein, I fear many of the characters suffered a similar fate. The entire cast from Alvsdahl demonstrated a lack of development to such a degree that I couldn't bring myself to show interest in them, let alone care what might become of them. This lack of development also extended to their personal relationships. What should have been a moving scene towards the end of the book landed so emotionally flat for me, as you're expected to believe these people care deeply about each other and have built close bonds, while until now they barely seem to get along at the best of times. It seems to me that the only characters that truly bond and have any meaningful development in their relationship are Ruth and Nicky.
Aside from this, the world-building itself was fascinatingly crafted, if poorly executed. The magic displayed throughout the novel was interesting, and the family lineage aspect was intriguing, but so much of the information is presented to you by means of massive, unexpected lore dumps from characters that it severely dampened my ability to practically understand how the world may actually work. Sharon is just kind of thrust into this new world and magic system, and both her and the reader are expected to keep up or get left behind.
Additionally, some of the dialogue seems off-kilter. The book goes back and forth between language one could reasonably expect from a group of college students and more heady than you would necessarily expect, which may be part of the reason I feel like some of the characters were underdeveloped, as they all seem to speak in this manner.
Take for instance, these two passages, both from Sharon. The first is found on page 237 and goes as follows: "Sounds like opposites attract, like repels like. But how do I-? Is it like happy thoughts make me fly, think optimistically? Then for negativity, I should mentally shit on myself? Rather not do that for homework."
Later on, she has a passage on page 359 that states: My memory grabbed whatever it could. Sublimation was a process in which- no, first we find our Prima Materia-that requires we define our primary opposition within. But that's too binarily simple! I am prismatic, fucking multicudinous! Purification's an awful name for an alchemical process too. Like breaking oneself down in order to rebuild with only what's socially acceptable. Rather, it should be that to truly make ourselves whole requires acknowledging all our many wild, natural elements- especially what we keep hidden and deny.
Perhaps I'm in the minority on this opinion, but I genuinely find it hard to believe these two speaking patterns would realistically come from the same character, let alone be mirrored in nearly every character throughout the book.
As a whole, I fear this was unfortunately just not the book for me, as much as I was hoping it would be otherwise.
Upon seeing this book's comparisons to Babel and its glowing review from the likes of Olivie Blake featured on the cover, I was immediately entranced. When I then received a copy from a Goodreads giveaway, it seemed as though fate wanted me to have a copy for myself. I was so sure of this book's brilliance that I saved it for whenever I would find myself in a reading slump, confident this would be just the thing to reignite my desire to read. It instead put me even farther into my slump to such a degree that I didn't read anything for a month.
I will begin by saying this book had promise. I was enchanted by V's first several chapters and her dynamic with both her best friend and her mother. However, once the book transitioned almost entirely to her mother's recollection of her time at Alvsdahl, I quickly began to lose steam. While it's quite clear the book intended to tackle intergenerational themes, Sharon's portion of the story takes up so much space that it leaves V little room to breathe.
In this same vein, I fear many of the characters suffered a similar fate. The entire cast from Alvsdahl demonstrated a lack of development to such a degree that I couldn't bring myself to show interest in them, let alone care what might become of them. This lack of development also extended to their personal relationships. What should have been a moving scene towards the end of the book landed so emotionally flat for me, as you're expected to believe these people care deeply about each other and have built close bonds, while until now they barely seem to get along at the best of times. It seems to me that the only characters that truly bond and have any meaningful development in their relationship are Ruth and Nicky.
Aside from this, the world-building itself was fascinatingly crafted, if poorly executed. The magic displayed throughout the novel was interesting, and the family lineage aspect was intriguing, but so much of the information is presented to you by means of massive, unexpected lore dumps from characters that it severely dampened my ability to practically understand how the world may actually work. Sharon is just kind of thrust into this new world and magic system, and both her and the reader are expected to keep up or get left behind.
Additionally, some of the dialogue seems off-kilter. The book goes back and forth between language one could reasonably expect from a group of college students and more heady than you would necessarily expect, which may be part of the reason I feel like some of the characters were underdeveloped, as they all seem to speak in this manner.
Take for instance, these two passages, both from Sharon. The first is found on page 237 and goes as follows: "Sounds like opposites attract, like repels like. But how do I-? Is it like happy thoughts make me fly, think optimistically? Then for negativity, I should mentally shit on myself? Rather not do that for homework."
Later on, she has a passage on page 359 that states: My memory grabbed whatever it could. Sublimation was a process in which- no, first we find our Prima Materia-that requires we define our primary opposition within. But that's too binarily simple! I am prismatic, fucking multicudinous! Purification's an awful name for an alchemical process too. Like breaking oneself down in order to rebuild with only what's socially acceptable. Rather, it should be that to truly make ourselves whole requires acknowledging all our many wild, natural elements- especially what we keep hidden and deny.
Perhaps I'm in the minority on this opinion, but I genuinely find it hard to believe these two speaking patterns would realistically come from the same character, let alone be mirrored in nearly every character throughout the book.
As a whole, I fear this was unfortunately just not the book for me, as much as I was hoping it would be otherwise.
July 9, 2026
I received an audioARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. The Loom Tree was a wonderful story with a beautiful take on the origin and connection of fairy tale in different cultures. I loved exploring the different myths with each character and how they connected to one another in a somewhat complex but intriguing way. I thought this was fantastically done and so interesting as to keep me consistently engaged with all the characters despite there being so many of them. The writing was wonderful with great prose, I felt these tales were truly flowing and weaving through the characters with so many branching strands to well-known and lesser-known stories. Alvsdahl was an enchanting campus and I adored the characterisation of the teachers and their tales. This was truly stunningly done.
My only real caveat to the enjoyment of this novel was that I didn’t quite grasp the modern generational aspect. After the depth and emotion of the students at Alvsdahl trying to grasp their place in not only the current world, their cultures and political climates but also in their origin tales, Sharon and V’s connection just felt shallow. I would even go as far as to say that it was entirely unnecessary to the plot and I actually didn’t enjoy V’s chapters because they took me out of the main story with no payoff. Considering the quality of the body of the story I would have expected a little more depth for this aspect than just a few chapters thrown in about how Sharon is just writing all this down and V’s is resentful of her mum for displaying stereotypical mum like qualities. Not to say that Sharon was in any way perfect and the whole thing with the two of them and the grandmother as well was reminiscent of generational trauma but felt like a very superficial attempt at it in comparison to that displayed in the Alvsdahl plot.
It was also hard to distinguish these chapters (in the audiobook, I’m not sure about the physical) because both are in first person and there is nothing to signify the change in perspective between chapters, not even the character’s name at the beginning. This definitely lessened my enjoyment of the read. Additionally, I didn’t enjoy the audiobook greatly because it was difficult to determine who was speaking at any given point. Sometimes there were accents, sometimes there weren’t. It felt like some people lost their accents mid-sentence and others didn’t have one when they were introduced but developed one over the course of the book.
The fact that I still very much liked the book despite these frustrations just speaks to the quality of the book and the reason I’m giving it 4 stars. I would definitely re-read this at some point in the future in the physical format and seek out other books by the author, but I wouldn’t listen to another audiobook by this narrator again unfortunately.
My only real caveat to the enjoyment of this novel was that I didn’t quite grasp the modern generational aspect. After the depth and emotion of the students at Alvsdahl trying to grasp their place in not only the current world, their cultures and political climates but also in their origin tales, Sharon and V’s connection just felt shallow. I would even go as far as to say that it was entirely unnecessary to the plot and I actually didn’t enjoy V’s chapters because they took me out of the main story with no payoff. Considering the quality of the body of the story I would have expected a little more depth for this aspect than just a few chapters thrown in about how Sharon is just writing all this down and V’s is resentful of her mum for displaying stereotypical mum like qualities. Not to say that Sharon was in any way perfect and the whole thing with the two of them and the grandmother as well was reminiscent of generational trauma but felt like a very superficial attempt at it in comparison to that displayed in the Alvsdahl plot.
It was also hard to distinguish these chapters (in the audiobook, I’m not sure about the physical) because both are in first person and there is nothing to signify the change in perspective between chapters, not even the character’s name at the beginning. This definitely lessened my enjoyment of the read. Additionally, I didn’t enjoy the audiobook greatly because it was difficult to determine who was speaking at any given point. Sometimes there were accents, sometimes there weren’t. It felt like some people lost their accents mid-sentence and others didn’t have one when they were introduced but developed one over the course of the book.
The fact that I still very much liked the book despite these frustrations just speaks to the quality of the book and the reason I’m giving it 4 stars. I would definitely re-read this at some point in the future in the physical format and seek out other books by the author, but I wouldn’t listen to another audiobook by this narrator again unfortunately.
July 4, 2026
The Loom Tree is a book that resists being pinned down into words. It's a complicated, twisted tale of family relationships, identity, friendships, magical abilities, and the fundamental power of stories.
Dark academia or grotesque takes on ancient fairy tales — The Loom Tree asks: why not both?
The story is woven like a tapestry. A young woman goes through a surprising transformation that sends her and her mother into a tailspin of the past neither of them could have anticipated. We move quickly to a story-within-a-story structure as we re-experience V's mother's story of her strange time at a mysterious, exclusive college, which ends up being a good 75%+ of the book.
To be honest, a majority of the time I wasn't sure if I liked it.
The first thing that bothered me was that the mother is supposed to be writing this story out by hand in a notebook, and that's how the royal We get to experience it. On that fundamental level, it lost me quite a bit. There's magic involved, okay, but the level of detail, the kinds of observations, the speed at which she's apparently writing it...it felt like a stretch.
The voice is slightly abrasive (brace yourself for profuse use of the words 'tits' and 'ass'), the tone is gloomy, baroque...maybe gothic? I'm reaching for a word that captures the level of unsettled I felt while listening. It was almost horror-adjacent with the twisted fairy tales and obscure magic and mystery.
However, I think a certain kind of reader would absolutely eat this story up.
It was written with generous detail and patience for exploring feelings and observations throughout. It's a slow, mysterious, melancholy sort of book that will suit many readers well, especially as they curl into their darker sides for the colder, darker months.
I also learned a few things from the obviously well-researched inclusions in some of the tangential passages. Some unfavorable history about the Dewey decimal system, for example (though I feel like the narrative takes the least charitable view possible of the facts there).
Overall, if Firenze in his divination teacher era was your favorite part of the Potter series, this book will be right up your alley. I feel like the book it most reminded me of personally was The Magicians, by Lev Grossman, if that helps anyone decide whether or not it's for them.
Beautiful cover. Decent narration. Kind of tortured story.
Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
For more reviews, reading lists, craft dissection, essays, and more, visit thelitertarian.com.
Dark academia or grotesque takes on ancient fairy tales — The Loom Tree asks: why not both?
The story is woven like a tapestry. A young woman goes through a surprising transformation that sends her and her mother into a tailspin of the past neither of them could have anticipated. We move quickly to a story-within-a-story structure as we re-experience V's mother's story of her strange time at a mysterious, exclusive college, which ends up being a good 75%+ of the book.
To be honest, a majority of the time I wasn't sure if I liked it.
The first thing that bothered me was that the mother is supposed to be writing this story out by hand in a notebook, and that's how the royal We get to experience it. On that fundamental level, it lost me quite a bit. There's magic involved, okay, but the level of detail, the kinds of observations, the speed at which she's apparently writing it...it felt like a stretch.
The voice is slightly abrasive (brace yourself for profuse use of the words 'tits' and 'ass'), the tone is gloomy, baroque...maybe gothic? I'm reaching for a word that captures the level of unsettled I felt while listening. It was almost horror-adjacent with the twisted fairy tales and obscure magic and mystery.
However, I think a certain kind of reader would absolutely eat this story up.
It was written with generous detail and patience for exploring feelings and observations throughout. It's a slow, mysterious, melancholy sort of book that will suit many readers well, especially as they curl into their darker sides for the colder, darker months.
I also learned a few things from the obviously well-researched inclusions in some of the tangential passages. Some unfavorable history about the Dewey decimal system, for example (though I feel like the narrative takes the least charitable view possible of the facts there).
Overall, if Firenze in his divination teacher era was your favorite part of the Potter series, this book will be right up your alley. I feel like the book it most reminded me of personally was The Magicians, by Lev Grossman, if that helps anyone decide whether or not it's for them.
Beautiful cover. Decent narration. Kind of tortured story.
Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
For more reviews, reading lists, craft dissection, essays, and more, visit thelitertarian.com.
July 21, 2026
📖 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿:
Readers who enjoy literary fantasy that blends folklore, family history, and magical academia.
The Loom Tree is a story I wanted to love, one I truly believed I would love, but one I couldn't connect with at all. On paper, it felt like it had everything I look for in a book, which made it all the more disappointing when that connection never came.
I really enjoyed how folklore was woven into the story. Each tale felt complete in itself while adding another thread to the larger picture, and I loved the idea of folklore becoming part of the characters' identities. It was imaginative, thoughtful, and unlike anything I've read before.
Where I struggled was with Sharon's life at Alvsdahl. I kept waiting to become invested in her classmates, her professors, and the relationships around her, but that connection never quite arrived. I wanted the academy to become somewhere I could vividly picture and feel immersed in, yet even by the end I realised I still couldn't clearly imagine the school itself. It always felt just out of reach.
The ending helped me understand why so many readers praise the family dynamics, and I appreciated how everything came together. Unfortunately, by then I'd already become emotionally detached. Instead of feeling swept up in the conclusion, I mostly felt relieved to have reached the end.
There's a really interesting story here, and I can absolutely see why so many readers connected with it. Sadly, I never did. I admired its creativity, its ideas, and the way it explored folklore, but I never found the emotional connection that turned admiration into love.
✨ 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱:
• The unique way folklore was woven into each character's background.
• An imaginative and original concept unlike anything I've read before.
• Themes of family, identity, and heritage woven throughout the story.
🌧️ 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱:
• I never formed a strong emotional connection with Sharon or the supporting cast.
• The academy and its relationships never became immersive enough for me to feel invested.
• The emotional payoff came too late to change my overall experience.
🎙️ 𝗡𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀:
Narrated by Catherine Ho and Da Eun Yoon.
Their narration was steady throughout, with good pacing and no noticeable stumbles. Although I found myself zoning out and rewinding several times, I believe that reflected my difficulty connecting with the story rather than the narration itself, so I don't feel it's fair to judge their performance beyond that.
⭐⭐⭐ / 5
A little thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for opening the door and letting me wander into this story. All thoughts, feelings, and bookish ramblings I brought back are entirely my own. 📖✨
Readers who enjoy literary fantasy that blends folklore, family history, and magical academia.
The Loom Tree is a story I wanted to love, one I truly believed I would love, but one I couldn't connect with at all. On paper, it felt like it had everything I look for in a book, which made it all the more disappointing when that connection never came.
I really enjoyed how folklore was woven into the story. Each tale felt complete in itself while adding another thread to the larger picture, and I loved the idea of folklore becoming part of the characters' identities. It was imaginative, thoughtful, and unlike anything I've read before.
Where I struggled was with Sharon's life at Alvsdahl. I kept waiting to become invested in her classmates, her professors, and the relationships around her, but that connection never quite arrived. I wanted the academy to become somewhere I could vividly picture and feel immersed in, yet even by the end I realised I still couldn't clearly imagine the school itself. It always felt just out of reach.
The ending helped me understand why so many readers praise the family dynamics, and I appreciated how everything came together. Unfortunately, by then I'd already become emotionally detached. Instead of feeling swept up in the conclusion, I mostly felt relieved to have reached the end.
There's a really interesting story here, and I can absolutely see why so many readers connected with it. Sadly, I never did. I admired its creativity, its ideas, and the way it explored folklore, but I never found the emotional connection that turned admiration into love.
✨ 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱:
• The unique way folklore was woven into each character's background.
• An imaginative and original concept unlike anything I've read before.
• Themes of family, identity, and heritage woven throughout the story.
🌧️ 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱:
• I never formed a strong emotional connection with Sharon or the supporting cast.
• The academy and its relationships never became immersive enough for me to feel invested.
• The emotional payoff came too late to change my overall experience.
🎙️ 𝗡𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀:
Narrated by Catherine Ho and Da Eun Yoon.
Their narration was steady throughout, with good pacing and no noticeable stumbles. Although I found myself zoning out and rewinding several times, I believe that reflected my difficulty connecting with the story rather than the narration itself, so I don't feel it's fair to judge their performance beyond that.
⭐⭐⭐ / 5
A little thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for opening the door and letting me wander into this story. All thoughts, feelings, and bookish ramblings I brought back are entirely my own. 📖✨
September 13, 2026
The Loom Tree
The Loom Tree is one of those books where I could see exactly what it was trying to accomplish, and I genuinely appreciated the ambition behind it, even though the execution didn't completely work for me.
The idea immediately caught my attention: fairy tales, folklore, mythology, Korean folklore, reincarnation, family history, and a story about how the stories we inherit can shape who we become. There is so much packed into this book that it feels almost like opening a box filled with different pieces of mythology and trying to see how they connect.
I especially enjoyed the elements surrounding Sharon, her family, and the exploration of stories being passed between generations. The Korean folklore and cultural details were some of the most interesting parts for me, and I liked the idea of taking familiar fairy-tale archetypes and looking at them through a different cultural and modern lens.
The problem for me was that there were so many ideas competing for attention that the main story sometimes became difficult to follow. There were moments when I wanted the mythology and magical elements to take center stage, only to find myself pulled into another explanation, piece of history, or lengthy bit of worldbuilding. Some of the revelations were fascinating, but I didn't always feel emotionally connected to them.
I also struggled with some of the characters. Sharon was the character I connected with most, but several of the surrounding characters felt more like representations of an idea or archetype than people I could really become invested in. With so much happening in the mythology and worldbuilding, I wanted more time with the characters themselves.
That said, there were definitely moments that made me stop and think. I loved the underlying message about stories, memory, identity, family, and what happens when pieces of our history are forgotten or deliberately pushed aside. That part of the book stayed with me more than some of the fantasy mechanics.
I think this is a book that will work much better for readers who enjoy literary fantasy that asks you to piece things together and who don't mind a story that prioritizes mythology and ideas over straightforward plot. For me, the premise was stronger than the execution, but I still found plenty here to appreciate.
A fascinating concept with beautiful ideas about folklore, family, identity, and the stories we carry with us—but ultimately a little too sprawling for me to fully connect with.
The Loom Tree is one of those books where I could see exactly what it was trying to accomplish, and I genuinely appreciated the ambition behind it, even though the execution didn't completely work for me.
The idea immediately caught my attention: fairy tales, folklore, mythology, Korean folklore, reincarnation, family history, and a story about how the stories we inherit can shape who we become. There is so much packed into this book that it feels almost like opening a box filled with different pieces of mythology and trying to see how they connect.
I especially enjoyed the elements surrounding Sharon, her family, and the exploration of stories being passed between generations. The Korean folklore and cultural details were some of the most interesting parts for me, and I liked the idea of taking familiar fairy-tale archetypes and looking at them through a different cultural and modern lens.
The problem for me was that there were so many ideas competing for attention that the main story sometimes became difficult to follow. There were moments when I wanted the mythology and magical elements to take center stage, only to find myself pulled into another explanation, piece of history, or lengthy bit of worldbuilding. Some of the revelations were fascinating, but I didn't always feel emotionally connected to them.
I also struggled with some of the characters. Sharon was the character I connected with most, but several of the surrounding characters felt more like representations of an idea or archetype than people I could really become invested in. With so much happening in the mythology and worldbuilding, I wanted more time with the characters themselves.
That said, there were definitely moments that made me stop and think. I loved the underlying message about stories, memory, identity, family, and what happens when pieces of our history are forgotten or deliberately pushed aside. That part of the book stayed with me more than some of the fantasy mechanics.
I think this is a book that will work much better for readers who enjoy literary fantasy that asks you to piece things together and who don't mind a story that prioritizes mythology and ideas over straightforward plot. For me, the premise was stronger than the execution, but I still found plenty here to appreciate.
A fascinating concept with beautiful ideas about folklore, family, identity, and the stories we carry with us—but ultimately a little too sprawling for me to fully connect with.
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