The Last Fallen Moon

Gifted Clans #2

by Graci Kim

For Riley Oh, life as the Godrealm’s last fallen star is not all it’s cracked up to be. Her new divine heritage doesn’t even come with cool magical powers; half of her friends and family (including her parents) can’t remember her; and to top it all off, the entire Gom clan is mad at her for killing the Cave Bear Goddess and stripping away their healing abilities.

But when their anger boils over and a group of witches curses Riley’s home, she knows it’s up to her to restore magic back to her clan – even if it means sneaking into the Spiritrealm.

Luckily, Riley has some backup. Along with her sister, Hattie, Riley meets Dahl, a heaven-born boy with shockingly white hair and a fondness for toilets who might not be telling the whole truth about who he is. Together they’ll fight vicious monsters, discover dark underwater worlds, and race to save the land of the dead from a fate that no one could have foreseen.

And this time, Riley won’t let anything get in her way. Because she can’t shake the feeling that something terrible is coming their way – and the gifted community is going to need all the powers they can get.

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Mythology, Fiction, Adventure, Audiobook, Magic

384 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 14, 2022

About the author

Graci Kim is the award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of the Gifted Clans series: The Last Fallen Star, The Last Fallen Moon, and The Last Fallen Realm. Featured in TIME Magazine for Kids, and dubbed a “sparkling yarn” by Entertainment Weekly, the Korean mythology-inspired trilogy is being translated into multiple languages.

The Last Fallen Star was named a 2021 Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Best Children’s Book, an Amazon Best Book, an Indigo Best Book, a Barnes & Noble Young Reader Pick, and a Whitcoulls’ Kids Top 50. In 2022, Graci was awarded the Sir Julius Vogel Award for Best New Talent.

The first book in her new series, Dreamslinger (think X-Men meets Pokémon, set in a Korean magic school) will be published in April 2025.

In a previous life, Graci was a New Zealand diplomat, a cooking show host, and once ran a business that turned children’s drawings into cuddly toys. She now lives in Aotearoa New Zealand with her husband and daughter. You can follow her on Instagram (@gracikimwrites), join her newsletter at gracikim dot com.

Reviews

[Claude's Bookzone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a brilliant world Graci has created. I will eventually write a proper review but I thoroughly recommend this middle grade/intermediate series!

[queenie · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Looking up at the sky used to make me feel sad. But today, the big, wide expanse makes me feel a strange sense of calmness instead. Almost like I’ve been reunited with an old, well-loved blankie that has been through the wash and smells a little bit different, but still feels just as comforting.”

Rating: 5/5
★★★★★

read the full review on my blog, and also check out my interview with the author!

Sequel to The Last Fallen Star, The Last Fallen Moon is a wonderfully complex tale about change and family all the while with a captivating story of its own. I thought I wouldn't like it as much as the first book but no?? Rest assured I will be reading anything Graci Kim puts out in the following years!!

It’s been a couple days since I finished The Last Fallen Moon and I must say that this novel has all the family feels and I’m not even sugarcoating it! There were albeit a couple ( more!) times I teared up while reading because the relationship and portrayal of love was just so close to home. Going into the book, I definitely had high hopes for this since The Last Fallen Star was one of my favourite reads last year, and though the book starts off paler in comparison to the rest of the story, the plot picked up soon after and I wasn’t able to put the book down!

This year has really been such a great year for middle grade novels and I will not stop saying so! One of my main reasons for growing out of middle grade fantasy (other than actually growing up, of course) is because after a certain point, I felt like all the books just blurred into one single story recycled repeatedly. The Last Fallen Moon does not fall into that, thankfully! A perfect blend of exploring emotional relations and Korean mythology, Graci Kim creates a truly magical world for readers to get sucked into.

This novel follows our protagonist Riley Oh after finding out that she’s the Godrealm’s last fallen star. It picks up about a couple months after book one. Riley’s loved ones now have no recollections of her and Riley is a shell of the person she initially used to be. Things get worse when she recieves threats from unknown witches, leading her into the Spiritrealm, in hopes of restoring peace to the Gifted Clans, where she also meets new characters and creatures.

Also if you’re asking me to pick a favourite character relationship, let it be known that I just can’t! That’s how beautifully it’s written in here—Riley’s sisterly bond with Hattie and her unconditional love towards her parents and friends is just so heartwarming!! Starting off, to be honest, Riley was a teeny bit annoying but it was all worth it because her charcter arc goes through a huge development, especially with her befriending more people and figuring it all out slowly but steadily.

[Amita · Rating 4 out of 5]

characters realizing they have to join together and go to war right before the final book in their series gets me every time

pre-read review: incredibly excited to see how Graci follows up the ending of the first book! i know she will once again amaze me

also i needed this yesterday plz and thanks

[Fafa's Book Corner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full review to come ☺️

[Eileen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful series that Graci Kim has created using inspiration from Korean mythology, but also from pop culture and modern technology. Riley Oh is a flawed, interesting, realistic middle school-aged orphan who just wants to feel like she is truly home/part of a family. Her adopted sister Hattie is also one of her best friends, but after the events of the first book, Hattie is not doing great, health-wise, and she's also the only one who actually remembers who Riley is. As you can imagine, Riley starts questioning everything she did and kind of beats herself up over it, no matter what anyone says, and even though she acknowledges that she may have saved the world, she feels that she just didn't do enough and as a result, everything is messed up. It doesn't help that the majority of the Gom clan (healers) blame her for the loss of their powers, so even though it might seem that Riley is just being self-absorbed about her role in all this, it's completely understandable considering how many people (including many adults who should know better) are blaming her. In this book, Riley heads for the Spirit Realm to try setting things right. The people and creatures she meets are highly imaginative and fun and I found myself laughing out loud more than a few times as I pictured what she was seeing and experiencing. Without revealing specific spoilers, I will say that Riley started out trying to solve it all on her own, despite her friends and family trying to tell her they were with her all the way, and with all her experiences, she realizes that she perhaps didn't make the best choice. I loved the imaginative story, the Korean mythology, the Korean snack foods (yum!), the lessons learned, the humor, and the love. While there is much that is resolved in this book, the ending sets you up perfectly for the third book. I hope this ends up being a trilogy because it's already going to be a long wait since this second book is just coming out. I'm not sure I can wait a couple of years for a fourth or fifth book, lol!

I listened to and read this book simultaneously and I thought Suzi Leung did an excellent job. While Suzi doesn't change the voices much for different characters, somehow I never found it difficult to follow who was saying what. This is perhaps because the story is being told as if Riley is telling the story. So the voices change just enough to sound like Riley is doing everyone else's voices if that makes sense. Regardless, I enjoyed the narration and think it would work both as a pure audiobook and for struggling readers to read along with the narration.

Overall, if you enjoyed the first book, you probably enjoy reading this just as much. These books should definitely be read in order, although there is enough summary of the previous book to bring you up to speed if you happen to run across this book first.

I received an advance review copy from NetGalley for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Clint Read-Brittian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a wild wild ride!!!!!!!! I am soooo obsessed! I need book 3 like now!!!!!!!!!!!!!! also Dahl is my fav character and I just want to hug him soooooo much! I bawled my eyes out at the end of this!!!!!!!!!!! I need to know what happens next! OMG!

[Jasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was happy to accompany Riley Oh on another adventure! The stakes in this book are even higher than in the first. I enjoyed learning about the afterlife in Korean mythology. I thought Graci Kim did such a good job putting a modern twist on Jiok, Cheongdang, and the Seven Judges.

And now they’re going to war?! Now I’m worried for them! I’m eager to see how things will be resolved in the final book!

[Anirudh Kukreja · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a big fan of trilogies, I've often noticed that the 2nd book is always stuck in that awkward, adolescent phase. This book, however, has done puberty right.
The storyline is amazing, love the new characters and it's fun to see Riley create a team for the final part. The last scene was so heart warming, someone was definitely chopping onions next to me.

The only 2 reasons I deducted a star were:
1. The book was slightly longer than required; could've saved a 100 pages by removing one or two unnecessary wild goose chases.
2. I was hoping to see a more confident side of Riley Oh, but it seemed like she had reverted back to her insecure self (as in the beginning of the first book)

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, so much fun! Riley and Hattie, best friends and sisters, are both worried about the other. Their parents are worried about both of them, even though they really are not sure who Riley is, since their memories of her have been wiped. A month late birthday party seem to be the answer but then some angry people come and enchant the house-sins against them and all are driven out of their house. What happens next has to be read to completely follow but Riley’s impetuousness takes ahold of her again! She ends up in the Korean version of hell and heaven and kind of achieves her purpose. In a way! Now on to the next and final book….sigh, a year from now!

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish there were half stars. I'd give this a solid 3.5. I didn't enjoy this as much as the first one for sure...maybe because the first one was a refreshing read for me. This one felt kind of the same so it lost its appeal? Not sure. I do like her growth (finally) and I'll likely read the next book. Letting my son read it next to see if he likes it (he loved the first one).

[As You Wish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another amazing journey into Korean culture! I loved this book. I love the idea that the author wrote this based on the traditional mourning period of 49 days, and what the journey could look like for souls in the afterlife. As before, the storytelling was amazing as Riley once again plunges into danger and makes friends along the way. Can't wait for the next in this series!

[Bea Ryding · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love you for this Graci Kim

[Keith Lovell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Riley’s continued adventures and more interaction with Korean Mythology.

[belle ☆ﾐ (thisbellereadstoo) · Rating 4 out of 5]

riley have been feeling a whole load of guilt after the gom healers lost their powers because riley got rid of their patron goddess. she got the brilliant idea to enter into the underworld, convince the saint heo jun (honorary healer god) to become the gom’s new patron god, and restore the powers of the gom healers for good! but only the dead can enter the spirit realm……. so riley steals the love potion that stopped mateo’s heart.

when riley finally gets to the spirit realm, she’s shocked that hell isn’t that bad after all.. in fact, hell has became fun. instead of the boiling pits, the grotesque treatments of hell, everything is fun now. punishments are not meted, rewards are given. IN HELL. king yeomra has changed the hells into a place of fun and enjoyment. instead of being king, he’s now the mayor. the seven judges of the seven courts of hell are now chief FUN officers. what?

anyway, even with this modified hell system, riley still has to go through her judgements. specifically for her, she is tested in three courts. with her tour guide/lawyer to help dispute her case, riley needs to get out of the spirit realm within 2 days. otherwise, she’ll be stuck there forever. in the spirit realm, riley meets dahl, her self-proclaimed tour guide. dahl’s born in the spirit realm and has dreamt of visiting the mortal realm. as we come to find out, riley and dahl are connected in a special way. together, they venture through the three courts of hell. however, when they finally reached their destination, riley realized a greater danger is looming that will endanger the entire gifted community.

i really enjoyed exploring this world. we’re always meeting new people, visiting new places, finding out new magic. graci kim is great at expanding the magical world. hell is known to be.. well.. hell so i was wondering how the author would write this world. so far, really awesome!

throughout the book, riley is upset about ruining the gom healers’ lives. she doesn’t regret her actions because the patron goddess had malicious intent but with her closest friends and loved ones not having any memory of riley is weighing down on her. she will do anything for them even if it meant venturing into the spirit realm. i love her relationship with hattie, her sister. they are supportive and loyal to one another without hesitation.

overall, i had so much fun! middle grade novels are always such a joy to read. i can’t wait for the final book in this trilogy. the stakes are continuously amping up with each book. people are up to no good and it’s up to riley and her crew to stop the nefarious beings from reaching their goal.

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Riley Oh saved the world, but she feels awful about it. The Gom clan has lost their magic in losing their goddess. Yes, the Cave Bear Goddess was evil, but now the healers can't heal, and Riley's parents have to work at a restaurant cleaning dishes. Furthermore, no one can remember her, and things are so awkward. Riley decides to go to the underworld and see if she can recruit a healer who has achieved god status to become the Gom clan's new leader and thereby restore their powers. But getting to the underworld is challenging, and once she gets there Riley discovers something very odd is going on. She and her new friend/guide Dahl will have to save the underworld if Riley is to have any hope of returning the mortal world to normal.

There's a lot going on in this story that I really can't talk about without major spoilers. I will say that the title refers to Dahl, and he has special significance beyond being a friend to Riley in the underworld. Graci Kim has created an underworld that is a combination of a number of different mythologies plus a healthy dose of imagination, so it is obviously fictional. Riley's sister joins her for a good portion of the adventure as she can visit the underworld while she is in a coma, and that's been happening a lot of late (there's a mystery there promised to be explored more in the next book). It took me three tries to get into this book, but once I did get about 1/3 of the way in, I was hooked. Like Riordan's books, this was written with a good mix of adventure, character building, and imagination based on myth systems plus touches of humor. Hand this to readers who enjoy mythological fantasy adventures.

Notes on content:
Language: 1 minor swear.
Sexual content: None
Violence: There are a couple battles, one character gets a nasty scratch on an arm, something is poisoning the underworld, people are threatened with violence but very few are permanently hurt or hurt in ways magic can't undo.
Ethnic diversity: Human characters are Korean or Korean American, the rest are mythologcial.
LGBTQ+ content: Riley meets a man whose one true love he misses is another man.
Other: Riley takes a potion that stops her heart for several hours to get to the underworld. Riley's sister is in a coma for much of the book. The underworld has several hells souls visit that have been revamped into "fun" experiences before moving on to heaven and the choice of being reincarnated.

[Nica Sarmiento · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good book! I listened to this as an audiobook at NetGalley. It’s actually the second book of The Gifted Clans trilogy. I haven’t read the first book but it didn’t matter much because every time the book references the first book, it will give a brief explanation or history so you won’t get lost. It combines the modern world and Korean mythology which I haven’t really read about before, although it is quite similar to Greek myth in some ways. It was exciting and the narrator gave life to the characters in a way where it feels like you’re watching a film rather than listening to an audiobook. I honestly didn’t notice time while listening to this because it really is interesting to me. The ending was good too, it opens the idea of how the third book would unfold but the author was careful enough not to leave the ending a cliffhanger. It was full of magical creatures too so if that’s your cup of tea, consider this a recommendation. Definitely one of my new favourites!


This is still available on NetGalley until the 28th of June and when I requested it, it became available to me the following morning so if you want to give this a listen, do so quickly!

[Latitude · Rating 5 out of 5]

You’ll never guess, but I did not read the book that is previous in this series, which is called the Gifted Clans trilogy. The first book in the series is called The Last Fallen Star, and I do in fact wish I had read it, because when we pick up in this book, Riley Oh’s parents and friends don’t remember her! What did you do to get into this situation! But, as with all Rick Riordan presents books, I loved learning about Korean mythology in a present-tense way, as it affects our protagonist, Riley. I say this a lot, but this is a great readalike for Aru Shah and her series of books! Aru and Riley are so different as main characters, but each girl grows and changes throughout the course of their stories. I’m excited for this trilogy to join other mythology stories on bookshelves everywhere — and I am going to go back and read the first one! Five stars.

[lukelovestoread · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books I have ever read!
"Our choices define us, but it's our actions that define our choices."
I gave this book 5 stars because I loved how Riley traveled to the spirit realm and found her soul twin brother who was the Last Fallen Moon.
The theme of this book is family is important. I know that is true because Dahl (her soul twin) did everything he could to help Riley meet Saint Heo Jun so Riley could ask him to be the Gom clan Goddess, even though he just met Riley they were still family.
The author chose the title to be The Last Fallen Moon because Riley met the Last Fallen Moon.

[Ruth Watkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just as full of heart as The Last Fallen Star. Riley makes new friends as she travels through the Korean version of the afterlife in order to correct her mistakes. I will be immediately picking up the third book when it releases later this summer.

[Książkowa Cisza · Rating 2 out of 5]

O wiele mniej mi się podobał. Postać Dahla bardzo mnie ciekawiła już od samego patrzenia na okładki, ale zawiodłam się. Nie jest kimś fascynującym. Jest okej i tyle.

Sam tom również mnie nie porwał, przez co straciłam chęć na kontynuowanie tej trylogii 😭

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 2 my 12 year old said I had to read so we could discuss. I really like learning about different cultures’ myths. The crossing between realms is an interesting concept.

[Abu-Muvehba]

Really good plotline just like the last book lots of plot twists and adventure surprises and much more!

[leoreo (taylor's version)]

why wasn't i notified this was out already??? i've waited like a year. anyways YAY!!

[Shine Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Legendary

[Sammie · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can read my full review on my blog, The Bookwyrm's Den, here.

I received a copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Overall

While I didn’t absolutely love the first book in this series, I did enjoy it, and I was looking forward to picking up the next one! Kim has created a very unique world for her readers, and I was ready to dive back into it. Especially the mythology aspect. I do love me some good mythology-driven books! So, needless to say, I had been sort of waiting for this one to release . . . and here it is!

The Last Fallen Moon takes the readers on an adventure into the afterlife, filled with fast-paced adventure, exciting new places, family and friendship bonds, and lots of really cool Korean mythology.

I actually ended up enjoying this book more than the first one. It had more of a traditional portal fantasy feel, which I really like. Plus, the afterlife is just super cool. I’ve read quite a few “afterlife” books, but Kim has plenty of unique elements in hers that made the visit a real delight.

My Thoughts

- In a slight divergence from the first book, The Last Fallen Moon reads more like a portal fantasy, transporting the readers to the Spiritrealm, where souls go after they’ve died and are awaiting their next life. Let me tell you, the Spiritrealm is so freaking cool. It’s part what you might expect of a Korean-based afterlife and part comedic subverted expectations. That’s really all I want to say about that, because I don’t want to color your expectations! Discovering it for yourself is part of the fun.

Very little of this book actually takes place in the real world. Kim takes the fantasy aspects from the first book, ratchets them up, and changes the venue. New place means new faces, right? This new crew is also composed of characters. The kind that are super fun to hang out with and always full of surprises!

- Korean readers will likely appreciate all the aspects of Korean culture that Kim slips into the pages of this book, and those from other cultures will have fun learning more about this unique mythology and beliefs. I know a little about Korean mythology, so reading it on the page is very exciting for me. I’m less familiar with aspects of the language and food, and I love the way Kim slips these in. Gives me something to look up and learn more about! (Plus, food in books is always yum, right?!)

What’s perhaps even more exciting are the stories and creatures that Kim includes. Being set in the Spiritrealm opens up some pretty unique opportunities, right? There were a couple of stories that I’d never heard, and I absolutely loved being introduced to them. I’m also a fan of new mythological creatures. The deadlier, the better, right?! Well, if that’s your motto, too, you won’t be disappointed!

- While Riley may come off as a very annoying character for the first part of this book (and honestly, from an adult perspective, what pre-teen isn’t?!), it’s all part of the wonderful character arc she experiences in this book. Trust me, Riley is very frustrating early on. It’s almost like she didn’t learn anything at all from the first book and keeps on making the same mistakes. Of course, Riley is also young, and still at a critical point in her character journey. I promise, she doesn’t stay this way forever (thank goodness!).

Despite my initial annoyance with her, Riley’s character arc in this book is *chef’s kiss*. I was willing to put up with her childishness because what comes out at the end is brilliant and gives me a lot of hope for the third book. Plus, she learns what it means to have a squad backing you, and I am all for this squad going into book three.

- One of my favorite things about the first book was the superb family bonds, and that carries into this book. Despite Riley’s family not remembering her, they’re all doing their best to stay together, and it’s clear that Riley is still very loved and supported by her adoptive family. It’s not very often that you get adventure books with an adopted protagonist where the main personal conflict isn’t finding their parents or getting back their “family”. Riley already has a family. She’s quite happy with them, and she lacks for nothing (well . . . except magic, but there’s really no helping that). I can’t even begin to tell you how much I love the fact that Kim doubles down on this family bond and the strength between Riley and her adoptive family, no matter what. It’s such an important thing to see in middle grade books, especially in my area, where we have a lot of middle grade readers who are being raised by someone other than their biologic parents!

Sticking Points

- I’m pretty sure I mentioned this in my review of the first book (and if not, I definitely meant to), but I absolutely hate that Riley refers to her penchant to cry at the drop of a hat as her “leaky-bladder eyes.” Yes, I realize this is a silly criticism and something very small to be the only sticking point of this book. However, this is a hill I’m willing to die on. Why? Because for some irrational reason, it really freaking annoys the heck out of me every time I read it!

What I assume the author is alluding to is the things that hold liquid, also known as skins, pouches, water bottles, etc. I don’t believe the author is comparing Riley’s crybaby nature to incontinence. Unfortunately, that’s definitely how it reads. The first several times I read this description, I was very confused, because my mind immediately went to the organ bladder, and being weepy is definitely not the same as incontinence. It took me a while to remember the other type of bladder, which is a distinction I doubt most of the middle grade readers I know will be aware of. So it’s confusing.

What makes it worse is that it’s unnecessarily confusing. Leaky eyes does the job just fine. It doesn’t need a qualifier. You gain nothing by saying “leaky-bladder eyes” instead of just saying Riley has leaky eyes. Will middle grade readers care at all about what the author calls it? No, of course not. But darn it, this is my review. xD

[Ruei (Ruei's Reading Corner) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full Review & Blog Tours: https://rueisreadingcorner.blogspot.c...

3.5/5

Riley Oh's adventures are far from over. The consequences of her actions have led to some interesting results. For example, her parents can't even remember her, their own daughter.

With her sister Hattie and their new friend, Dahl, the three of them must work together to save their land before danger comes to destroy it all.

Riley and Hattie are such close sisters. Their chemistry together is amazing and I love the sister dynamic between them.

Overall, The Last Fallen Moon was such a fun read. I enjoyed going through the ups and downs along with Riley. Fans of middle grade books will love this.

**Thank you so much to Rockstar Book Tours and Disney Books for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review as part of the blog tour!**

[S!]

(Mar 6 2021, pre-review)

(S P O I L E R S for The Last Fallen Star)
I'm so excited to read this book (❁´◡`❁)











My theories:

- Just like Riley was the dark star from the godrealm, the dark moon will be a person too!

- They will probably meet... and it will n o t go well

- Or maybe Riley already knows them................hmmmm. Emmett, maybe? Jennie?

- The spiritrealm will be full of weird monsters that probably want to eat Riley and her friends, but maybe Areum will help on that front?

- They'll find a way to restore the memories of Riley's Gom and Horangi friends and relatives!

- Overall it will be super fun!!

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Last Fallen Moon, the 2nd book in Graci Kim's Gifted Clans trilogy takes place 2 months after the 1st book, The Last Fallen Star. In that time, Riley Oh has had to come to terms with the news that she, herself, is actually the Last Fallen Star. And on top of that, apart from her sister, Hattie, Riley's parents and all her friends don't remember who she is. That was the price she payed for bringing Hattie back to life in the previous book. Now, Hattie hasn't been doing so well in the aftermath, because she's prone to blackouts. And the worst part is that their parents can't heal her. They, and the rest of Gom Clan, lost their healing abilities after Riley killed their Patron Goddess, the Cave Bear. As a result all the other Gom healers hate Riley.

But then she hears about Saint Heo Jun, the Patriarch of traditional Korean medicine, and one of the most celebrated Gom healers in history. Riley decides that he would be an excellent new Patron God for the Gom Clan. She hatches a plan to travel to the Spritrealm to find him. Another reason for her going there is to find to help her loved ones remember her. In the Mortalrealm, Riley lives in Los Angeles. The Spritrealm, at least according to this book, resembles New York City. Because I am from NYC, myself, that made me very happy. The chart on the inside front cover of The Last Fallen Moon divides the Spiritrealm into 2 boroughs: Jiok, which is further partitioned into the Seven Hells (Hell of Shattering Speed, presided over by the Judge of Honesty; Hell of Crushing Boulders; Hell of Boiling Oil, presided over by the Judge of Community; Hell of Hungry Beasts, presided over by the Judge of Compassion; Hell of Jagged Knives, presided over by the Judge of Loyalty; Hell of Sinking Sand, presided by the Judge of Respect and Hell of Infinite Ice, which is presided over by the Judge of Generosity.) and Cheondang, which is Heaven. There's also a 3rd borough, called Yonggung, which is also known as the Dragon Palace. It plays as important an part in the plot as Jiok and Cheondang do.

Hattie eventually joins Riley in the Spiritrealm. But before that, Riley's first major ally is a boy named Dahl, who hails from Cheondang. Dahl has a fixation on keys, toilets and the movie Grease. (Graci Kim couldn't have known Olivia Newton-John would die while she was writing The Last Fallen Moon. But in the aftermath of that, Dahl's obsession with Grease hits differently than it would have if I'd read it before Olivia's death.)

I got a major spoiler about Dahl when I looked up the description of the forthcoming 3rd and final book in the Gifted Clans trilogy, The Last Fallen Realm. It describes Dahl and Riley as "Soul Twins." I realize that this is a Korean spiritual concept, but at first, it reminded me of the Dyad that Rey and Kylo Ren form in Star Wars. Except, Dahl is a lot nicer than Kylo Ren, and his and Riley's relationship is much healthier than Kylo and Rey's. In fact, I'd actually compare their dynamic more to that of Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa-because of the twin thing. And Dahl's personality furthermore reminds me of Han Solo, in that he's cocky, brash and sarcastic, but ultimately goodhearted. They are Soul Twins, because just like Riley is the Last Fallen Star, Dahl is the Last Fallen Moon.

Riley, Dahl and Hattie discover that all is not as it seems in the Spritrealm. The Seven Hells have been restructured into "reward centers," with the Judges being named "CFO's"("Chief Fun Officers.") People, including, Saint Heo Jun, have been getting sick. And the cycle of reincarnation has been tampered with. Like The Last Fallen Star, The Last Fallen Moon has more than one suspect for the villain. The first suspect is Mayor (Formerly King) Yeomra, ruler of the Spiritrealm. It turns out he has noble intentions for restructuring the Spiritrealm, but things got out of hand. Then it looks like the problems were caused by the Judges-turned-CFO's, who were unhappy with Yeomra's changes. But just like the true culprit behind the events of The Last Fallen Star were the Gom Clan's Cave Bear Goddess, the character pulling the strings in The Last Fallen Moon was the Horangi Clan's Mountain Tiger Goddess. (Remember, though, the Horangi Clan, which is the one that Riley was actually born into, aren't really bad.)


Things in the Spiritrealm get put back to rights. Saint Heo Jun agrees to become the Patron God of the Gom Clan, and their healing powers are restored, just as the Samjogo, Miru, Tokki and Gumhio Clans loose their powers. (The Horangi Clan has other ways of harnessing their powers.) You see, the Patron Goddesses of the 4 remaining clans (Three-Legged Crow for Samjogo; Water Dragon for Miru; Moon Rabbit for Tokki and Nine-Tailed Fox for Gumiho) have turned against their clans, joining the Mountain Tiger Goddess in retaliation for the death of the Cave Bear Goddess. War is coming. On the bright side, Riley manages to give her family and friends back their memories of her. And Dahl comes back to the Mortalrealm with her. You might be wondering what has become of Hattie. She decides to stay in the Spiritrealm until her parents can cure her condition. I said the ending of The Last Fallen Star was like the ending of Frozen, with one sister saving the other through the power of true love. And now, the ending of The Last Fallen Moon mirrors the ending of Frozen 2, with the sisters going their own ways, but knowing that they will always be family. The Last Fallen Moon was even better than The Last Fallen Star, which was already an amazing book to begin with! And it also nicely set up the Last Fallen Realm, which I can't wait to read.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never expected the afterlife to have a rebrand but both I and Riley discover just that in The Last Fallen Moon! The lighthearted twists, turns, and word play kept an incredibly high stakes and time sensitive storyline bright enough to not leave me despairing the whole time. I particularly fell in love with a darling dog side character.

Thanks to NetGalley and Rick Riordian Presents for an early read in exchange for my honest review.

[Hannah (Hannah, Fully) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A copy of the book was provided for review purposes - thank you! Receiving a copy does not guarantee a positive review and therefore does not affect the opinion or content of the review.

The Last Fallen Moon is a solid second book in the Gifted Clans trilogy, promising more to Riley's story within a magical middle-grade adventure intertwined with Korean mythology. Honestly, I had a grand time with this one, but mostly, I just want to take Riley, pluck her up from the pages of the book, and give her a nice hug. I also want to protect her from whatever is coming for her in book three and just from the world in general because she's really just trying her very best.

This book is a continuation of Riley's story, set two months after The Last Fallen Star, which I adored and loved to pieces from the first page. It's honestly one of my favorites of 2021. In the second novel, Riley's trying to adjust to her life after finding out she's the last fallen star and killing the Cave Bear Goddess. She's gotten her sister Hattie back, but her family and friends no longer remember her, and the Gom clan is pretty piping mad at her for taking away their healing powers due to them no longer having a patron goddess. Oh, and she doesn't have powers either as the last fallen star.

"I'm not a hero. I'm a stain on my family and my community, like these bloody marks on our house."

Despite their lost memories, her family and friends continue to show her love and support, but more than ever, she feels like an outcast straddling two worlds and that she doesn't deserve their love. Not when her home gets cursed. All she wants is to undo the damage she's caused to everyone involved.

And so she hatches up a plan: she'll find a new patron for the Gom clan and restore their powers, traveling to the Spiritrealm without anyone knowing so no one else can get hurt. It'll be fine, no big deal. She'll just slip in and out.

But everything that Riley thinks she knows about the afterlife is uphauled quickly the moment she steps into a realm Kim vividly brings to life and incorporates parts of the modern world with the afterlife. There are new characters and monsters introduced, all of which either hinder or guide Riley on her journey. Most notable is Dahl, a heaven-born boy who wants to see the Mortalrealm one day, is fascinated with toilets, and is just overall a fun and lovable being that added to the story.

Like the first novel, The Last Fallen Moon primarily explores Riley's identity and sense of belonging with her family, friends, and community as she journeys through the Spiritrealm. As much as Riley wishes to do things alone (can we blame her, though), in true sister form, Hattie refuses to let her do things on her own and joins along, and I really love how we got to see the two of them interact in this sequel where they couldn't in the first. I also loved the elements of family and friendship continued from the first and the small emotional moments throughout the book that packed a lot of power.

Overall, I enjoyed continuing Riley's story and can't wait to see how the trilogy will end! The Last Fallen Moon is a phenomenal sequel to Graci Kim's stunning debut, with the right amount of pacing and a page-turning adventure for middle-grade readers.

This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts.