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Yoruba Knight: Knights of Avalon
After her mother's death, Maki Kobayasha experienced a jarring culture shock when she moved from New York to Japan to live with her biological father-- a man she had never met.
A dull day in school quickly becomes chaotic! Voodoo spells, dark magic, and necromancy turn everything upside down.
A frightening power awakens within Maki, and blazes out of control. Its mysterious origins unveil painful secrets she must face to survive.
A dull day in school quickly becomes chaotic! Voodoo spells, dark magic, and necromancy turn everything upside down.
A frightening power awakens within Maki, and blazes out of control. Its mysterious origins unveil painful secrets she must face to survive.
173 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 1, 2022
3 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 14, 2023
Maki believes that her only misfortune--though it is a great one--is adjusting to life without her mother, in a new country, with new family members and a new school. It doesn't take long, though, for her to realize the ability to stand out from the crowd is far more deadly and nowhere near as fun as just being the only foreigner to have pink hair at school.
When witches and warlocks randomly find a way to show up in her life, and magical fire starts shooting out of her eyes (and all on her sixteenth birthday), Maki is swept away into a world of myths, legends, destiny, and duty.
With no one to fully trust and her entire world changing all around her, Maki must accept who she is in time to save her world.
As someone who has spent a good deal of time in between Japan and the US, I was super excited to dive into Maki's adventure.
While this is a fantasy (meaning many of the 'real world' rules of modern-day Japan can be different, of course), I honestly felt a bit disappointed by the disconnect from the Japanese culture I have seen/lived and what is shown here. The story takes a bit of an otaku-style take on what Japanese life is, as opposed to reality.
For example, until very recently (as in the last year or two) girls would not be permitted to deviate from the school's mandated hair colors/styles except at a very select few types of schools. She does go to an international school, though, so maybe it could stretch to that? Also, though everyone in this story seems to live in fancy houses in Tokyo, 'posh' neighborhoods are not that common in Tokyo proper. There are a few higher-wealth districts, but would so many international students live there? Or is it just the witches?
While these world-building details are minor in comparison to the overall plot and character building, they stood out so much that it made it difficult for me, personally, to feel like this was relatable or imaginable in that setting.
If you're able to suspend your belief or play a bit more into the anime/manga-style adaptations of Tokyo and Japan (which I love, too), then this story will sweep you away a bit more.
I LOVED the lore of so many cultures being woven into the mythological side of this story. There is Egyptian, Greek, a flash of Japanese, and more all brought together in an original story about power (and what happens when bad beings want too much of it).
There is a definite Shadowhunters vibe to a great deal of this, from things that happen to/with Maki's mother and the villain, to even using the exact same terminology in places and the glamoured buildings. This mixes with an old-school Buffy vibe of a chosen one against the dark powers with her group of friends set-up.
Aside from the world-building, my primary reason for rating this piece a three is that though it covers a lot of plot in a single book, it is so plot driven that the character growth can feel rushed in places and many scenes were difficult to picture as I read (it is heavy on dialogue and action, but not as much setting and internal growth, though internal growth is hinted at as a key theme).
Yoruba Knight covers an ambitious level of content for such a short novel, and could have easily been twice as long to slow the flow of action one scene after another, in order to let us just 'be' with the characters a bit more and see them in between those high-stress moments.
If you're looking for a high-paced story about a main character who is thrust into the magical side of their world as a 'chosen one', with darkness and light at odds and mythology thrown in, this is definitely a high-action piece that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
When witches and warlocks randomly find a way to show up in her life, and magical fire starts shooting out of her eyes (and all on her sixteenth birthday), Maki is swept away into a world of myths, legends, destiny, and duty.
With no one to fully trust and her entire world changing all around her, Maki must accept who she is in time to save her world.
As someone who has spent a good deal of time in between Japan and the US, I was super excited to dive into Maki's adventure.
While this is a fantasy (meaning many of the 'real world' rules of modern-day Japan can be different, of course), I honestly felt a bit disappointed by the disconnect from the Japanese culture I have seen/lived and what is shown here. The story takes a bit of an otaku-style take on what Japanese life is, as opposed to reality.
For example, until very recently (as in the last year or two) girls would not be permitted to deviate from the school's mandated hair colors/styles except at a very select few types of schools. She does go to an international school, though, so maybe it could stretch to that? Also, though everyone in this story seems to live in fancy houses in Tokyo, 'posh' neighborhoods are not that common in Tokyo proper. There are a few higher-wealth districts, but would so many international students live there? Or is it just the witches?
While these world-building details are minor in comparison to the overall plot and character building, they stood out so much that it made it difficult for me, personally, to feel like this was relatable or imaginable in that setting.
If you're able to suspend your belief or play a bit more into the anime/manga-style adaptations of Tokyo and Japan (which I love, too), then this story will sweep you away a bit more.
I LOVED the lore of so many cultures being woven into the mythological side of this story. There is Egyptian, Greek, a flash of Japanese, and more all brought together in an original story about power (and what happens when bad beings want too much of it).
There is a definite Shadowhunters vibe to a great deal of this, from things that happen to/with Maki's mother and the villain, to even using the exact same terminology in places and the glamoured buildings. This mixes with an old-school Buffy vibe of a chosen one against the dark powers with her group of friends set-up.
Aside from the world-building, my primary reason for rating this piece a three is that though it covers a lot of plot in a single book, it is so plot driven that the character growth can feel rushed in places and many scenes were difficult to picture as I read (it is heavy on dialogue and action, but not as much setting and internal growth, though internal growth is hinted at as a key theme).
Yoruba Knight covers an ambitious level of content for such a short novel, and could have easily been twice as long to slow the flow of action one scene after another, in order to let us just 'be' with the characters a bit more and see them in between those high-stress moments.
If you're looking for a high-paced story about a main character who is thrust into the magical side of their world as a 'chosen one', with darkness and light at odds and mythology thrown in, this is definitely a high-action piece that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
October 22, 2024
Witchcraft and friendship
After Yoruba's mum dies, she leaves America to go and live with her father in Japan.
A strange new world gets even stranger when two bullies in class turn out to be witches.
From the get go, lots of action, magic, and personal growth.
Fun YA fantasy.
Too much swearing for me but I know that's just my preference, otherwise a good fast paced fantasy.
After Yoruba's mum dies, she leaves America to go and live with her father in Japan.
A strange new world gets even stranger when two bullies in class turn out to be witches.
From the get go, lots of action, magic, and personal growth.
Fun YA fantasy.
Too much swearing for me but I know that's just my preference, otherwise a good fast paced fantasy.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews