Phoenix Extravagant (2020)-Yoon Ha Lee
If you’re a fan of fictional world-building and fantasy this is probably one of the few that I would recommend
Content Warnings: War, death, violence, colonization, mild sexual content, torture, confinement
Rep: East Asian characters (fictional origin), nonbinary, nblw, wlw, polyamory
Fav Quote: “Jebi was torn between saying 'You are embarrassing me' and 'I am going to take up my brush and make a painting of you that they will talk about for the next 10,000 years'. They said neither.”
Phoenix Extravagant is a fantasy YA novel set in the fictional country Hwaguk 6 years under the rule of the invading country Razan—a dynamic inspired by the Japanese occupation of Korea. It follows Jebi, an artist who against the warnings from their sister, allows themself to become a “collaborator” for the Razanei as a painter for the Ministry of Armor. From this position, Jebi is then exposed to the horrific practices of the Razanei to maintain control of Hwaguk through their magically operated automatons.
Consistently throughout the novel, Jebi expresses that they only ever wanted to paint. They did not sign up to be a collaborator nor a revolutionary fighter, but when left with no other option, Jebi finds themselves entangled in both. Naturally this escalates to them having an ill-advised affair with a Razanei official and attempting to break a giant automaton dragon out of Razan’s control.
Jebi is by all means a likeable character, but they are incredibly prone to making poor decisions to the exasperation of their sister Bongsunga. Bongsunga practically raised Jebi even while mourning the death of her wife at the hands of the Razanei. Jebi continues to remain indifferent to Razanei rule, however, enabling them to become a collaborator. When it comes down to it though, Jebi has their own convictions that guide their ultimate decisions despite their flaws.
The novel itself is a good balance of simplicity and maturity. There are undeniable YA aspects, but I would challenge the classification due to the violence and sexual content. Generally, I do not gravitate toward fantasy novels, particularly ones with any form of a convoluted magic system, but this book was relatively straight forward in its worldbuilding and reiterates the names and dynamics of the countries involved and the characters so that the reader doesn’t become lost. Additionally, the dragon character Arazi really sells the book and makes it a fun read.