Yeong-Gwang’s debut novel is bursting with magical realism, a thought-provoking, feel-good storyline, a light touch of fantasy, and a cast of fun characters, including a magical, size-changing spirit guide cat named Issha, who behaves more like a puppy. Honestly, the cat was the most heartfelt, genuine character. The simplistic writing, perhaps attributed to a poor translation issue, is suitable for a middle school audience.

Set in North Korea, Yeong-Gwang introduces us to Serin, a school girl, age undetermined, who reads about a magical place, The Rainfall Market, where one can purchase a glass orb containing the life they wish for run by human-like people called the Dokkaebi. This term is something else lost in translation since their description doesn’t fit the Korean lore: Dokkaebi are nature deities or spirits, Korean goblins, possessing extraordinary powers and abilities that allow them to interact with and play tricks on humans, and always depicted as fearsome and awe-inspiring not human-like people.

Serin’s favorite radio program has a segment called Stories from the Listeners, where one listener’s letter of their hardships earns them a ticket to The Rainfall Market. She writes the show her letter about how her father died when she was young, her sister ran away, and she is friendless, with zero prospects for her future. When they choose her letter, she embarks on an unimaginable adventure to the Rainfall Market, where pursuing the dream life she wants proves to be more dangerous than she could’ve imagined since someone there is no longer playing by the rules.

Yeong-Gwang took too long to get the action going; the climax occurred near the end, and the denouement felt like cliff jumping and landing face-first in a basin of frigid water. The entire book is a caveat emptor theme, and then it makes a three-sixty turn without warning, and evil lurks in every corner—enough to give any reader whiplash. As for character development, it was lackluster. Why is Serin’s mother so clueless? What happened to the sister? So much potential is left unanswered.

The redeemable aspects of this book were Serin’s youthful self-discovery mid-peril and the adorable kitty companion, which made it a charming 2.5-star read.