A Korean American teen grapples with love, an overbearing father, and grief, all while trapped in her own webcomic in this imaginative YA speculative fiction by Ellen Oh (Spirit Hunters series; editor, You Are Here: Connecting Flights).
Seventeen-year-old Mina Lee wants to attend art school and be an artist like her mom, but ever since her mom died, her father wants Mina to attend a "real" college. Mina is tired of being a "pawn in someone else's chess game" and wants to prove to her dad that her talent is worth pursuing. She creates a webcomic featuring superpowered teens--one of whom is Jin, Mina's childhood best friend who died when he was six--who contend with bullying and espionage at their school. Then something strange happens: some kind of electrical storm transports Mina to school, where the main character of her webcomic, Sophia, is "trying to kill her." Mina is inside the world she created and tangled up in its drama, including a "K-drama-y" love triangle with Jin. Now Mina must find her way back to her reality before she is lost to this one.
The Colliding Worlds of Mina Lee is Oh's homage to an animated music video created by '80s band A-Ha for their hit "Take on Me." Oh's absorbing speculative novel evokes the same themes as the music video--love, taking risks, and overcoming challenges--with a K-drama spin that embraces all the tropes. Swoony love scenes, high-stakes action, and easy banter effortlessly share the page with poignant discussions of grief and loneliness. Mina's story enchants with its thoughtful reflections on love, loss, and chasing one's dreams. --Lana Barnes, freelance reviewer and proofreader