The Forest of Stolen Girls

In 1462 Joseon Korea, Min Hwani, 18, returns to her hometown on Jeju Island to find the renowned detective Min Jewoo—her missing father, who disappeared a year ago after going to investigate the case of “13 girls missing in the past four years.” Five years prior to the start of the novel, Hwani and her sister Maewol, three years younger, were tangentially involved in the Forest Incident, located unconscious “near the scene of the crime,” a forest where a young woman’s body was also found. Left behind on Jeju to be raised by Shaman Nokyung after experiencing the shamanic calling, Maewol is now estranged from Hwani, who moved to the mainland with their father. But when the sisters realize that a man in a white mask is the common factor between past and present crimes, they join forces to solve the case. Crafting a suspenseful, atmospheric historical mystery, Hur (The Silence of Bones) explores women’s lack of bodily agency during this time and the dangers of obsessive protection, adroitly interweaving the historical context of the real horrors that afflicted Korean women from the 13th-century Mongol rule until after 1435. Ages 14–up. [em]Agent: Amy Elizabeth Bishop, DG&B. (Apr.) [/em]