Vicious Spirits by Kat Cho

Relationships are a major part of Vicious Spirits, the sequel to Wicked Fox, by Kat Cho. Family, friendship, and love all play a role in plot and character development.

How the characters form relationships and cultivate them is a main point throughout the book: what are you willing to do for those you love? How do you deal with complicated family relations? And what sacrifices are you willing to make for the people you love? All of these are questions the main characters  -Somin, Miyoung, Jihoon, Junu- must navigate.

This narrative definitely focuses more on romance than Wicked Fox, as we follow Somin and Junu on their “hate to love” journey. The author takes their relationship (and all relationships in this story) very seriously: how you treat others, your respect for them, and the dynamics in the relationship. Overall, the characters are learning to be themselves while also learning how to be their best selves for their loved ones. With this, comes conversations about what they deserve from those around them. Do they deserve love after all they’ve done? Truly, we discover that it is not up to us to decide if someone loves us. 

In addition, there’s a lot of character development that each protagonist goes through challenges to meet. For instance, Junu goes from arrogant to thoughtful as he breaks down the walls he built to keep people out. He reveals his dark past to his friends and realizes that people change, and he can change too. Junu is at the forefront of this book -alongside Somin- as their dialogue is made up of banter. Junu challenges Somin that he can make her fall in love with him. However, Somin has always felt disdain for Junu’s sarcastic attitude. Along the way, Somin begins opening up to Junu about her vulnerabilities and desires. While confiding in each other, they end up falling for each other. So, we get to learn about Somin and Junu’s character depth: their secrets, past, and struggles. 

Now, for the overall plot: Miyoung’s fox bead is trapped in the “Between,” a place ghosts dwell before moving to the afterlife. This creates a tear in the Between and human world, allowing ghosts to exist among the living. Of course, this creates dire consequences by shifting the balance of life and death. The fox bead is connected to Yena, Miyoung’s mother. The only way  to get the bead back is by using a dokkaebi’s  staff, therefore Junu (a chonggak dokkaebi) must find the staff he abandoned long ago. 

Vicious Spirits also delves deeper into Korean mythology and the supernatural. We learn more about dokkaebi magic and meet a new character, the Reaper, who collects souls and helps balance life and death. 

Finally, Vicious Spirits is a whirlwind of emotions. One scene is soaked in comical dialogue, and the next scene will be a bleeding heart conversation that’ll leave you thinking about those closest to you. This book also deals heavily with grief and grieving family, while allowing the people you trust comfort you. The characters learn to confide in each other and be thankful for the relationships they have. Every conversation in the book, specifically towards the end, are completely genuine and heartfelt; it feels like the author is speaking directly to the reader.