Asian American Literature Fans

A Review of Ellen Oh’s Spirit Hunters #2: Isle of Monsters (Harper Children’s Division, 2018)
By Stephen Hong Sohn

I was really excited to read the follow up to Ellen Oh’s first in the Spirit Hunters series, which is titled Spirit Hunters #2: Isle of Monsters (Harper Children’s Division, 2018). B&N gives us this too-pithy background: “We Need Diverse Books founder Ellen Oh delivers the next haunting tale in her acclaimed middle grade series Spirit Hunters, a mix of captivating mystery and chilling ghost story. The perfect spooky read for Halloween, this pulse-pounding adventure will leave you shocked at every twist. Harper Raine faces new challenges ahead when her parents take the whole family to a remote tropical island for vacation. As Harper starts to have visions of the resort’s history of disappearances and discovers more about the island’s dark and fabled past, she must use her newly acquired spirit hunting talents to save everyone on the island from murderous spirits on the attack. An exciting and spooky middle grade series, perfect for Halloween reads.”  

The reference to We Need Diverse Books is an important one, as Oh has been part of a cadre of those connected to the publishing industry who are actively seeking to promote more books with minority protagonists and associated plotlines. In any case, B&N’s description really undersells the “diversity” aspect of Spirit Hunters. It’s protagonist Harper Raine is biracial, half white and half Asian (by way of Korean ethnic ancestry). She comes from a line of Korean shamans, known as mudang, who are tasked (at least in the case of the novel) with policing the ghosts of the afterlife, especially those who have not yet passed into the light. The opening of the novel complicates Harper’s work, especially when she discovers that there’s another action she must engage in: the vanquishing of demons who thrive on the consumption of spectral souls. Yes, not only must she contend with malevolent ghosts who want to possess bodies, there are also demons that attempt to prevent ghosts from passing on and even imprison them through a form of apparitional consumption. In any case, the spook-value of this novel is very high, and I’m surprised it’s actually targeted for middle grade readers. If it weren’t in the middle of summer with high temperatures and the fact that I was too hot and sweaty to really be scared, then I might have put down the novel for fear that the bumps I was hearing were not just the trees against my window.

The plotting shifts once Harper and her family vacation on a Caribbean island. Once there, she feels the presence of another malevolent force, not unlike the one she experienced at the opening of the novel. Fortunately, her whole family is around, including her older sister Kelly (who might be able to see ghosts but is unwilling to admit it), her younger brother Michael (who apparently can also see ghosts), her best friend Dayo; she also meets up with her unctuous cousin Leo (who also apparently can see ghosts). She has the support of her family, especially as she attempts to unravel a larger mystery: why there are no ghosts on the island despite the fact that she feels some phantom-like presence. The darkness of the island is eventually elucidated, and readers are treated to some interesting flashback sequences in which Harper seems to be having dreams that push her back into the past. Certainly, her powers as a mudang seem to be growing.

I found the language and dialogue in these historical sequences distracting (especially phrases like “I do declare”), but I also found Oh’s sophomore effort to be, of course, entertaining. And if the goal of the We Need Diverse Books Campaign is, in part, to make sure there are minority protagonists who have complicated, textured portrayals in novels that have larger social importance, then we’re certainly in the right place. I did wonder about aspects of indigeneity that the novel mostly glosses over given the Caribbean locale, but Oh avoids some of these pitfalls through a convenient plotting issue and the fact that the island itself is fictional. Otherwise, another solid middle grade outing from Oh and certainly one that will track well for the Halloween Holiday! BOO!

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Review Author: Stephen Hong Sohn
Review Editor: Leslie J. Fernandez

If you have any questions or want us to consider your book for review, please don’t hesitate to contact us via email!
Prof. Stephen Hong Sohn at ssohnucr@gmail.com
Leslie J. Fernandez, PhD Student in English, at lfern010@ucr.edu