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June Hur: A Crane Among Wolves with Ellen Oh

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Author Photo: © Julie Anna Tang |      

"Award-winner Hur’s latest historical intrigue is well researched and doesn’t shy away from depicting elements of this real king’s brutal history, and the resulting tale is immersive, intense, and engaging. A page-turner." —Kirkus Reviews

To save her sister, a teen girl becomes entangled in a political conspiracy with an enigmatic prince in this fiery new YA novel. June Hur, bestselling author of The Red Palace, returns with a devastating and pulse-pounding tale based on a true story from Korean history.

A Crane Among Wolves is set in 1506 Joseon, where people suffer under the cruel reign of the tyrant King Yeonsan, powerless to stop him from commandeering their land for his recreational use, banning and burning books, and kidnapping and horrifically abusing women and girls as his personal playthings.

Seventeen-year-old Iseul has lived a sheltered, privileged life despite the kingdom’s turmoil. When her older sister, Suyeon, becomes the king’s latest prey, Iseul leaves the relative safety of her village, traveling through forbidden territory to reach the capital in hopes of stealing her sister back. But she soon discovers the king’s power is absolute, and to challenge his rule is to court certain death.

Prince Daehyun has lived his whole life in the terrifying shadow of his despicable half-brother, the king. Forced to watch King Yeonsan flaunt his predation through executions and rampant abuse of the common folk, Daehyun aches to find a way to dethrone his half-brother once and for all.

When Iseul's and Daehyun's fates collide, their contempt for each other is transcended only by their mutual hate for the king. Armed with Iseul’s family connections and Daehyun’s royal access, they reluctantly join forces to launch the riskiest gamble the kingdom has ever seen.

In her conversation with Ellen Oh, June Hur discusses her new novel and writing YA novels based on lives and stories from Korean history.

 

June Hur: A Crane Among Wolves with Ellen Oh

Monday, May 13, 2024 | 6 PM (EDT)


The Korea Society
350 Madison Avenue, 24th Floor
New York, NY 10017

 

 


About the Speaker:

June Hur is a bestselling and Edgar Award-winning author of YA historicals, including The Silence of Bones, The Forest of Stolen Girls, The Red Palace, and A Crane Among Wolves. Born in South Korea, Hur spent her formative years in the USA, Canada, and South Korea before studying History and Literature at the University of Toronto, and working at the city’s public library. Her work has been featured in Forbes, NPR, The New York Times, CBC, and KBS. June resides in Toronto with her family and can be spotted writing in coffee shops.

 

About the Moderator:



 

Ellen Oh is the author of the new young adult novel The Colliding Worlds of Mina Lee and an award-winning author of middle grade novels Haru Zombie Dog Hero, Finding Junie Kim, Dragon Egg Princess, The Spirit Hunters trilogy and The Prophecy Series: Prophecy, Warrior and King. She is the editor and contributor of You Are Here: Connecting Flights, a collection of interwoven stories, editor of the middle grade anthology Flying Lessons and Other Stories and the young adult anthology A Thousand Beginnings and Endings. She is a founding member of We Need Diverse Books, a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing diversity in children's literature. Oh lives in Rockville, Md., with her husband, three human children and two dog children.


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