Park Seolyeon

In this charmingly chaotic follow-up to A Magical Girl Retires, our favorite millennial-turned-magical girl begrudgingly returns to the workforce to fight crime and the forces of evil. Our protagonist from A Magical Girl Retires is done with the magical girl life . . . but the magical girl life isn't done with her. After her request to take early retirement is resoundingly rejected by the chairperson of the National Trade Union of Magical Girls, her trusted friend and guardian angel Ah Roa asks our mostly-over-it magical to protect the now vulnerable members of the union, whose magical powers were severely diminished after the climactic battle with the Magical Girl of Time. With no choice, our magical girl returns to work. But given what happened last time, this new union rep can't afford to be anything less than a model employee. When a toxic substance leaks from a local factory, our protagonist must devise an impromptu rescue mission that puts her powers to the test and leads to a business retreat at the Far East Magical Girls Headquarters where she and Roa can rest and recharge. There they meet the secretive Na Dal and the suspiciously beautiful Ahn Jia. In fact, everyone at this HQ is a little sus . . . and cult-y. Which changes the mission of the retreat entirely. With everything so confusing and precarious, our protagonist puts a pause on relaxaing to protect the magical girl who matters to her most: Roa. Park Seolyeon's witty, imaginative, and purely fun sequel to A Magical Girl Retires—the mega-charming magical girl manga riff that captured BookTok's heart—expands the Magical Girl world as it explores modern issues, including unemployment, the housing crisis, and snake oil pseudo-religions. Translated by award-winning Anton Hur, A Magical Girl Rehired finds light in the darkness and inspires us to fight for love, justice—and perhaps even overtime.

STEMinist mecha fantasy meets reality television in this high-stakes novel from the author of A Magical Girl Retires--a wildly imaginative tale of sibling bonds, unexpected friendship, and an existential quest to understand what it means to be human. Robotics student Kim Wooram, runner-up at the World Gigantic Mechanics Olympiad, is a world-class pilot and engineer. Unlike many of her contemporaries, she likes working solo, preferring the company of robots to most other humans. Sought by robotics centers across the globe, she chooses to return to Korea after learning of an exciting new secret government robotic project known as V. To her disappointment, only male pilots are allowed to apply. Desperate for a chance to make history and encouraged by her twin brother, Boram, the usual rule-following Wooram makes a risky choice. Posing as Boram, she auditions for Project V, the reality competition show whose winner will pilot the robot V--and quickly becomes one of the top contestants in both skill and popularity. Wooram attracts fans and friends like Seojin, the show's youngest female writer and ardent "Boram" stan, and Jeonghoon, the clumsy but lovable underdog. She also gains a rival in Jinyoung, the ruthless heir to a Korean corporate dynasty. As Wooram comes tantalizingly close to achieving her goal, she begins to realize that V's arrogant AI is a ticking time bomb. With victory within reach, and her identity at stake, will Wooram destroy the robot of her dreams to save lives, or stick to the script? Project V is a playful yet sharp meditation on some of the most pressing issues roiling modern society in Korea and across the globe: the male dominance in STEM fields, the ethics of parasocial idolatry and our addiction to social media and reality television, and the promise and peril of an AI-oriented future. Punchy and compelling, Park Seolyeon's novel is a winning exploration of ambition and creation--a quintessential novel of our present and future for mecha fans and all curious readers. Translated from the Korean by Gene Png

“Korean author Park Seolyeon’s English-language debut succeeds in ways no other recent novel has: in portraying the anxiety-riddled realities of coming of age in our present moment through an unexpected and fantastical lens.”—The Rumpus.comA millennial turned magical girl must combat climate change and credit card debt in this delightful, witty, and wildly imaginative ode to magical girl manga, now available in a convenient pocket-sized portable Nomad Edition. Twenty-nine, depressed, and drowning in credit card debt after losing her job during the pandemic, a millennial woman decides to end her troubles by jumping off Seoul’s Mapo Bridge. But her suicide attempt is interrupted by a girl dressed all in white—her guardian angel. Ah Roa is a clairvoyant magical girl on a mission to find the greatest magical girl of all time. And our protagonist just may be that special someone. But the young woman’s initial excitement turns to frustration when she learns being a magical girl in real life is much different than how it’s portrayed in stories. It isn’t just destiny—it’s work. Magical girls go to job fairs, join trade unions, attend classes. And for this magical girl there are no special powers and no great perks, and despite being magical, she still battles with low self-esteem. Her magic wand . . . is a credit card—which she must use to defeat a terrifying threat that isn’t a monster or an intergalactic war. It’s global climate change. Because magical girls need to think about sustainability, too. Park Seolyeon reimagines classic fantasy tropes in a novel that explores real-world challenges that are both deeply personal and universal: the search for meaning and the desire to do good in a world that feels like it’s ending. A fun, fast-paced, and enchanting narrative that sparkles thanks to award-nominated translator Anton Hur, A Magical Girl Retires reminds us that we are all magical girls—that fighting evil by moonlight and winning love by daylight can be anyone's game. Translated from the Korean by Anton Hur

A millennial turned magical girl must combat climate change and credit card debt in this delightful, witty, and wildly imaginative ode to magical girl manga. Twenty-nine, depressed, and drowning in credit card debt after losing her job during the pandemic, a millennial woman decides to end her troubles by jumping off Seoul’s Mapo Bridge. But her suicide attempt is interrupted by a girl dressed all in white—her guardian angel. Ah Roa is a clairvoyant magical girl on a mission to find the greatest magical girl of all time. And our protagonist just may be that special someone. But the young woman’s initial excitement turns to frustration when she learns being a magical girl in real life is much different than how it’s portrayed in stories. It isn’t just destiny—it’s work. Magical girls go to job fairs, join trade unions, attend classes. And for this magical girl there are no special powers and no great perks, and despite being magical, she still battles with low self-esteem. Her magic wand . . . is a credit card—which she must use to defeat a terrifying threat that isn’t a monster or an intergalactic war. It’s global climate change. Because magical girls need to think about sustainability, too. Park Seolyeon reimagines classic fantasy tropes in a novel that explores real-world challenges that are both deeply personal and universal: the search for meaning and the desire to do good in a world that feels like it’s ending. A fun, fast-paced, and enchanting narrative that sparkles thanks to award-nominated translator Anton Hur, A Magical Girl Retires reminds us that we are all magical girls—that fighting evil by moonlight and winning love by daylight can be anyone's game. Translated from the Korean by Anton Hur