The Magnolia Sword: A Ballad of Mulan by Sherry Thomas

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Magnolia Sword: A Ballad of Mulan by Sherry Thomas Fiona Hartley-Kroeger Thomas, Sherry The Magnolia Sword: A Ballad of Mulan. Tu/Lee & Low, 2019 [352p] ISBN 978-1-62014-804-4 $19.95 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 7-10 Disguised as her long-dead twin brother, Hua Mulan has trained all her life to wield one of a pair of twin swords in a hereditary duel with Yuan Kai, a member of the rival family that possesses the other sword. The appointed duel is postponed, however, when both she and her opponent are conscripted into the Northern states' conflict with invading tribes, and Mulan soon learns that fighting a war is very different from dueling a single, predestined opponent. Her skill as an elite martial artist lands her on a secret scouting team led by a royal princeling—who, Mulan suspects, is none other than Yuan Kai. Thomas hews more closely to Chinese legend and wuxia (Chinese martial arts fiction—think Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) tropes than to Disney, and the wuxia inspiration is evident in the gloriously precise fight sequences and the almost supernatural skills that Mulan and Kai display as they deal with treachery and geopolitics. Though she's already an expert fighter, Mulan grows in other ways: she navigates tensions between familial and patriotic obligations, her father's past and her own present, and her lifelong place in the shadow of her dead brother. Larger questions about national identity and cultural and linguistic assimilation thread through the fictionalized fifth-century Chinese setting, while a sweetly decorous romance complements Mulan and her comrades' dedication to courage, duty, and friendship. Notes on the author's historical and cultural research are included, with much attention paid to the diverse peoples of fifth-century China but only passing mention made of the original Mulan story. Readers may be inspired to embark on research of their own. [End Page 93] Copyright © 2019 Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois