Reviewed by: A Thousand Steps into Night by Traci Chee Kate Quealy-Gainer, Editor Chee, Traci A Thousand Steps into Night. Clarion, 2022 [382p] Trade ed. ISBN 9780358469988 $18.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9780358469995 $9.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. 7-10 Too loud, too opinionated, and not at all what a girl in the realm of Awara is supposed to be, seventeen-year-old Miuko is barely tolerated by her neighbors in the isolated town of Nihaoi. So when she’s kissed by a shaoha, a death demon, and begins to slowly transform into one herself, it’s easy for the villagers—including her beloved father—to cast her out. After learning that the followers of the December God could potentially remove her curse, she begins to trek north, accompanied by a chatty trickster spirit and pursued by the doro yagra, a demon prince bent on making her his partner in destruction once she is fully changed. It’s a race against time as the curse continues to spread through her body, but as her powers grow, she begins to wonder if she wants to remain mortal after all. Chee (We Are Not Free, BCCB 09/20) skillfully builds her Japanese-inspired world, carefully balancing needed exposition (and even providing helpful footnotes) with information that can be teased out of context, thus keeping a quick pace and an immersive feel. An occasional bit of sass in the third-person narration brings humor to an otherwise dire situation, and encounters with various spirit creatures, homicidal humans, helpful horses, and a talkative magpie make Miuko’s journey a true adventure. Observations on the limits of girlhood and gender definitions are thoughtful if not subtle, and Miuko’s struggle with the ethics and morals of humanity versus demonhood is truly compelling: why should she care about people who so easily [End Page 215] tossed her aside when she could wield unending power over them? Offering both substance and style, this makes an easy recommendation for fans of Uehashi’s The Beast Player (BCCB 3/19). Copyright © 2022 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois