Equal parts Harry Potter and Mean Girls, Little Queen is as much about adolescent relationships and popularity contests as it is about magical boarding schools and facing one's destiny.

At Rohini Academy the ultimate honor is to be named the "Queen of Light." The bearer of this revered title is entrusted with protecting the land from the influence of her evil counterpart, the "King of Darkness." 

Enter June, a young girl, long on attitude, but short on ambition. However, for reasons she doesn't fully understand, her good looks and carefree manner have made her the front-runner for this season's run at the title of Queen. Of course this doesn't sit well with Lucia, one of June's classmates, who's had her sights set on the Queen's crown for some time now. Lucia is serious and determined, but maybe a bit too somber to compete with the effervescent glow that seems to surround June.

Complicating matters is Sejuru, a handsome young boy who grew up with June's family after being discovered alone and crying in her field. Just like every other girl at the academy, Lucia has the hots for Sejuru, and goes so far as to announce that he's too good for someone unrefined as June.

Well, if June wasn't motivated to trounce Lucia before, she sure is now -- and it is ON.

Yeon-Joo Kim's art is extremely elegant, with a lighter-than-air quality to her line work. Her willowy characters seem to float through their surroundings in a created world where even the most mundane settings have the look of a dreamscape. Little Queen's female protagonists have just the right mix of cattiness and vulnerability to allow us to empathize with (if not always root for) them. Add to this confection the allusion that the pretty boy in the triangle may have a mysterious dark past, and you've got the icing on the cake.

If you like your fantasy breezy, your boys pretty and your girls just a little bit nasty, then Yeon-Joo Kim's Little Queen is certain to cast its spell on you.

~Bryce P. Coleman, Editor

Class rivals June and Lucia vie for the honor of being named the Queen of Light, entrusted with protecting the people from the King of Darkness.

June is an attractive girl whose feisty, hot temper and general laziness may prevent her from receiving the crown

Lucia has a more regal quality and a strong desire to match, but she is always overshadowed by June.

Will petty jealousies, love triangles, and one cute boy interfere with the Queen's royal duty?!

Lucia  
Lucia is another contender to become the queen. She has a more regal quality, as well as a strong desire, but she is always overshadowed by June. 
 
Sejuru 
Sejuru is a boy who June brought home after she found him crying one day and they grew up together since they were little; they are best friends. Lucia, as well as everyone else in school, is in love with Sejuru. 
 
June  
June is the main contender to be named the Queen of Light in the eyes of the heads of the school for some reason--probably because she is extremely pretty. But, June is also feisty, hot tempered and a very lazy girl without the requisite motivation or desire to become the Queen. 

Member reviews:
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by AznJuliet on December 17, 2006 This is the first mahawa i have ever read done by Kim Yeon-Joo and i want MORE!!