Archer's Quest (review)

Twelve-year-old Kevin is understandably startled by the sudden materialization of a young Korean man in his room. The mystery man's name is Chu-Mong, though he and Kevin settle on Archer as a more appropriate modern moniker; his destined role is founder and king of Korea in 37 B.C., but he and Kevin realize that his future is anything but certain in present-day New York. Kevin and Archer both quickly suss out, however, that a short-lived confluence of shared zodiac signs and elements marks the brief window of time wherein they must send Archer back to his own time. As they scramble through the city searching for clues, Kevin, formerly indifferent to his Korean heritage, learns Korean history and acquires reverence for his culture through Archer's personal stories; in turn, Kevin teaches Archer bathroom jokes and modern slang. While the oft-told convention of "previously uninterested kid learns history by living it" is a well-worn one, it is given a new twist by combining it with the realistic struggles Kevin faces as an Asian American, trying to balance Korean and American cultures in dealing with family and peers. Park successfully leavens these lessons with effective storytelling, middle-grade humor, and a quick pace, ensuring things never become too serious. An author's note explains the rather complicated math formula that readers would have to utilize in order to solve the mystery on their own, though most will be content to wait for Kevin to do the work.