Mulan has been a symbol of female empowerment since her movie came out, but she has been an inspiration long before the 1998 movie since her legend has been around for centuries. Lin inspired by both her legend and the movie crafts her own tale of Mulan figuring out her destiny before she saves China when she journeys across the human plane to save the life of her sister.

Mulan is contrasted with the rest of society as ungainly, clumsy, rash and too strong. Always making mistakes and beraking shrines, Mulan wishes she could fit into the proper model of a girl so she could bring honor to her family. After all, family is the biggest part of her life and when her little sister, Xiu is bitten by a deadly spider, she is desperate to save her.

For this is no ordinary deadly spider, but the evil shapeshifter spirit, Daji aka the White Fox who believes Xiu will one day save the Emperor of China and had targeted her to stop the prophacy from ever coming to pass.

While readers know the truth, Mulan and Daji are completely in the dark as they both underestimate the girl who doesn’t fit into the norms, that her strength and determination will one day be her greatest assests.

Since the bite is from magical poison, it is much more difficult to find the cure and thanks to Mulan’s stuffed nose, she is able to evade the Healer’s mystical time-stopping smoke so she can help him find ingredients for the decocation.

Lin pulls from different Chinese myths such as the Jade White Rabbit whose the companion to the Lady of the Moon and a healer, acting as a guide for Mulan in her quest. There’s the roguish leader-type Lu Ting-Pin whose contributions were very enjoyable. Finally, there’s the Red Fox spirit, Xianniang that is enslaved to follow Daji and provides a tragic foil to Mulan.

It’s an entertaining race against time with opulent imagery and creative twists that tie the various legends that Mulan encounters together in a satisfying conclusion. Since this is before the events of Mulan saving China, there’s not much in the way of character development for Mulan but it is nice to see her coming into her own and coming to recognize her skills and be praised for them.

While it is an original story, the epilogue from Xiannang’s POV (of which she has several short chapters expanding her servitude and tragic figure) seems to tie the book to the 2020 remake.

Since most of the chapters are 5 or 3 pages, one breezes through from obstacle to obstacle that Daji puts in their path. It’s also a bit predictable as readers will be able to easily figure out Daji’s disguises even though Mulan is slow to realize who the true villain is. Nonetheless, they’ll enjoy the original story and incorporation of Chinese myth and history that give Mulan another chance to ride to the rescue of those she loves.