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A Magical Girl Retires (Nomad Edition)

A Novel
By Park Seolyeon
0.0 (0 reviews)
3.55 goodreads logo

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Brief Description
“Korean author Park Seolyeon’s English-language debut succeeds in ways no other recent novel has: in portraying the anxiety-riddled realities of coming of age in our present moment through an unexpected and fantastical lens.”—The Rumpus.com A millennial turned magical girl must combat climate change and credit card... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$4800

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“Korean author Park Seolyeon’s English-language debut succeeds in ways no other recent novel has: in portraying the anxiety-riddled realities of coming of age in our present moment through an unexpected and fantastical lens.”—The Rumpus.com

A millennial turned magical girl must combat climate change and credit card debt in this delightful, witty, and wildly imaginative ode to magical girl manga, now available in a convenient pocket-sized portable Nomad Edition.

Twenty-nine, depressed, and drowning in credit card debt after losing her job during the pandemic, a millennial woman decides to end her troubles by jumping off Seoul’s Mapo Bridge.

But her suicide attempt is interrupted by a girl dressed all in white—her guardian angel. Ah Roa is a clairvoyant magical girl on a mission to find the greatest magical girl of all time. And our protagonist just may be that special someone.

But the young woman’s initial excitement turns to frustration when she learns being a magical girl in real life is much different than how it’s portrayed in stories. It isn’t just destiny—it’s work. Magical girls go to job fairs, join trade unions, attend classes. And for this magical girl, there are no special powers and no great perks, and despite being magical, she still battles with low self-esteem. Her magic wand... is a credit card—which she must use to defeat a terrifying threat that isn’t a monster or an intergalactic war. It’s global climate change. Because magical girls need to think about sustainability, too.

Park Seolyeon reimagines classic fantasy tropes in a novel that explores real-world challenges that are both deeply personal and universal: the search for meaning and the desire to do good in a world that feels like it’s ending. A fun, fast-paced, and enchanting narrative that sparkles thanks to award-nominated translator Anton Hur, A Magical Girl Retires reminds us that we are all magical girls—that fighting evil by moonlight and winning love by daylight can be anyone's game.

Translated from the Korean by Anton Hur.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780063469242

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 06 November 2025

Country: United States

Imprint: HarperVia

Contributors:

  • Translated by Anton Hur

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 105.0mm

Height: 149.0mm

Weight: 295g

Pages: 192

Collections

Education & Reference Fantasy Fiction General Fiction Literary Fiction Park Seolyeon Sci-Fi & Fantasy

About the Author

Anton Hur was born in Stockholm, Sweden, and was subsequently raised in six different countries on four different continents, including British Hong Kong, Ethiopia, the United States, and Thailand, but spent most of his time in Korea. He has worked as an interpreter and translator for more than two decades, and in 2022, was double-longlisted and shortlisted for the International Booker Prize, the first translator of color to do so. In 2023, his translation of Bora Chung's Cursed Bunny was shortlisted for the National Book Awards. He divides his time between Seoul and the science fiction-y island of Songdo with his husband.

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  • A Magical Girl Retires
    A millennial turned magical girl must combat climate change and credit card debt in this delightful, witty, and wildly imaginative ode to magical girl manga. Twenty-nine, depressed, and drowning in credit card debt after losing her job during the pandemic, a millennial woman decides to end her troubles by jumping off Seoul’s Mapo Bridge. But her suicide attempt is interrupted...
    By Park Seolyeon
    Paperback
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