The Night Window: A Jane Hawk Novel
9.0
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Since her sensational debut in The Silent Corner, readers have been riveted by Jane Hawk's resolute...
Jane Hawk Book series Suspense Thriller
The City Always Wins
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The Blue Pool
9.0
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What really happened that weekend? Four friends go to a remote cabin one summer. Only three return....
Lights on the Sea
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"Miquel Reina's Lights on the Sea is an absolutely lovely, beautiful novel with a dreamy, fable-like...
Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated The Dragon Warrior in Books
Jan 23, 2020
<h2><strong><em>The Dragon Warrior</em> is such a fun and delightful read</strong></h2>
<strong>I'm 1000% sure the middle school me who got swallowed by </strong><em><strong>Percy Jackson & the Olympians</strong></em><strong> would devour this book</strong> as quickly as she inhales all the dumplings, stuffed buns and dim sum. (Look, they're comfort food.) <em>The Dragon Warrior</em> really brings back the nostalgia of those times. <strong>Katie Zhao wrote a beautiful novel that promises fun and adventure featuring Chinese mythology.</strong>
Zhao's debut novel follows twelve-year-old Faryn Liu as she is revealed to be the Heaven Breaker after she crosses paths with a demon during Lunar New Year Festivities. She and her companions set off on a quest across various Chinatowns to find the island of immortals so she can prove she is worthy to take on the role.
But both she and her brother are outcasts in the Jade Society and have been treated as such for years. To the members in her local Jade Society, she's not worthy of such an important role and it's not something she plans for either (does any twelve-year-old though?). But despite frequently thinking about ròu bāo zi (I don't blame her; meat dumplings are delicious), Faryn readily steps into the role even if she might know what she's doing or feel ready to potentially command an army.
<h2><strong>Full of adventure and humor</strong></h2>
<strong><em>The Dragon Warrior</em> is a huge nod to my childhood, featuring various deities and other well-known figures from Chinese mythology.</strong> They're full of wit and sass that brought a constant smile to my face as they aided or deterred Faryn and her companions in the quest. The novel brings in aspects of family, tradition and honor, all of which are important parts of Chinese culture. It's clear throughout the novel Faryn has a strong bond with not just her brother, but also her Ye Ye.
<strong>Zhao's debut novel is a fast-paced, page-turning adventure that is chock full of humor</strong>; it's easy to forget this is a debut as this is extremely well-written, and I loved every second of it. Honestly, the only thing I'm disappointed is there probably won't be any sequels. (Someone please tell me there will be one???) <strong><em>The Dragon Warrior</em> is an engrossing story featuring Chinese mythology and tying in various aspects of the culture; </strong>I highly recommend this to Chinese American readers who want to see themselves in a world where Chinese mythology clashes into the modern world.
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/the-dragon-warrior-by-katie-zhao/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
Dan sellwood (1 KP) rated Dreams and Shadows in Books
Feb 2, 2018
While sounding at first like a magical fairy story you soon realise the story does carry a certain sadness and darkness. The djinn for example is cursed to only ever grant wishes that end in turmoil. You learn this through small chapters that centre around telling stories about the characters in the book, which I found to be a wonderful way to build chacterisation.
Despite being quite dark the book does well to build on characters enough so that you do find yourself getting attached to them. So not only are the characters well thought through but they bring enough personality and emotion to evoke lots of feeling in the reader.
While I don't promise this book will bring you a happy ending, its hard to put down and will certainly have you wanting to move on to the sequel.
FilmIntuition (33 KP) rated Darius the Great is Not Okay in Books
Sep 15, 2018
Bursting with vivid imagery and a wholly original first-person point-of-view right from the start, Darius the Great is Not Okay - about a half Persian, half Caucasian teenager who travels with his family to visit his maternal grandparents for the first time in Iran - is sure to be one of the genre's breakout successes of 2018.
A timely, fresh, and relatable character driven work, the book centers on Darius Kellner's search for that one place in which he fits.
Understanding the complexity of being a teenager, Adib Khorram tackles Darius Kellner's "outsider" status from a variety of perspectives bound to ring true to readers from envying his younger sister's relationship with his father to being bullied or ridiculed on two continents.
Finding a true friend in the last place he expected, which causes him to learn more about himself in the process, Darius the Great's sensitivity and commitment to the people on and off the page makes it a standout for Fall.
The Dependents
4.0
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A wise and lyrical debut novel about a new widower confronting the truth about his long marriage. ...