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judereadsalot's review
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
laura_cs's review
5.0
I received an ARC of this title from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Six months since her disastrous quest, Faryn Liu is struggling to adjust to life in the New York City Chinatown's New Order, figure out a way to reconcile with her traitor brother, and restore her lost father's memories. But now she and the two New Order misfits, siblings Jordan and Ashley, are sent on a quest to save the world from the Jade Emperor during the Hungry Ghost Festival. When the quest leads the young warriors to the Monkey King, they find themselves on a much more treacherous journey, with much higher stakes. For in order to stand a chance against the immortal warriors of Heaven, they must first descend into Diyu, the Underworld...
A thrilling sequel to Zhao's debut, "The Dragon Warrior", "The Fallen Hero" continues to dazzle with the presentation of Chinese mythology and culture, epic fight scenes, and sassy ghosts. Readers will be on the edge of their seats waiting for Book 3 of this saga, and continue to rally behind Faryn and her friends--especially as they all struggle with their inner demons (somewhat literally) and balance saving the world with growing up, finding where they're meant to be, and other typical pre-teen things.
Six months since her disastrous quest, Faryn Liu is struggling to adjust to life in the New York City Chinatown's New Order, figure out a way to reconcile with her traitor brother, and restore her lost father's memories. But now she and the two New Order misfits, siblings Jordan and Ashley, are sent on a quest to save the world from the Jade Emperor during the Hungry Ghost Festival. When the quest leads the young warriors to the Monkey King, they find themselves on a much more treacherous journey, with much higher stakes. For in order to stand a chance against the immortal warriors of Heaven, they must first descend into Diyu, the Underworld...
A thrilling sequel to Zhao's debut, "The Dragon Warrior", "The Fallen Hero" continues to dazzle with the presentation of Chinese mythology and culture, epic fight scenes, and sassy ghosts. Readers will be on the edge of their seats waiting for Book 3 of this saga, and continue to rally behind Faryn and her friends--especially as they all struggle with their inner demons (somewhat literally) and balance saving the world with growing up, finding where they're meant to be, and other typical pre-teen things.
alyshadeshae's review
5.0
This was a great follow up to the first book. And oh my Nokley that ending... I hope there are more to come!
brighthappyness's review
3.0
I'm sick. Who was gonna tell me this was NOT a duology 🧍🏽‍♀️Seeing how there's no release date in the near future and it's been four years, probably safe to assume this counts as the end of the series which....is not great. I'd be glad to go and revise my review if there ever is a third book but honestly even if there is one, the second book kinda dropped in quality compared to the first....tbh there's a sizable part of me that does not care that the series has essentially gone on hiatus with no resolution to the multiple plot threads just because of the quality drop lol so there's that to be thankful for
popthebutterfly's review against another edition
5.0
Disclaimer: I received this arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book: The Fallen Hero
Author: Katie Zhao
Book Series: The Dragon Warrior Book 2
Rating: 5/5
Diversity: Half Chinese main character, Half Chinese and Chinese side characters.
Recommended For...: mg fantasy, Chinese mythology
Publication Date: October 13, 2020
Genre: MG Fantasy
Recommended Age: 10+ (violence, slight gore)
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Kids
Pages: 336
Synopsis: Faryn Liu thought she was the Heaven Breaker, a warrior destined to wield the all-powerful spear Fenghuang, command dragons, and defeat demons. But a conniving goddess was manipulating her all along...and her beloved younger brother, Alex, has betrayed her and taken over as the Heaven Breaker instead. Alex never forgave the people who treated him and Faryn like outcasts, and now he wants to wipe out both the demons and most of humanity.
Determined to prevent a war and bring Alex back to her side, Faryn and her half-dragon friend Ren join the New Order, a group of warriors based out of Manhattan's Chinatown. She learns that one weapon can stand against Fenghuang--the Ruyi Jingu Bang. Only problem? It belongs to an infamous trickster, the Monkey King.
Faryn sets off on a daring quest to convince the Monkey King to join forces with her, one that will take her to new places--including Diyu, otherwise known as the Underworld--where she'll run into new dangers and more than one familiar face. Can she complete her mission and save the brother she loves, no matter the cost?
Review: Overall, this was an awesome book. The book improved so much on the first one and gave us so much character development and world building. The book also attacks the old Chosen One trope. The book did well to keep me intrigued throughout it.
The only issue I really had with this is that I thought the pacing was slower in this novel and a little bit too slow in some parts.
Verdict: A great series!
Book: The Fallen Hero
Author: Katie Zhao
Book Series: The Dragon Warrior Book 2
Rating: 5/5
Diversity: Half Chinese main character, Half Chinese and Chinese side characters.
Recommended For...: mg fantasy, Chinese mythology
Publication Date: October 13, 2020
Genre: MG Fantasy
Recommended Age: 10+ (violence, slight gore)
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Kids
Pages: 336
Synopsis: Faryn Liu thought she was the Heaven Breaker, a warrior destined to wield the all-powerful spear Fenghuang, command dragons, and defeat demons. But a conniving goddess was manipulating her all along...and her beloved younger brother, Alex, has betrayed her and taken over as the Heaven Breaker instead. Alex never forgave the people who treated him and Faryn like outcasts, and now he wants to wipe out both the demons and most of humanity.
Determined to prevent a war and bring Alex back to her side, Faryn and her half-dragon friend Ren join the New Order, a group of warriors based out of Manhattan's Chinatown. She learns that one weapon can stand against Fenghuang--the Ruyi Jingu Bang. Only problem? It belongs to an infamous trickster, the Monkey King.
Faryn sets off on a daring quest to convince the Monkey King to join forces with her, one that will take her to new places--including Diyu, otherwise known as the Underworld--where she'll run into new dangers and more than one familiar face. Can she complete her mission and save the brother she loves, no matter the cost?
Review: Overall, this was an awesome book. The book improved so much on the first one and gave us so much character development and world building. The book also attacks the old Chosen One trope. The book did well to keep me intrigued throughout it.
The only issue I really had with this is that I thought the pacing was slower in this novel and a little bit too slow in some parts.
Verdict: A great series!
kathryn_fletcher's review
4.0
Faryn is reeling from her brother’s betrayal. She feels shunned by the New Order people because one of their own died saving her. Her own father has no memory of her. Things couldn’t get much worse. Could they?
Of course they can!
The gods are ready for an all out war amongst themselves, which will not be very good for the mere humans that will get caught between the two factions.
Faryn must do all that she can to stop this war, save her brother from himself, and find a way to get her father’s memories back.
Who will like book The Fallen Hero?
Katie Zhao is a great storyteller, but in the beginning of this novel, I felt very strong echoes from the beginning of the first book. Faryn is living with people that resent her. She is called on a quest. She has to go with the person who hates her the most. Exactly like book one. I was a bit disappointed by that. BUT …if you loved book one and want more of the same, then awesome, this is the book for you! She delivers on that! I can’t help but wonder if she created this echo for a reason which we might understand in book 3.
I do like her writing style and her characters. The Chinese mythology was fascinating! Zhao has an excellent grasp of story telling. I see the threads of story weaving in and out. I will say this was not the end of the series. I’m thinking it’s a trilogy. She tied of one or two plot threads, but there are still a few hanging at the end of this book.
If you loved book one, then you’ll likely love this one too. I DO look forward to the end of this series–to see how she wraps it up.
Of course they can!
The gods are ready for an all out war amongst themselves, which will not be very good for the mere humans that will get caught between the two factions.
Faryn must do all that she can to stop this war, save her brother from himself, and find a way to get her father’s memories back.
Who will like book The Fallen Hero?
Katie Zhao is a great storyteller, but in the beginning of this novel, I felt very strong echoes from the beginning of the first book. Faryn is living with people that resent her. She is called on a quest. She has to go with the person who hates her the most. Exactly like book one. I was a bit disappointed by that. BUT …if you loved book one and want more of the same, then awesome, this is the book for you! She delivers on that! I can’t help but wonder if she created this echo for a reason which we might understand in book 3.
I do like her writing style and her characters. The Chinese mythology was fascinating! Zhao has an excellent grasp of story telling. I see the threads of story weaving in and out. I will say this was not the end of the series. I’m thinking it’s a trilogy. She tied of one or two plot threads, but there are still a few hanging at the end of this book.
If you loved book one, then you’ll likely love this one too. I DO look forward to the end of this series–to see how she wraps it up.
emperor_e's review
4.0
I didn’t enjoy this one quite as much as the first one, I didn’t think the plot was quite as good, but this was still a very good book. The characters continued to develop, the plot was still interesting, and I love the mythology. 4.5
writicious's review
4.0
The Fallen Hero continues where The Dragon Warrior left off, throwing the reader immediately in a fight scene. The heroes have joined The New Order in Chinatown, Manhattan, where they are trained into better warriors. Here they meet the outcasts Ashley and Jordan who will follow along on a new epic quest, given by their old friend Erlang Shen.
The sequel follows a similar route like the first part, staying true to the quest-trope. However, Faryn is no longer the Chosen One and it's interesting to see how she's dealing with it. Just like in the first part Zhao submerges us in a fusion of Chinese-American culture, which I love. We also learn more about Faryn and Alex' past, although much is still shrouded in mystery....
I did find some things to feel a bit of a repeat from book one, such as Ashley and Jordan being outcasts like Faryn and Alex had been. Also, Ashley's personality reminded me a lot of Moli's.
Like The Dragon Warrior, this installment in the series is also funny, led by Faryn's unique voice. We can also see her growing more mature through her experiences, which is always great to see in a book!
The sequel follows a similar route like the first part, staying true to the quest-trope. However, Faryn is no longer the Chosen One and it's interesting to see how she's dealing with it. Just like in the first part Zhao submerges us in a fusion of Chinese-American culture, which I love. We also learn more about Faryn and Alex' past, although much is still shrouded in mystery....
I did find some things to feel a bit of a repeat from book one, such as Ashley and Jordan being outcasts like Faryn and Alex had been. Also, Ashley's personality reminded me a lot of Moli's.
Like The Dragon Warrior, this installment in the series is also funny, led by Faryn's unique voice. We can also see her growing more mature through her experiences, which is always great to see in a book!
thewritermuse's review
3.0
I didn't like this installment quite as much as the previous one, but I still enjoyed it! I'm glad we got to see one of the old characters again. The Panda Express scene was one of my favorites (I'm using "colonizers" as an insult now) as well as the mirrors one. On the characters: I liked Ren and Jordan, but Faryn seemed a little insensitive (especially when Jordan and Ashley were reunited with someone) and Ashley came across as verbally abusive even though being assertive was part of her personality. The betrayal near the end could have been foreshadowed better. I also feel like the way the prophecy came true was kind of a copout. But don't get me wrong: I liked this book a lot, and I really hope the third one comes out soon!
the_fabric_of_words's review
5.0
There's been a slew of fantasy based on cultural mythology published in the last year or so, and so much of it is so darn serious. Downright dark and broody. This tale is anything but.
I had a fun time reading this one, and the author's note at the beginning, "This is cheesy as heck," encouraged us to not take it quite so seriously.
It continues Faryn's fight against the Jade Emperor, and her angst over her adopted brother Alex's choice to become the Emperor's General and lead his forces against humanity. But there's a light-hearted tone to it all that makes it a breeze to read, as opposed to a heavy emotional roller coaster.
This time Faryn and her friends, Ren (half-dragon, light crush), Moli (ghost), and the half-demon spawn kids, Jordan and Ashley, from the New Order Warriors, have to recruit a "new ally" -- the Monkey King. Who's a bit full of himself, despite having lost his most powerful of all weapons, the Ruyi Jingu Bang.
Guess who needs to pull it out of Diyu -- the underworld -- before he'll commit to helping humanity? That's right, Faryn and friends.
Ren takes a little detour at the beginning, which we don't get to see because the book is from Faryn's POV, and to be honest, I was kinda really hoping to get to watch him train in the Dragon Kings' realm. I love dragons, and I wanted to see the author switch POVs, but that's not the way this series is looking like it's going to be written.
In any case, of course nothing goes as planned. Not getting the Ruyi Jingu Bang, not the deal with the Monkey King, and certainly not Faryn's finale encounter with Alex (who I suspect is up to something totally different than what Faryn thinks).
I won't spoil the twists; you'll have to read to find out for yourself! Enjoy!
Looking for more book suggestions for your 7th/8th grade classroom and students?
Visit my blog for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/
I had a fun time reading this one, and the author's note at the beginning, "This is cheesy as heck," encouraged us to not take it quite so seriously.
It continues Faryn's fight against the Jade Emperor, and her angst over her adopted brother Alex's choice to become the Emperor's General and lead his forces against humanity. But there's a light-hearted tone to it all that makes it a breeze to read, as opposed to a heavy emotional roller coaster.
This time Faryn and her friends, Ren (half-dragon, light crush), Moli (ghost), and the half-demon spawn kids, Jordan and Ashley, from the New Order Warriors, have to recruit a "new ally" -- the Monkey King. Who's a bit full of himself, despite having lost his most powerful of all weapons, the Ruyi Jingu Bang.
Guess who needs to pull it out of Diyu -- the underworld -- before he'll commit to helping humanity? That's right, Faryn and friends.
Ren takes a little detour at the beginning, which we don't get to see because the book is from Faryn's POV, and to be honest, I was kinda really hoping to get to watch him train in the Dragon Kings' realm. I love dragons, and I wanted to see the author switch POVs, but that's not the way this series is looking like it's going to be written.
In any case, of course nothing goes as planned. Not getting the Ruyi Jingu Bang, not the deal with the Monkey King, and certainly not Faryn's finale encounter with Alex (who I suspect is up to something totally different than what Faryn thinks).
I won't spoil the twists; you'll have to read to find out for yourself! Enjoy!
Looking for more book suggestions for your 7th/8th grade classroom and students?
Visit my blog for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/