You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
cakt1991 's review for:
Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor
by Xiran Jay Zhao
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley. Review based on final copy. All opinions are my own.
Xiran Jay Zhao’s YA debut blew me away so much that they’ve earned a spot on the “would read anything from, even a grocery list” category. While Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor is a bit of a pivot from Iron Widow, it also feels quintessentially/thematically similar, even if the tone and target audience are different.
Zhao leans heavily into their influences here, with some concepts that are recognizable for anyone with even a surface level knowledge of Yugioh!, shonen anime/manga, and MMO gaming. There’s also a seamless mix of Zhao’s signature passion for Chinese history in the mix, with the AR tech interacting in a fun way with the spirits of legendary figures, like (of course) Wu Zetian and Qian Shi Huang, the First Emperor.
Through Zack, Zhao navigates a narrative familiar for Chinese diaspora kids of being a minority within Western society. Kids like Zack can be proud of and connect with their heritage, while also still having complex feelings about it due to the racism and ostracism they face from others, and I appreciate the way this was navigated. It was also quite cool to see expressions of his and his mother’s Muslim faith sprinkled in. It wasn’t a big part of the book, but it was a nice surprise.
This is such a fun, yet insightful adventure story, and one of those few times when the comps do the story justice. If you love Percy Jackson, anime/manga, and/or Chinese history, I think you’ll enjoy this one.
Xiran Jay Zhao’s YA debut blew me away so much that they’ve earned a spot on the “would read anything from, even a grocery list” category. While Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor is a bit of a pivot from Iron Widow, it also feels quintessentially/thematically similar, even if the tone and target audience are different.
Zhao leans heavily into their influences here, with some concepts that are recognizable for anyone with even a surface level knowledge of Yugioh!, shonen anime/manga, and MMO gaming. There’s also a seamless mix of Zhao’s signature passion for Chinese history in the mix, with the AR tech interacting in a fun way with the spirits of legendary figures, like (of course) Wu Zetian and Qian Shi Huang, the First Emperor.
Through Zack, Zhao navigates a narrative familiar for Chinese diaspora kids of being a minority within Western society. Kids like Zack can be proud of and connect with their heritage, while also still having complex feelings about it due to the racism and ostracism they face from others, and I appreciate the way this was navigated. It was also quite cool to see expressions of his and his mother’s Muslim faith sprinkled in. It wasn’t a big part of the book, but it was a nice surprise.
This is such a fun, yet insightful adventure story, and one of those few times when the comps do the story justice. If you love Percy Jackson, anime/manga, and/or Chinese history, I think you’ll enjoy this one.