A review by grace_b_3
Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor by Xiran Jay Zhao

adventurous fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I picked this up for 2 reasons: it fit the middle grade fiction with LGBTQ+ characters prompt for The Storygraph genre challenge for 2024 and because I liked Iron Widow. This worked a lot less for me than Iron Widow.

The exposition was very clunky—both for the world-building elements as well as the historical and cultural notes. This seems to be written for a non-Chinese audience, as the story stops a lot to explain things like there being different ethnic groups in China etc. The fact that the writing style was such an issue makes me afraid to reread Iron Widow. 

I could appreciate some elements of the story being told—like dealing with racism and bullying and finding your place in the world when you don’t feel like you fit in. Those more thematic elements were the most compelling part of this book for me.

Lastly, to touch on the LGBTQ+ elements,
it’s clear that Zachary is gay, but it’s not dealt with very directly. It’s a couple of lines throughout the book that clue the reader in.
As this book is very much setting up a sequel, I could see this element becoming more prominent in later books, as first crushes become more important to the characters as they age. 
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