"Dragon Warrior" by Katie Zhao seamlessly blends Chinese mythology with a modern-day setting. Faryn Liu, embarks on a quest to prove herself as a warrior despite societal expectations. Zhao's positive portrayal of resilience, friendship, and familial bonds adds depth to the narrative, making it an empowering read for young audiences.
A vibrant world filled with mythical creatures, magical abilities, and a captivating lore inspired by Chinese folklore. The cultural elements are seamlessly woven into the story, providing a rich backdrop that enhances the overall reading experience.

The book excels in cultural representation and character development, but some readers may find certain plot points to be somewhat predictable. However, this doesn't diminish the enjoyment of the novel, especially for younger readers who may be encountering these themes for the first time.

Dragon Warrior is a heartwarming and culturally enriching middle-grade fantasy that celebrates identity and courage.

I could see so many kids loving this and recommended it to my writing club. It reminds me of the best moments of reading when I was a kid

DNF at 12%- While I really did enjoy the writing style and the world building in this book I think it read a bit younger than the middle grade I usually enjoy. I might try this one again at another time, but for right now I'm just excited to read some of the other books this author has coming out and see if I like those a bit better.,

content warning: Loss of a Loved One, Violence, Imprisonment, Sense of Abandonment, Bullying and Mistreatment from Kids and Adults, Blood

diversity representation: Chinese-American, Multi-Racial (Chinese, Egyptian, Greek, Turkish)

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Children’s Books for this free copy.

I am so upset with myself for not reading this a long time ago, but I am so glad that I finally did read it, especially during this time where I just needed a MG fantasy that made me feel at home and connected with characters in a novel. This is what I loved about it as a whole and I can’t wait to share my thoughts with you! Enjoy this review and let me know what your thoughts are, and if you’re excited for the sequel coming out in October!

first impressions:

I can never get enough of Chinese mythology novels, and this is MG?? Sign me up.
Whaaat she’s 12 years old?? I’m so impressed and proud
Ooh yay for a sibling dynamic!
The Jade Emperor????? Sold yet again!

theme analysis:

That pesky diaspora
I call it “pesky” because it is something that I wish didn’t exist honestly.

The definition of a diaspora is the dispersion of people from their homeland or a community formed by people who have exited or been removed from their homeland.

YourDictionary.com
While this definition may have originally been attributed to the dispersion of the Jews, it has been expanded to include all groups of people that have done through this dispersion. It’s important to note that a diaspora is both involuntary, and they are dispersed from their indigenous territories. Even though they are no longer in their home countries, they still maintain their culture and heritage, which is also important and crucial.

The example of this discussion is in this novel, with Faryn, her brother Alex, and everyone that is part of the Jade Society making sure that they continue to follow their cultural beliefs and practices: praying to the gods, the concept of family being the most important thing in society, speaking and understanding Mandarin, and others. This is what makes the concept of diaspora an interesting discussion because those that aren’t living in their home countries may either feel like they aren’t “enough” to be considered that culture, or have been told directly that they aren’t “enough.” I know that I personally have dealt with this with all of my ethnicites, and with having so many mixed in me, I have never felt enough of either one. I would even feel like those who told me that I wasn’t enough are right, because I don’t engage in everything involved in all the aspects of my heritage. Does that make me a fake? Does that mean that I shouldn’t be proud to be any of those things?

Are the Chinese-American members of the Jade Society “Chinese enough” even though they aren’t on mainland China anymore? Are they too “Americanized” after living in the States for so long? If they were born in San Francisco, can they even be “Chinese enough” without having been to China?

Those are the questions that go through Faryn’s mind, even if she doesn’t always voice them. But Faryn also has another reason for feeling like she isn’t enough, and it’s because she isn’t only Chinese. Her mother was a mix of Egyptian, Greek and Turkish, which makes the other children – and most adults – within the Jade Society consider her a “half-breed” or worse. Since she’s not full-blooded Chinese, there’s no way she can understand what it means to be Chinese. Especially when people always. comment. on her mixed-race. features. It must be exhausting for her, and quite frankly, she’s tired of people talking about it like it’s some sort of anomaly.

Sibling relationships and finding your own path
Faryn is the oldest sibling. Alex likes to push Faryn’s buttons, and vice versa. Throughout the book, you can slowly see the divide between Faryn and Alex, and their beliefs and values. There are times where Faryn is actually pretty shocked at what Alex feels is right, since it’s the complete opposite of what Faryn feels is right. Now, that isn’t inherently a bad thing, but when you’re a teenager, and you and your sibling grew up learning a certain way of life, it’s certainly disconcerting to hear that your sibling doesn’t conform to that way.

There was probably a time where Faryn and Alex pretty much did everything together, and it was probably when they were younger and they felt alone and abandoned. But now, now that they are a little bit older and are able to think for themselves, things have definitely changed. They don’t just take everything at face value anymore, which is good since they should be able to determine whether they agree with what they have been taught. And whether they can come up with a better way to approach problems, or even just have a better understanding of why they were taught to do the things they do, that’s a journey that they have to take on themselves.

I believe that Faryn and Alex will learn how to find themselves and their own paths in the sequel, since the ending of this novel really left things kind of distressing for both of them. At least for Faryn. And for me, but I’m not a character in this book, and that’s besides the point anyway.

character development:
Kind of touching on what I talked about previously, Faryn and Alex – and Moli and Ren – go through pretty important character developments. Faryn and Moli learn how to work together to achieve a main goal, even though they have been ex-friends since before this novel starts. Faryn learns how to believe in herself and use her power. Alex learns how to maintain his own agency, and is very intelligent and knows how to solve riddles and problems pretty well. Ren… well I think that’s spoiler territory, but Ren goes through some key development as well.

I would say that even how they relate to each other during this journey, both on a one-by-one basis and together as a unit. I think it was really important for them to learn this, especially since they needed to travel across the country to just get to their end destination, and that wasn’t included the quests within the main quest. I wouldn’t call them “side missions” since they needed to complete one in order to get to the other, and all of the tasks were needed in order to make it to Peng Lai Island.

emotional reflection:
If a book doesn’t make me feel anything, then I won’t like it. I knew that I was going to have an emotional attachment to this novel immediately when I read the synopsis. Not only because of the plot and the Chinese mythology woven into the story, but also because of how Faryn was described. I felt for her, and understood how she felt being a mixed-raced child that just wanted people to stop talking about it like it was some big deal. I also had the big sister thing that we could relate to, although the age difference between me and my little brother is way bigger than Faryn and Alex.

I had so many emotions while reading this book: proud of Faryn, mad for Moli, confused at Alex, sad for Ren, irritated at the meanie deities, interested in the origin story of certain other deities… I thoroughly enjoyed going through all of my emotions and ending the book on such a happy high note. Very, very great experience.

writing style analysis:
**I haven’t done a review with this section before so forgive me if I’m still trying to figure it out.

I enjoyed Katie’s writing style, and I felt like I was in the mind of a twelve-year-old. Granted, I felt like Faryn was more mature than a lot of other twelve-year-olds, and I could totally understand that because of everything that is on her shoulders now… but I think the real strength was including those heavier thoughts and also mixing it up with Faryn’s sarcasm. I don’t know how many times I was laughing whenever she was be like “for real?” but in better words.

Exhibit A:

Of course, none of these warriors had ever seen a real battle with a demon. But the Society still praised them for… well, basically doing nothing.


The sass in that comment! I mean she’s right but ouchie!

Exhibit B:

The Elders looked at another and shrugged. I guessed when you were that old, stuff like random visits from deities didn’t bother you anymore.


Dissing on the old people?! I love it Faryn, I dig it.

Exhibit C:

Forget a spear. I needed a Captain America shield to take on these guys.


I understood that reference too, Cap. I did too.

I could go on and on, but I’d rather you experience it for yourself and react similar to how I did.

the final verdict:
Overall: I loved this novel. I thought it was such an amazing MG Fantasy novel, and I am so glad that Katie was able to tell stories about her heritage and culture and seamlessly make that mythical world come to life in modern day USA. This book made me feel like the deities were real, and we just haven’t been blessed enough to interact with them. Or maybe, they are just mad at us for not praying to them all the time. You’ll get that reference when you read it. I highly recommend this one! But always remember that any myths that you read about, in any books, this is a chance for you to do more research on your own to learn more. This is just an introduction into that world, and helps you pinpoint where to start. So if you’re into the Jade Emperor, or Nezha the Third Lotus Prince, or even Guanyin and Erlang Shen… take what Katie introduced you to and learn more from there.

I really enjoyed this! It was a great fun ride, the main character was very interesting and I loved the world building. Definitely would recommend this to many people.

What I Loved

I loved that this novel was inspired by Asian mythology! Erlang Shen, Nezha, and Guanyin were in my favourite childhood stories, and it was amazing to see these Chinese mythology figures come back to life in this novel. I also loved how these folk tales were incorporated in a way that is relevant for the modern audience. For example, there was one scene where Guanyin rode away on a cloud while sending text messages on her cell phone, which I thought was brilliant and hilarious.

I liked the main character, Faryn, who was brave, intelligent, and full of girl power. It was empowering to watch this girl kick butt! I also liked the dynamic between Faryn and her kid brother Alex. They loved to tease each other, but at the same time you could tell that they loved each other a lot.

Family was a strong, recurring theme in this novel, which I loved. Although The Dragon Warrior took place in the U.S. and featured a main character who spoke more English than Mandarin, I loved how it highlighted family which is a strong value in Chinese culture.

This was a fast-paced novel that definitely did not lack in action and plot twists! There was never a dull moment.

Lastly, I loved all the Mandarin words sprinkled throughout the text, from sun-nu-er (grand-daughter) to baozi (steamed bun), which brought all the feels for my home country :’)

What I Didn't Love

As much as I loved all the Chinese mythology interwoven with the plot and the world building, I wasn’t too clear about how magic worked in this novel. In some cases it seemed like praying to the deities was able to solve some of the problems…. but not others. Why not pray about everything? This part got me a bit haha.

There was a teeny tiny element of romance in The Dragon Warrior that I couldn’t get into yet. Then again the romance was really just in its beginning and it seems like there will be a second book coming up…… so I will wait to see what happens!

The Bottom Line

If you’re looking for a fun adventure featuring an awesome Chinese-American heroine, and a whole cast of Chinese mythological deities, then The Dragon Warrior should be on your shelf!

I enjoyed this one, and I think it will be a good fit for some of my mythology-obsessed middle schoolers - and I'm delighted to have some proper Chinese mythos for a particular set of my readers. That said, I was a little underwhelmed by this one? Maybe it was because I spent a little too much time grappling with the way the file was formatted on my kindle, but the pacing didn't grab me and refuse to let go the way I hoped it would, and I wanted more fleshed-out relationships with some of the side characters. (That said, I enjoyed the friendship between Faryn and Moli, and I thought the tension with Alex was handled well.) It was still a fun read, just didn't quite "wow" me the way I had hoped - but I am quite confident it will find an enthusiastic reader base and I will be adding it to my "mythological middle grade" RA lists!

Growing up, I have always been fascinated by the TVB drama series Journey to the West which was a huge hit among the Chinese communities around the world. Today, kids growing up around me have heroes from Marvel and DC, but when I was a wee little child, I grew up hooked on stories of Chinese gods, goddesses and deities—with a particular liking towards Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy.

Can you imagine my excitement when I found out that Katie Zhao’s The Dragon Warrior is a celestial combination between Journey to the West and a Rick Riordan novel? Did I love it? Of course I did, even more than dim sum! Should you read it? Is that even a question?

1. Faryn Liu, the heroine of The Dragon Warrior is one hell of a sass queen and I am here for it.

Nothing gets me cackling and smirking when I read like a heroine who knows who’s boss and kicks ass like nobody’s business because she’s fierce and she slays. Literally. She will impress you with her ruthless demon slaying as she wields Fenghuang, the mythical spear that grants her enhanced abilities and her smart mouth and sarcasm.

2. Wonderful dynamics between siblings.

Faryn and her younger brother, Alex are sibling goals. Like most siblings, they do bicker and disagree but what warms my heart is that Faryn and Alex love and support each other as they embark on their perilous quest. I definitely enjoyed the heartwarming parts, especially when they looked out for each other, reminded me of my own siblings. Though I am the best brother my siblings can ever ask for. Ask anyone.

3. Unlikely yet touching friendships.

The unlikeliest of friendships—best friends to enemies to best friends again—had me rooting for them. Can you say wholesome because I was genuinely rooting for each and every one of them to succeed in their quest and the feels hit my hard.

4. Mythology! Folklore! Familiar characters whom I may have read about and seen on TV!

As I’ve mentioned above, my eyes were glued to the TV screen when Journey to the West was on. Reading The Dragon Warrior was indeed a nostalgic experience for me as I grew up on the stories of gods and goddess as we Chinese have a story for every single thing. From Guanyin (my ultimate fave) to the Nezha and Erlang Shen, The Dragon Warrior is a star-studded novel starring our favourite celestial beings!

5. IT IS HELLA FUNNY AND ENTERTAINING AND KATIE ZHAO’S HUMOUR IS ON-POINT.

Thought The Dragon Warrior is a middle-grade novel, but it is so effortlessly funny. I was entertained from the start to finish and Katie Zhao didn’t hold back, especially throwing some shade here and there but ultimately, it’s a barrel of laughs and I am itching to pick it up again once I get my hands on a finished copy!

6. It’s a love letter to immigrants, children of immigrants and diaspora readers everywhere.

The Dragon Warrior is a story dedicated to us. To those of us who feel like they don’t belong but will definitely see themselves in the pages of the book. I wish I had this book with me when I was growing up, to know that it’s perfectly normal and awesome to have Chinese heroes and we can be badass and save the world too.

Where do I start even? Let’s start with what I love about this book, the overall concept of this book is just brilliant. The first thing I picked out was the celebration of Lunar New Year, or some of us call Chinese New Year and the well known myth of nian. According to the story I’ve heard before, Nian was a demon that came to attack villagers during Lunar New Year and to scare it away, the villagers used red paper that has calligraphy on it, firecrackers and loud noises. This leads to our custom these days to have the lion dance and to put on firecrackers to get rid of bad luck (sort of). I love how the author highlights on the Chinese’s culture, faith and also beliefs. As a Chinese, reading this book, was a pure joy, words can’t describe it. I was even more thrilled when I saw deities being mentioned, Guanyin, Nezha, and Jade Emperor. All of these are so familiar, that it made my heart full reading this story.

Another thing that I fancy about this book is the plot line. Faryn, her brother, Alex and a couple of friends went on a quest to meet the deities and their adventure was just so exciting. It sort of reminds me of Journey to the West, featuring Sun Wu Kong and his friends. I love the fact that every single stop, they would have these challenges, which were to fight someone or save someone. You’ll never know what’s going to happen, each challenge set was thrilling in its own way. I’m not gonna spoil you but the climax though, was a definite game changer. I think it was so well done. The story development was beyond great and that cliffhanger though. When can I get my sequel, Katie Zhao?

The characters are fun, they are very likable. I love Ye Ye the most though, the way he educates Faryn and Alex reminds me a lot of the elders in our family; always going to temple, respect the elders, be kind, behave, tough love, you name it. I also adore the fictional personalities given to the deities. For instance, Guanyin could be so freaking badass and sassy but kind and merciful at the same time. I enjoy that combination a lot! *at this point, I’m just trying to replace love with its synonyms* Not forgetting, the characters development, from their feelings, maturity and mental wise, is another aspect that I personally think is simply wonderfully executed.

The writing style is easy to read. I basically flew through the pages. The author has not just use pinyin for the Chinese characters, she also included the sound system, which I highly appreciated. That kind of effort deserves the world. It made reading those Chinese characters so much easier and they made so much sense to me. However, in this ARC, there’s a mistake I believe in the word hu li jing, I think the li was supposed to be the second sound instead of the fourth because it didn’t make sense when I read the character in the fourth sound. If this is fixed, the final copy is going to be flaw-freaking-less!

This series has lots of potential, but it also requires a bit more work. I love the attention it brings to Chinese culture and mythology and I adore Faryn as a heroine although she doesn't do much throughout book one to do much to deserve this title. There are nice attempts at Riordon-ish humor throughout the book and good pacing. However, supporting characters are very cardboard cutouts and the battles are lackluster. I found myself skimming through much to get to the next part. Even though I found the story to be predictable and wasn't really emotionally invested in the conflict, I wanted to be. I liked the foundational idea of the story concept and hope some of what I see as flaws are fleshed out in book 2.

Special thanks to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. This, however, does not reflect the opinions in my review.

It’s so hard to review books that I have mixed feelings over. On the one hand, where were things this book did well and, on the other, things that really left me groaning.

What I loved most about the book was how much it embraced the Chinese culture – very Rick Riordan-esque. There aren’t many books on the market aiming for that demographic and for the sheer fact that it’s giving children the representation they need and want, I give it credit. I also especially loved that the main character, Faryn, was biracial. Many biracial individuals feel left out of their culture – as if they never truly belong in one sphere or the other – and I love that this book clearly addresses the hurt and frustration Faryn feels when she is judged on her skin tone, among other things. Other themes of the book, such as finding strength within yourself and your friends and family as well as family not always being blood, were great notes that I feel children need to hear more frequently as well. Especially in this day and age where families are pieced together through divorce, marriage, separation and adoption.

I felt like this also had good pacing for a children’s book, too. I managed to binge read it in one day, so I’m fairly certain it would keep a child engaged and turning the pages.

That said, there was quite a bit that just didn’t work for me personally. First and foremost, the characters. I felt that Faryn and her grandfather were solid, believable characters, but just about everyone else in the story was lackluster or card-board cutouts of usual caricatures. Faryn’s younger brother, particularly, was very wishy-washy. One moment he would be a cute, annoying little brother, the next he’d be super moody and upset with Faryn for being chosen as the Heaven Breaker. And his actions in the end of the story just seemed very forced and not at all like the sweet, devoted younger brother we met at the beginning of the story. (If there had been some sort of character arc throughout the story to justify this, I wouldn’t be as critical, but there really isn’t. The only thing that MIGHT have driven him to such a decision is his jealousy of his sister?) It’s like he turned a complete 180, personality wise. The best-friend-turned-enemy trope was very cut and dry and unimaginative. The bullies were your usual stereotypes with no real reason to be mean or ruthless to Faryn and her brother. The only real reason that we were given is because their dad ran off to be a warrior and because they’re biracial? I just seemed silly for the characters to be SO over-the-top horrible.

The quest that Faryn is given to go on is written in riddle form and it’s ridiculously easy for the reader to figure out. I get the novel is for kids, but give them some credit – they don’t need the whole plot to be spelled out for them. Given them some room to guess at what’s going to happen and even maybe draw the wrong conclusion! That’s half the fun. Riordan writes prophecies in many of his books, too, but they’re subtle and imaginative, not the cut and dry instructions that this “riddle” was in.

For a novel that is so thickly veiled in mythology and imaginary lands, there wasn’t much imagination involved. The gods themselves were mostly one dimensional, the demons they fought weren’t given enough “page time” to really be fearsome or ugly or for us to even really understand why they are the bad guys. Sure, they’re demons, but why do they want revenge on humankind? The dragons were cool, but we didn’t get much description about them other than color. Were they big or small? Did they have leathery wings? Did they have feathers or scales? Like, GIVE ME SOMETHING TO ENVISION.

Lastly, and my biggest pet peeve with the story, was that it didn’t feel like Faryn really had much agency in the novel. For being the “chosen one” stereotype, she didn’t really strike me as particularly hero-worthy until literally the climax of the book when she finally gets her crap together. For 90 percent of the book, she either has her grandfather, gods, or her friends come to her rescue. Can’t figure out the (ridiculously easy) riddle? Brother solves it. Can’t figure out how to get from Point A to Point B? Have your friend drive you there in a flying chariot. Can’t escape a jail cell? Call a dragon to rescue you. Can’t defeat a demon? Call on dear old grandpa or a god for help. It was just so aggravating! I’m trying to root for you, Faryn, but you’re not giving me much to work with here! At least in the last 50 pages or so, she FINALLY starts thinking for herself and doing things in her own way. Perhaps that was just her character arc (even though she admitted from chapter one that she was a fierce warrior), but is was VERY frustrating following a protagonist that was literally doing nothing but going with the flow for over 200 pages.

Overall, I think this novel had solid bare bones structure but could have REALLY used some help in character development and attention to detail. For a cute, escapist Own Voices children’s book, it works, but it’s upsetting knowing that with a little tweaking it could have been SO MUCH MORE. As it is, the book didn’t leave me with enough desire to return to the world to see what happens in the sequel.

Faryn and her brother have been trained by their grandfather for years to be warriors even though others in the Jade Society think there is no longer any threat. All that changes when Faryn encounters a demon at the beginning of the Lunar New Year. Soon she and her brother are on a quest and somehow she is now the legendary Heaven Breaker with a sword and a mission. But can she truly control dragons and save the world or is there something else going on?
I appreciate the diversity of this and for fans of Rick Riordan type books this will be a hit. Because I have little context for Chinese mythology and culture it was hard for me to understand.

The. Dragon Warrior is a fantastic ride from start to finish starring a kickass heroine with a brave heart. I loved the way Chinese mythology and folklore was brought to life in this book and the deities adapted for a modern setting. The supporting cast and their relationships were engaging and added to the fun and the trouble. This book felt like a middle grade version of The Epic Crush of Genie Lo in all the best ways. I can't wait to read the sequel.

Katie Zhao plops us right into the action in her novel The Dragon Warrior. Faryn, on an unassuming mission to get her YeYe medicine in the midst of the Chinese New Year celebrations, encounters a demon. Not just a person masquerading as a demon—but an actual demon. Faryn pulls from her years of warrior training with Ye and, with a godly help, defeats the nian. Thus begins a series of events that leads her to becoming the Heaven Breaker. She must complete a set of tasks to prove her worthiness and valor. Faryn has another task in mind as she departs on her divine mission: to find her missing father. And she quickly discovers that there is more to her tasks than she originally thought and all Chinatowns (and the world) are in danger. Can she make it to the island of Peng Lai in time for the gods’ annual Lantern Festival Banquet or will she succumb to the dangers and pitfalls thrown in her way?

In the spirit of Percy Jackson, Zhao’s funny and action-packed novel exposes readers to Chinese legends and mythology. Also like Percy Jackson, the novel is propelled forward and guided by prophecy, tasks, intervening gods, and a diverse cast of characters. The plot weaves, flows, and misdirects, taking the reader on a wild ride.

I love Rick Riordan’s novels and how he has introduced a generation to Greek, Roman, and Egyptian mythology. I also love how other authors are beginning to introduce mythology from their own cultures. Zhao’s story, while not a Rick Riordan Presents imprint, has captured the same adventure and fun. It was fun to see into a culture with which I’m unfamiliar. While I found the characters, at times, predictable and simple, I still really enjoyed this novel. However, there was something that it was missing–I’m not sure what.

Overall, I give this book 3.5/5 stars, and I look forward to the next installment (especially after that ending!!!)

This book was such a fun adventure. It reminded me a lot of the books by Rick Riordan, only instead of meeting Greek or Egyptian gods and goddesses, the characters in THE DRAGON WARRIOR meet Chinese gods and goddesses.

I found myself wishing the book had a glossary list of each god and goddess with a couple sentences about them (note: I read a pre-release version, so it may be that the finished copy has this). For the most part I was able to follow them in the story and keep them all straight, but I’m not as familiar with the mythology as I am with Greek mythology.

On the whole, I think readers who enjoy books like A WRINKLE IN TIME or THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL will enjoy this fast-paced adventure.

The Dragon Warrior is a wonderful middle grade novel about family, friendship, and adventure. Faryn is an unexpected hero who does not believe she is worthy, but it is her humbleness and gratitude that truly make her worthy. It is a thrill ride that will have readers on the edge of their seat throughout the book. A wonderful addition to any school library!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I know middle grade isn’t everyone’s thing, which is fine because guess what? It’s not written to please adults! The name of the genre speaks for itself, but I for one, love a good middle grade book because they are just as entertaining, if not even more so because authors aren’t obligated to be serious or poignant or any of those things, even if some middle grades have those characteristics. My point is middle grade books are fun okay and this one was no exception. From the moment I saw the cover, I knew I had to read this book. Dragons, Chinese mythology, an #ownvoices author, kids kicking major ass???? I NEEDED IT!!

12 year old Faryn Liu and her brother Alex have been outcasts from the Jade Society forthe past few years for 2 reasons. 1) Their father disappeared on a journey a few years before in order to continue ridding the world of demons, though according to the Jade Society there were none anymore and their only responsibilities as warriors included making money and terrorizing others. By leaving, he was directly disobeying the Jade Society and saying they were wrong. Big no no. 2) Faryn and Alex are of mixed blood. While their father is full blooded Chinese, their mother was Greek, Egyptian and a few other things, making them “mutts” in the Jade Society’s eyes. Yes...yes there is some prejudice and racism going on here and several times both of them are referred to as unclean, disgraces, etc. etc. all because of their mixed blood and how different they look from everyone else. Neither are allowed to train with the other young warriors and so their grandfather trains them whenever he can, just like their father did, even though he’s sick. It turns out that this is the best thing he could have ever done. A demon attacks during the Chinese New Year celebration while Faryn is picking up her grandfather’s medicine. She manages to kill it with the help of a mysterious stranger, but it becomes clear to her that things are changing. Turns out, she’s right. The gods haven’t disappeared or abandoned them as they thought and neither had the demons. Now it’s up to the Heaven Breaker to complete the mission from the gods and make it to the Jade Emperor’s feast and become the leader of his army. Good news: Faryn is the Heaven Breaker and her father’s notebook is the key to figuring this all out. Bad news: The Jade Society is still hellbent on proving how unworthy she is and stopping her from completing the mission. Now it looks like Faryn is up against the same obstacles along with new magical ones and she’ll need her family and her friends to get through this before the end comes.

Reading this was so much fun. The mythology of the dragon warriors and how they were created to fight demons and keep people safe and yet somehow had become both greedy and lazy was a great idea. It was sort of a fallen hero trope, except everyone was the fallen hero except for our main characters. I thought that the racism was portrayed in a great way. You could feel just how hurtful it was for Faryn and her brother and see how innate it can be in a culture that is POC itself. I also thought it was great that even though the gods were upset with the Jade Society and the humans for turning against their warrior heritage and becoming corrupt, in a lot of ways, the warriors were a reflection of the gods themselves. The very things that the gods were upset about, they were doing themselves. The relationship between Faryn and Alex was great, however, after a certain point in the book it becomes clear that he resents Faryn and is changing drastically, though it’s never really clear what is causing this. Some of his outbursts and change in personality seemed out of nowhere and weren’t really explained. I had a feeling about what may have been going on and I think that’s what the author was going for in the end, however, I still don’t think it was explained completely. It’s never made clear whether the force behind the ending was doing this all along or started at the end and if Alex’s earlier outbursts were his own. Still, the ending was a great set up for a follow-up novel and I would love to continue this story. Katie Zhao did not shy away from tough subjects like death, racism, classism, or corruption, but managed to incorporate them in a way that doesn’t alienate her audience or talk down to them just because this is geared towards a younger audience. Great work honestly and if you haven’t picked up The Dragon Warrior since its release on October 15th, I highly recommend checking it out.

Hello Again!

I just finished up reading the Dragon Warrior last night (like actually last night), I started this one a little while ago when I was given an ARC on my Kindle in exchange for an honest review. Now I was very excited for this book, I only started reading Percy Jackson a few years ago (for the very first time) but I really liked those so I thought this would be a really fun read as well plus I thought it would be interesting to learn about another culture and their mythology more (that's something I enjoy about the Percy Jackson books). Additionally, I really loved the cover on this book, I thought the colors were bright and brilliant, it really drew my eye to it every time I saw it anyplace online. Also, I loved the images used on the cover of the girl and the dragon, they were so intriguing and at the same time make so much sense for the book once you have read it!

SPOILERS AHEAD

Faryn dreams of becoming a great warrior one day, she is a member of the Jade Society and she has been training hard her whole life. However, her life has not been easy. Her father is missing and Faryn and her brother have to live with their grandfather who is very ill. This not only forces her to train in secret but to take care of her grandfather and brother. Faryn and her brother dream of finding their father one day and they even have his journal about his travels. One day Faryn sets off on an errand into San Fransico (to get medicine for her grandfather) and boom! She is stumbling into a real demon, she can not help but use her training to battle this demon and try to save people. Not long after everyone is gathered for a Lunar New Year celebration and they are visited by Erlang Shen. Erlang Shen has come down to find the fabled Heaven Breaker and Faryn just might be it! The Heaven Breaker can control dragons and wield a magical weapon and will be going on the journey of a lifetime. If Faryn is the Heaven Breaker can she complete the journey? Will she find her father? What about leaving her grandfather behind?

I want to start out by saying I loved Faryn and her crew. She kind of gathers this ragtag team to help her on her journey. Her team consists of her brother, Moli (a girl from the village who used to be a friend), and eventually Ren (who I think is so freaking cool). I looked forward to hanging out with them every time I popped back to my Kindle to read more. I also enjoyed the Gods, Goddesses, and other deities that popped in during the story. I thought they were so interesting and I loved hearing about them. Additionally, I enjoyed how the journey Faryn and her crew took was not always so clean-cut, there was not always an easy answer and things were tough. I really enjoyed this story and I am looking forward to reading more! I am giving this book four stars on Goodreads.


**I was given an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Faryn and her brother Alex are part of the Jade Society based in San Francisco ever since the original member immigrated there. The society's task is to protect the people of earth from demons. Unfortunately the Jade Society now is less focused on demon slaying and more focused on making as much money as possible..no matter how shady it is. And ever since Faryn and Alex’s father disappeared 4 years ago their family have been viewed as outcasts all because of their mixed race. Faryn’s life is drastically changed when she is chosen as the Heaven Breaker and is sent on a quest by the god Erlang Shen to Peng Lai Island. Along the way Faryn, Alex and Moli (Faryn’s former best friend) travel to different Chinatowns defeating demons along the way.

Thoughts:
I really liked all the Chinese culture that was in this book. I learned a lot from it! The book also had a huge Percy Jackson feel and I think it would be prefect for fans of that series. What I didn’t enjoy was how jumpy the book felt. There was a few chapters that i had a really hard time following and I got a little lost at times. There’s a lot that happens in this book and I felt like the jumpiness took away from the story.
But overall a great middle grade read!

*Thank you again to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this book!*

Review spoiler: I loved this book.
The tempo and pace of the story was so good. The writing during intense (i.e. fight) scenes was just right and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. I love it.
This book also finds that elusive balance between simple entertainment and education. Throughout this story there are MANY references to customs, traditions, beliefs, imagery, and more within the Chinese heritage. Phrases or new words are thrown into the story and then, with perfect timing and tact, the author lets the reader know what that new word means and how it fits into the story. You barely realize you didn’t know it two sentences ago.
As a whole, this book is similar to the Aru Shah series I am also enjoying, but Ms. Zhao does that education bit I just mentioned just a little better. While Reading about Aru Shah, there were several times when I had to find some outside sources to help me understand all the new information I was getting.
I was a bit taken aback by some of the dialogue within the book – young teens calling the others “losers” and other names, blaming and lying about the others, and so on. I’m sure this is just me as a mom ready to stop them from this type of thing. Maybe it comes off more relatable or funny to the Middle Grade audience for whom it is intended?
Lastly, I was incredibly disappointed by the ending. [read with intended sarcasm, please.] The cliffhanger at the end of the book is very frustrating, because who knows when the next book will be released?!?

Stars: 4.5
Would I recommend? Yes