My Thoughts:
From the author of Iron Widow, this middle grade contemporary/sci fi-ish fantasy follows a very hesitant and confused Zachary Ying who is put through tremendous pressure and responsibility to both save China and save his mother's soul. That is a lot to put on Zack and he is never quite sure who to trust and who to believe. When the spirit of the First Emperor of China tries to link his spirit with Zack and instead is only able to link with Zack's AR gaming device, Zack can only rely on his own inner power to save his mom.
Like Tristan Strong in Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia, there are key points where Zack feels like he is failing his mother, failing his friends and failing his father. If students like Tristan, Percy Jackson or the other Rick Riordan presents books, they are going to devour this.
From the Publisher:
Zachary Ying never had many opportunities to learn about his Chinese heritage. His single mom was busy enough making sure they got by, and his schools never taught anything except Western history and myths. So Zack is woefully unprepared when he discovers he was born to host the spirit of the First Emperor of China for a vital mission: sealing the leaking portal to the Chinese underworld before the upcoming Ghost Month blows it wide open.
The mission takes an immediate wrong turn when the First Emperor botches his attempt to possess Zack’s body and binds to Zack’s AR gaming headset instead, leading to a battle where Zack’s mom’s soul gets taken by demons. Now, with one of history’s most infamous tyrants yapping in his headset, Zack must journey across China to heist magical artifacts and defeat figures from history and myth, all while learning to wield the emperor’s incredible water dragon powers.
And if Zack can’t finish the mission in time, the spirits of the underworld will flood into the mortal realm, and he could lose his mom forever.
The mission takes an immediate wrong turn when the First Emperor botches his attempt to possess Zack’s body and binds to Zack’s AR gaming headset instead, leading to a battle where Zack’s mom’s soul gets taken by demons. Now, with one of history’s most infamous tyrants yapping in his headset, Zack must journey across China to heist magical artifacts and defeat figures from history and myth, all while learning to wield the emperor’s incredible water dragon powers.
And if Zack can’t finish the mission in time, the spirits of the underworld will flood into the mortal realm, and he could lose his mom forever.
Author: Xiran Jay Zhao (they, their)
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publication date: May 10, 2022
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