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Title details for Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor by Xiran Jay Zhao - Available

Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor

#1 in series

by Xiran Jay Zhao
Eric Yang
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
Percy Jackson meets Tristan Strong in this hilarious middle grade "edge-of-your-seat adventure" (James Ponti, New York Times bestselling author of City Spies) that follows a young boy as he journeys across China to seal the underworld shut and save the mortal realm.
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.

  • Creators

  • Series

    Zachary Ying

  • Publisher

  • Awards

  • Release date

    November 22, 2022

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781797158914
      • File size: 253605 KB
      • Duration: 08:48:20

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Neo Cihi narrates this action-packed middle-grade audiobook with dramatic emphasis. Zachary Ying is swept into a supernatural quest across China when he's possessed by the spirit of a 2,000-year-old Chinese emperor through his high-tech gaming device. He joins fellow 12-year-olds Simon and Melissa, also possessed by emperor spirits, to help save China--and his mom, whose own spirit is in danger. Cihi switches seamlessly between English and Chinese, differentiates Zack's American English and Simon's Chinese-accented English, and changes their voice when the emperor spirits take over. As the high-intensity adventure ramps up, listeners learn that Zack feels like an outsider--as a Chinese American in Maine, as a Muslim in China whose family faced violent persecution, and as a boy with crushes on other boys. J.M.D. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      May 2, 2022
      Zhao’s (Iron Widow) action-packed middle grade debut transports readers to a 12-year-old’s encounters with legendary Chinese figures who connect him to his personal history. Gamer Zachary Ying desperately wants to fit in outside the virtual world of Mythrealm, but as the only Asian kid in his largely white Maine town, he finds himself quietly suffering microaggressions and peer pressure to avoid standing out. Zack’s Chinese family is also Hui Muslim, a minority among other Chinese and Muslim people, but he knows little about his family legacy outside of his father’s execution by the Chinese government for speaking out against its oppression of Uighur Muslims. So when an attack on his mother leaves her soul in the hands of demons, and Zack is revealed to be descended from China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, he feels overwhelmed and unprepared. Things are further complicated when the Dragon Emperor bonds to Zack’s gaming headset, needing the boy to host his spirit. Now, Zack must travel across China and carry out a vital mission with the fate of the mortal realm at stake. Compact history lessons woven throughout guide Zack through the plot and into a greater understanding of his identity, while plentiful pop culture references root this fantastical read in the contemporary, making for a quickly paced book that’s by turns educational, reflective, and thrilling. Ages 8–12. Agent: Rachel Brooks, BookEnds Literary.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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