Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor (Hardcover)
May/June 2022 Kids Indie Next List
“Zachary Ying is a whirlwind adventure jam-packed with folklore, action, and memes! This middle grade novel shoots a magical qi arrow right at the nexus of sci-fi and fantasy and hits. Full of heart and wit, I was hanging off of every word!”
— Jess Cooper, Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Cincinnati, OH
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.
— Kwame Mbalia, #1 New York Times bestselling author
Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor is an edge-of-your-seat adventure that has you laughing on one page and cheering on the next. Zach is a gamer turned hero who goes on an epic quest across the globe only to find his greatest strength within. More, please!
— James Ponti, New York Times bestselling author of CITY SPIES
"Jam-packed with humour, heart, and hijinks, ZACHARY YING is the Chinese history class you wished you had at school. Exploring diaspora and intersectional identity in between magical heists and mythical creatures, this book is a marvel. I am officially a Xiran Jay Zhao stan!"
— Graci Kim, author of THE LAST FALLEN STAR
"I started reading it and finished it in a day! There are so many things I adore about the book from the characters to the amazing and hilarious facts about Chinese history. It had me grinning all the way! It's a wonderful book, and I will be raving about it to everyone I know for a long time."
— Ann Sei Lin, author of Rebel Skies