Hello, everyone!!! Welcome back to my blog!!!! I am here again with another book review of a fantabulous book when I should be writing (expert procrastinator here), so… XD
Recently, I did a sort of mini book haul for Chinese New Year, and I FINALLY got one of the books that has been on my TBR list for quite a while! I’m Chinese, so of course, I always love finding middle-grade books that have Chinese protagonists or aspects of Chinese culture. Sadly, I haven’t found a whole lot. BUT
I did find one!!! And I love it!!! And it’s the book I’ll be reviewing today, which is…. (drumroll please)
Paper Dragons: The Fight for the Hidden Realm by Siobhan McDermott!!!!!
I absolutely love this book! It’s an amazing middle grade fantasy with a lot of rich and detailed worldbuilding, and it’s just so so magical, and I love it!
The book is about twelve year old Zhi Ging who lives in the village of Fei Chui. She’s always been an outcast there, especially since her hair doesn’t glow around dragons like the other Glassmiths in the village. But… well, let’s just say a bunch of things happen, and she receives an invitation to Hok Woh, to train as a Silhouette for a year before becoming a fully immortal Cyo B’Ahon. But even as she competes in dragon boat races, meets ageshifting tutors, and competes in multiple challenges, there are rumors of a dark force, the Fui Gwai, and the students who fail the challenges are starting to disappear…
And there are so many things that happen in this book that I won’t go on because I might risk giving you spoilers. And I am sure no one wants that!
This is an amazing book full of adventure, magic, and it’s really got a lot of aspects of Chinese culture. I absolutely loved all the food references there , and I also love how a lot of the names of characters and places in this book have a hidden meaning. Which you will find out at the end of the book. ;D
I found this to be a really adventurous and action-packed book! Siobhan McDermott’s writing is definitely the kind that hooks you straight in, and the pacing is definitely well-written. All of the dragon boat races felt fast-paced and like I was right there with Zhi Ging in the rush of the moment!
The jellyfish in this book are incredibly cool too! Now, I won’t say I’m too fond of jellyfish as I got stung by one in Thailand (ouch! Yikes! I’m not swimming in the sea again…), but this book did make me hate them a little bit less, since apparently, you can use jellyfish to send messages! And there’s an amazing, adorable jellyfish named Pou Pou, which means bubble in Chinese! And there’s also Gahyou, who can perform a very cool trick. ;D
The book also has a lot of amazing characters, each with their own quirks and personalities, which I loved! My favorite characters were definitely Mynah, Pou Pou, Zhi Ging, and Reishi. Mynah’s ability to mimic other’s voices is really cool, as is her ability to change her skin’s color. I do wish that there was some more explanation for that, though, since it does seem incredibly out of the ordinary, but it adds a very magical and fun element to her character.
The names in this book are incredibly clever, and there’s a glossary at the end that explains it all. But just to give you a taste, there’s Ai’Deng Bou, and if I remember right, he teaches botany or something, and his name is basically the slightly distorted Cantonese translation/name of David Attenborough! Gahyou is a sort of phrase of encouragement in Chinese (I know the Mandarin version)! And Zhi Ging’s full name is Yueng Zhi Ging, which is the name of the bauhinia flower on the Hong Kong flag.
One thing I do wish we could’ve seen a bit more in the book would probably be character development and drive. Overall, the book feels very plot driven with lots of action and adventure happening with the characters just reacting to it. But honestly, that’s what I think, and I don’t think it’ll put a lot of people off.
But even with all that, I loved this book! It has a diverse range of characters who are very interesting with a lot of quirks and unique features, and an incredibly exciting, magical plot and world! I would definitely recommend this book to middle-graders who are looking for a really magical read with awesome worldbuilding and plot and especially to those who have connections with Chinese culture!
So, yeah! Thank you guys so much for coming, and I shall see you again soon! Also, if you want to see more book reviews, don’t forget to head here for Marvelous Middle Grade Monday to check out more middle-grade book reviews! It’s awesome!
Isabelle
P.S. I also had the WONDERFUL opportunity to put together a written interview with Siobhan McDermott, which you can find here!!!! I totally didn’t scream when I saw her email. 🙂
P.P.S. You guys can finally subscribe to my blog!! There should be a register button thingy at the top of the blog so hurrah! A lot of you have been asking me how to subscribe and since technology hates me, my dad finally (HOPEFULLY) figured it out!!!
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