This is a brief note to say that Emperor’s Riddle by Kat Zhang (Aladdin, May 2017) fits the bill of my continuing search for fun stories set in contemporary China that features Asian American children and authentically captures both the modern day life familiar to western readers and the cultural flavor unique to China. Definitely a book that I will introduce to the Chinese American mother and child who came seeking books featuring characters that “look more like her.”
Tag Archives: reading notes
My Appreciation for Emperor’s Riddle by Kat Zhang
Filed under Book Notes
Listening to Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man + Reading…
Listening to Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man + Reading Fun Home by Alison Bechdel == doubly impressed!
April 29, 2015 · 10:10 pm
Listening to the audio book version of The…
Listening to the audio book version of The Windup Bird Chronicle — feeling slightly removed because it is a reading (not by a native Japanese speaker) of a translated work from Japan and I can tell that the names are not pronounced well. However, the reader is very skilled in changing his voices/tones for different characters and the actual content of the book is fantastic. Only wishing that I were able to read in its original language.
April 4, 2015 · 8:01 pm
Not quite in the mood for Independent Study…
Not quite in the mood for Independent Study, sequel to Testing. Switched to Magicians of Caprona – the one Christomanci books that I never got around to read. Ah… Diana Wynn Jones — you were such a witty and talented fantasy writer for young people. I can see why Neil Gaiman reveres you and your work. I’m always in awe. So, two fantastic fantasies this weekend: Shadow Scale + Magicians of Caprona!
March 21, 2015 · 9:46 am
Just started two books The Testing by Joelle…
Just started two books: The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau, as highly recommended by some of my 7th graders; Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman, the HIGHLY anticipated (by me) sequel to Seraphina. Also reading a book translated from Taiwan: The Man with the Compound Eyes by Wu Ming-Yi (but really want to read the original text.)
March 13, 2015 · 9:12 am
Listening to a short story collection of Mark…
Listening to a short story collection of Mark Twain and am so delighted. The Diaries of Adam and Eve is simply brilliant! Also almost done with The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone by Adele Griffin.
November 3, 2014 · 10:35 am
I should not have been surprised but nonetheless…
I should not have been surprised but nonetheless am stunned at how many characters (in the recent YA books I have read) who are portrayed as beautiful/good looking/gorgeous/handsome/pretty whose first and often most prominently described feature is “blue eyes” or “green eyes” or any variations of these two colors (emerald, icy blue, baby blue, deep blue, deep lake, etc.) Enough that when I read about the beauty of a pair of dark brown eyes I let out an audible hoot!
May 26, 2014 · 10:15 am
Reading The Impossible Knife of Memory I have…
Reading The Impossible Knife of Memory. I have not posted for more than a month — traveling back to Taiwan, re-reading stuff for a Quiz Show at school (Golden Compass, Wizard of Oz, Hobbit,) and recovering from jetlag and dealing with many special events at work — ALL great stuff, but preventing me from reading new YA’s which I really should have been doing. Definitely getting back on track now — And probably will not post too much 2015 BFYA here since there is an internal discussion board that’s wonderful and with intelligent and heated debate from my committee members and I’ll most likely be working THERE instead.
For those of you who are interested in seeing the current BFYA Nominated List, go here: http://www.ala.org/yalsa/bfya-nominations. Some really great reads.
April 12, 2014 · 1:56 pm
Reading David Almond’s newest offering The True Tale…
Reading David Almond’s newest offering: The True Tale of the Monster Billy Dean: telt by hisself.
March 1, 2014 · 11:44 pm
Reading Don’t Even Think About It by…
Reading “Don’t Even Think About It” by Sarah Mlynowski and finally spelled her last name right.
February 24, 2014 · 8:41 pm
Listening to The Goldfinch and started reading Far…
Listening to The Goldfinch and started reading Far From You by Tess Sharpe. Also borrowed Saga II from NYPL. A good story Sunday.
January 19, 2014 · 12:05 pm
waiting for Doll Bones to get good um…
… waiting for Doll Bones to get good… um.. it’s already half way through… scratching my head trying to figure out why 4 out of 5 people have told me how much they loved this book..
August 5, 2013 · 3:15 pm
Finished Boxers Saints very complex reactions to it…
Finished Boxers/Saints — very complex reactions to it. Much like my reactions to American Born Chinese — I feel that I’m too close to the source material to accurately assess the book — there are always moments of cringes and the thoughts of how the telling could have been better… but then, I look at other people’s overwhelmingly positive reactions and start doubting my own emotionally ladened evaluation. So, a post is forthcoming to parse out all my various reactions.
Started reading Holly Black’s much adored 2013 book, Doll Bones. Easy to get into, anticipating interesting turn of events, and hoping for satisfying conclusions.
August 3, 2013 · 1:39 pm
Finished the Ninja Detectives Vol 1 enjoyed it…
Finished the Ninja Detectives Vol. 1 — enjoyed it. Notes to come. Starting on Gene Luen Yang’s Boxers and Saints… excited. The books have such strong (and oddly unpleasant smell) from the color ink, I guess. Shouldn’t have taken a long whiff. haha.
August 1, 2013 · 9:46 am
Finished listening to 8 chapters about 31 hours…
Finished listening to 8 chapters (about 31 hours) of Far from the Tree (Andrew Solomheavy and heart wrenching materials… I concentrate so much it sometimes feels that I stopped breathing. Four segments (Rape, Crime, Transgender, Father) to go. That’s about 11 hours more.
Started listening to The Name of the Wind (Kingkiller Chronicle) just to alleviate a bit of tension.
Dune is progressing well – another text that needs focused energy — well worth it! I’m 1/3 through and hopefully by the end of this week I’ll be done with at least 2 of the three mentioned here. And move on to something shorter and lighter?
July 8, 2013 · 11:17 pm
Someone asked how long it took me to…
Someone asked how long it took me to make the newspaper dress (with the help of scissors, a stapler, and some tape, and Monia…) — 10 minutes or less? 
July 4, 2013 · 10:14 am
On to the Autism chapter in Far From…
On to the Autism chapter in Far From the Tree, read by Andrew Solomon, the author himself.
July 2, 2013 · 7:10 pm
Reading All the Truth That’s in Me by…
Reading All the Truth That’s in Me by Julie Berry; Listening to Room by Emma Donoghue; Listening to Far From the Tree by Andrew Soloman. Waiting to be read: Ocean at the End of the Lane, Dune, The Fear, The Well Bequest, Al Capone Does My Homework — and many many other titles. ARGH… Time!
June 23, 2013 · 1:27 pm
Fairrosa Cyber Library 