Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor

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It’s been a long journey, learning to love myself again, and I drew much strength from stories in Chinese history to do so. Only with their combined spirit powers can they complete their epic quest across China to seal the spirit plug, and prevent the spirits from breaking free. So when a strange boy of Asian descent approaches Zach in school and wants to tell Zach all about Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, Zach is standoffish and suspicious. He goes through a lot in this book and is forced to question the kind of person he wants to be/become. The spirits are based on legend, not fact, so even stories made up to smear their names or glorify them after the fact are true to them.

Wikipedia Xiran Jay Zhao - Wikipedia

So when he’s chosen to host the spirit of the First Emperor of China for a vital mission, he is woefully unprepared.The villain sets off after George and Harold, who are in juvie (“not much different from our old school…except that they have library books here. Zachary Ying is a 12-year-old boy whose mother fled China after the death of his father to escape a dangerous political situation. However, the mission immediately starts off on the wrong foot when the Emperor bonds to Zack’s headset instead.

ZACHARY YING AND THE DRAGON EMPEROR | Kirkus Reviews

FOR TEACHERS: If you are an elementary or middle school teacher struggling with your classroom budget, I can send you a copy of Zachary Ying free of charge! Every other antagonist in the story has good intentions and legitimate grievances with the Emperors, but the Yellow Emperor is doing it purely for power and control. I absolutely loved the combination of science-fiction, fantasy, Chinese history and mythology - and the battle scenes were completely epic!

moreover, zachary ying does not condone the oppression of minorities by the chinese government, as the book underscores the emotional and physical impacts of discrimination, displacement, and violence experienced by minority individuals in china. Zhao stated it took many years to "unpack" that experience and that "in writing this book, I really do hope to maybe do some of that unpacking for future generations so they don't have as rough of an adolescence as I did". There’s a lot of action as well as getting to hear Zach’s struggle as the only Chinese kid in school. Zack’s father was executed after protesting the government's treatment of Uighur Muslims, and this makes his journey to China all the more fraught.

Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor - Wikipedia

I loved Zack so, so much and wanted to protect him from the whole world; these characters latch onto your heart so tightly. a b c " 'I get to see myself more': Why writing a middle-grade book made Vancouver author Xiran Jay Zhao feel seen".

It definitely gives Percy Jackson vibes and I thought it was a standalone but based off the ending - it isn’t. While I thought that the historical characters were equal parts interesting and amusing, the contemporary ones, except Zack, were not quite as dynamic.