Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor Review

Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor
By Xiran Jay Zhao

My birthday next week is a glaring reminder that I have aged out of numerous sub-genres. When my boys were little, I enjoyed using them as an excuse to read and watch anything I wanted. Now that my sons are finishing high school, I enjoy using book reviews as an excuse to read anything I want. But as I have more birthdays, I care less about making excuses and more on reading enjoyable books for any age. Authors like Xiran Jay Zhao will keep me exploring middle grade bookshelves.

Zachary is a 12-year-old Chinese-American struggling to feel comfortable growing up in Maine. He and his friends are a team in the online game Mythrealm. Chaos ensues after Simon, a new student from China, is accompanied by ghost possession, multiple physical attacks, and Zachary’s mother falling into a coma. To save his mother, Zachary must bring his ghost-possessed gaming goggles and travel to China with Simon. They meet up with Melissa to  complete a series of challenges and reseal the portal between the human world and the underworld. Along the way, Zachary learns about Chinese legends and his ancestry as he struggles to determine right from wrong and learn what it truly means to become stronger. 

The author does an excellent job introducing Chinese history and folklore to readers by clever use of gaming conventions. As new characters are incorporated in the story, Zachary sees gaming tags which provide key information about them and their role in history. Even the witty chapter titles draw readers in further and propel the story forward.

While the book is intended for Middle Grade readers, anyone with even a mild interest in gaming will appreciate the book’s format and how well it presents the story. The tale could have easily slipped into an adult book that isolated its target audience, but the author skillfully keeps the story intense while keeping it at an age-appropriate level. Even more importantly, the story stayed enjoyable at an age-appropriate level.

Xiran Jay Zhao’s first book, Iron Widow, was the best book I read in 2021. I happily recommend Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor to Middle Readers, no matter what age.

Thanks to NetGalley and Margaret K. McElderry Books for providing an advance copy of this book.