Tag: Asian Main Character

Tuesday, January 29, 2019

Fence Vol. 1 by C.S. Pacat; illustrated by Johanna the Mad

“Sixteen-year-old Nicholas Cox is an outsider to the competitive fencing world. Filled with raw talent but lacking proper training, he signs up for a competition that puts him head-to-head with fencing prodigy Seiji Katayama…and on the road to the elite all-boys school Kings Row. A chance at a real team and a place to belong awaits him—if he can make the cut!” – Goodreads

For fans of Check, Please! by Ngozi Ukazu, this is a suspenseful first installment to the comic series about fencing by best-selling M/M romance author, C.S. Pacat. Beautifully rendered images are characterized by an emotionally affecting mixture of sharp lines contrasted with round, abstract ones. Pacat’s story features maximum drama with family secrets, personality-packed main characters, and an ensemble that is worth getting to know. The only problem here is how short it is; stay tuned as we await the next installments to the library!

Call # GN P113f

Review by Vicki

Tuesday, January 22, 2019

Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi

“For Penny Lee, high school was a total nonevent. Her friends were okay, her grades were fine, and while she somehow managed to land a boyfriend, he doesn’t actually know anything about her. When Penny heads to college in Austin, Texas, to learn how to become a writer, it’s seventy-nine miles and a zillion light years away from everything she can’t wait to leave behind.
Sam’s stuck. Literally, figuratively, emotionally, financially. He works at a café and sleeps there too, on a mattress on the floor of an empty storage room upstairs. He knows that this is the god-awful chapter of his life that will serve as inspiration for when he’s a famous movie director but right this second the seventeen bucks in his checking account and his dying laptop are really testing him.
When Sam and Penny cross paths, it’s less meet-cute and more a collision of unbearable awkwardness. Still, they swap numbers and stay in touch—via text—and soon become digitally inseparable, sharing their deepest anxieties and secret dreams without the humiliating weirdness of having to see each other.” – Goodreads

The teenagers in this book felt SO real, despite the somewhat-contrived plot. Their exchanges feature such beautifully written dialogue and so many parts are laugh-out-loud funny. Penny Lee is a normal teenage girl with relatable concerns and an incredibly compelling inner-monologue.  This writer balances moments of darkness and light exceptionally well, which compelled me to finish it in a single day. A stunning teenage romance that tackles real issues with great authenticity and respect. This is one of the best YA books published in 2018!

Call # Fiction C4522em

Review by Vicki

Monday, October 22, 2018

Wildcard by Marie Lu

In Marie Lu’s riveting sequel to Warcross, Emika Chen must choose a side as the destiny of free will hangs in the air. Emika is on a mission to put a stop to the formidable plans of Hideo Tanaka, a young billionaire who created the sensational virtual reality game known as Warcross. After uncovering the secrets behind Hideo’s NeuroLink algorithm used to create the virtual reality images of Warcross, Emika, a teenage bounty hunter from New York, discovers an additional threat. A bounty has been placed on her head and her chances of survival relies on Zero and his team, skilled hackers known as the Blackcoats who previously caused many problems for Hideo. Emika groups with her world championship Warcross team, the Phoenix Riders, to face the problems around her, soon discovering that Zero and the Blackcoats aren’t all what she’d initially thought. Set in ultramodern Tokyo, Wildcard provides a spectacular finale to the first book in a fast-paced, intense read.

Wildcard is a fantastic and thought-provoking book that sparked many emotions. The setting was portrayed vividly, as it was a huge aspect of the story’s plot. The setting, along with the unique and complex characters featured, arose questions involving the future: What will happen if technology evolves to be the way it is in Wildcard? The storyline was fast-paced and although there were some slower parts of the book, they were still interesting and helpful in the progression of the story. One important point to take note of is that Warcross, which is the first book in the duology, must be read before Wildcard. Wildcard picks right up after Warcross ends and there is no reintroduction of the characters or background of the story, so it would be best to read the two books back-to-back. The climax of the book featured many plot twists, keeping the reader on edge, and the structure of the book was helpful and easy to follow. Furthermore, the characters were highly diverse and the narration was effective, although it would have been nice if there were some reminders on the previous events of Warcross. All in all, Wildcard presents a well-balanced blend of action and stimulating questions, tying the whole duology together in a way that doesn’t disappoint.

Call # Fiction L9605wa2

Student review by Cadi

Friday, October 5, 2018

Warcross by Marie Lu

Orphaned college dropout turned bounty huntress, Emika Chen, survives a futuristic New York City by using her expert hacking skills to uncover illegal gamblers – specifically those who bet on the virtual reality game Warcross, created by prodigy billionaire Hideo Tanaka. Emika’s decision to hack the opening ceremony of the international Warcross championships for some quick money gets her noticed by Tanaka and tapped to join the competition; however, she’s not just a competitor. She’s gathering intel for the game creator and is on a mission to figure out who is trying to destroy the world-renowned tournament.

Emika’s fierce intelligence, rainbow-colored hair, inventive tattoos, and surprising but plausible vulnerability all combine to create a heroine worth reading about. She is also surrounded by an inspiring, nuanced ensemble of supporting characters who reflect the diversity of an international arena, including representation of characters with disabilities and who are LGBTQ. This story presents an added sophisticated layer of asking profound questions about our world, our society, our technology, and our future – what will happen when technology evolves to be like the kind depicted here? Emika borders on being an anti-hero as so much of her power comes from illegal hacking, yet one cannot resist cheering emphatically for her and also hoping that when immersive yet potentially dangerous technology like the kind in this book becomes a reality, someone just like her will be around to do the right thing.

This impressive blend of heart-stopping action and philosophical questioning is remarkable; given that it has only one follow-up book to round out a duology (Wildcard published Sept. 18, 2018 – review to come!), the cliffhanger conclusion suggests a satisfyingly robust but manageable second narrative arc that will likely present a similarly well-paced combination of addictive adventure and provocative questions.

Call # Fiction L9605wa

Review by Vicki