Showing results by author "Katie Zhao" in All Categories

In a near-future society, gaming is everything! Professional esports teams are the mainstream celebrities and kids begin training as young hopefuls aspiring for the big leagues. Twelve-year-old Reyna Cheng is the up-and-coming junior amateur Dayhold gamer, competing in a VR battle royale against AI monsters and human players alike. But despite Reyna's rising popularity and skills, no one know who she is. Gaming is still a boy's club, and to protect herself against trolls, she games as the mysterious TheRuiNar.

A debut novel inspired by Chinese mythology, this middle-grade fantasy follows an outcast as she embarks on a quest to save the world from demons - perfect for fans of Aru Shah and the End of Time and The Serpent’s Secret. As a member of the Jade Society, 12-year-old Faryn Liu dreams of honoring her family and the gods by becoming a warrior. But the society has shunned Faryn and her brother Alex ever since their father disappeared years ago, forcing them to train in secret.

Nancy Luo is shocked when her former best friend, Jamie Ruan, top-ranked junior at Sinclair Prep, goes missing and then is found dead. Nancy is even more shocked when word starts to spread that she and her friends - Krystal, Akil and Alexander - are the prime suspects, thanks to 'the Proctor', someone anonymously incriminating them via the school’s social media app. They all used to be Jamie’s closest friends and she knew each of their deepest, darkest secrets. Now, somehow the Proctor knows them, too.

Faryn Liu thought she was the Heaven Breaker, a warrior destined to wield the all-powerful spear Fenghuang, command dragons and defeat demons. But a conniving goddess was manipulating her all along...and her beloved younger brother, Alex, has betrayed her and taken over as the Heaven Breaker instead. Alex never forgave the people who treated him and Faryn like outcasts, and now he wants to wipe out both the demons and most of humanity.

If awards were given for multitasking, then Winnie Zeng would come in first place. Between juggling evil spirits and middle school—boy, does she have her hands full. Ordinarily, winter break would be her chance to catch up on anime, but this year marks the return of the Shaman Youth Tournament, where shamans around the world duel for the title of champion! To prepare, Winnie and her archnemesis, David, train for their toughest battles yet. But when some of their competitors start acting a little stranger—and a lot stronger—than normal, they realize they might be in over their heads.

Winnie Zeng has two goals: survive her first year of middle school and outdo her stuck-up archnemesis, David Zuo. It won’t be easy, since, according to her older sister, middle school is the pits. Luckily, Winnie studied middle school survival tactics in comic books and anime, and nothing will stop her from being the very best student.

At a secret Manhattan boarding school, the Descendants of the Chinese zodiac have hidden away since the source of their magic—the twelve zodiac statues—was vandalized and lost to time. Thus, a curse befell the Descendants, and they’ve lived as creatures of darkness . . . until now. When the lost statues suddenly resurface and a powerful classmate is found dead, all signs point to foul play from the fae. The Descendants finally have the chance to take back what's rightfully theirs and break the curse. To pull this deadly heist off, though, they must assemble an elite crew:

As shamans, Winnie Zeng and her archnemesis, David Zuo, have accepted their roles in guarding the world from evil spirits. But with Halloween around the corner, the balance between realms grows fragile—and so yet another shaman is assigned to help Winnie and David protect the town of Groton, Michigan. The catch? The new shaman is just the worst.

Anna Xu moves out of her parent's home and into the dorms across town as she starts freshman year at the local, prestigious Brookings University. But her parents and their struggling Chinese bakery, Sweetea, aren't far from campus or from mind, either. At Brookings, Anna wants to keep up her stellar academic performance and to investigate the unsolved campus murder of her childhood babysitter. She also finds a familiar face–her middle-school rival, Chris Lu.