Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor

By Xiran Jay Zhao

‘Fast-paced, furiously funny and utterly fantastic.’ A.F. Steadman

‘Culture and technology clash as Zachary Ying takes adventure to a new level!’ Kwame Mbalia


Percy Jackson meets Yu-Gi-Oh in this hilarious, action-packed fantasy adventure.

Zachary Ying has never had much chance to learn about his Chinese heritage. So when he’s chosen to host the spirit of the First Emperor of China for a vital mission, he is woefully unprepared. As a result, the emperor botches his attempt to possess Zack’s body and binds to his AR gaming headset instead.
With the legendary tyrant yapping in his headset, Zack must journey across China to steal magical artifacts and defeat figures from history and myth. Using his newfound water dragon powers, can Zack complete the mission in time to save the mortal world?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rock the Boat
• Release date: May 10, 2022
• ISBN: 9780861545490

Xiran Jay Zhao

Xiran Jay Zhao is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Iron Widow series. A first-gen Hui Chinese immigrant from small-town China to Vancouver, Canada, they were raised by the internet and made the inexplicable decision to leave their biochem degree in the dust to write books and make educational content instead. You can find them @XiranJayZhao on Twitter for memes, Instagram for cosplays and fancy outfits, TikTok for fun short videos, and YouTube for long videos about Chinese history and culture. Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor is their first middle grade novel.

Reviews for Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor

[deslivres5 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I thoroughly enjoyed the YA novel Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao so I was excited to read this middle grade sci-fi/fantasy adventure novel by the same author.Cool technology meets Chinese history and folklore in this novel which has Zachary Ying (a tween of Asian descent whose family is from an ethnic and religious minority in China) coerced into a quest of epic proportions. Sprinkled with humor and references to modern day pop culture, I think the middle grade set will enjoy and learn with this one. First in a series.

[sylliu_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In this epic and wild adventure, 12-year-old Chinese-American Zachary Ying gets possessed by the spirit of the First Emperor of China and is tasked with stopping an invasion of ancient Chinese spirits in order to save his mom and the world. In a world where Chinese spirits derive their power from the people's beliefs in them, his disconnection from his own culture ironically protects him from being fully possessed. He befriends other kids like himself, and the story seamlessly blends Chinese history and politics with video gaming and virtual reality and swash-buckling, multinational, and realm-transversing adventure.

[life2reinvent · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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.