Of Jade and Dragons

Gr 7 Up–Ying catches a masked man raiding her father’s workshop; he flees without what he was looking for but leaves her father bleeding out on the floor. The thief was looking for a hidden book, which her father tells her to burn without reading before he passes. Ying is clever and kind, but she’s not particularly obedient: she reads the book. Disguised as her brother, Ying ends up on a journey to the capital, where she might learn more about her father’s secret past in the Engineering Guild and have the chance to avenge his murder. Luck and quick problem-solving skills get Ying sponsored by a prince of High Command, Aogiya Ye-yang, to compete in trials for an apprenticeship in the Engineering Guild. Their romance feels inevitable rather than earned, but is strictly a subplot inside a larger, escalating mystery and Ye-yang’s political ambitions. The dearth of magical elements makes the novel fall closer to the science fiction side of silkpunk, with well-articulated worldbuilding inspired by the Qing Dynasty helping to advance the plot and stakes. Ying makes friends with other apprenticeship candidates, and their conveniently useful skillsets mean she is able to easily navigate moments of conflict. Despite this ease in the plot, Chen’s vivid writing will keep readers turning pages. Characters are coded as many Chinese ethnicities.