The Emperor’s Riddle
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| Abstract |
2017 Honorable Mention - Freeman Book Award for Young Adult/Middle School Literature From acclaimed author Kat Zhang comes a "fast-paced mystery adventure" (BCCB) about a girl who embarks on a hunt for a long-lost treasure while on a summer trip to China. Mia Chen is on what her mother calls a Grand Adventure. She’s not sure what to make of this family trip to China, and didn’t want to leave her friends for the summer, but she’s excited about the prospect of exploring with her Aunt Lin, the only adult who truly understands her. Then Aunt Lin disappears, right after her old nemesis, a man named Ying, comes to visit. Mia knows that years ago, when Aunt Lin and Ying were sent to the Fuzhou countryside to work as laborers, the two searched for an ancient treasure together-one that still hasn’t been found. She’s suspicious that their shared history might be linked to Aunt Lin’s disappearance. When Mia discovers an old map filled with riddles in Aunt Lin’s room, she quickly pieces together her mission: find the treasure, find her aunt. Now, Mia, along with her big brother, Jake, must solve the clues to rescue the person she knows best in the world-and maybe unearth a treasure greater than her wildest dreams. (Amazon)
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| Year of Publication |
2017
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| Number of Pages |
256 pages
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| Publisher |
Aladdin
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| ISSN Number |
978-1481478625
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Reviews
Please login to review this resourceHistory + fiction = pleasant read
The Emperor’s Riddle by Kat Zhang
Aladdin: Am imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
First Edition Hardcover, May 2017, 235 pages, $16.99 U.S.
Eleven-year-old Mia Chen along with her older brother Jake and their mother have traveled from the United States to visit family in China. Mia, while not happy leaving her friends behind for a month, is at least appeased by the thought that she would be able to spend quality time with her beloved Aunt Lin. However, within a day of the visit beginning, a man from Aunt Lin’s past appears. He reminds Aunt Lin of how in their teen years they were send to the countryside to work in the fields and to amuse themselves, they tried to solve the ancient riddles that would lead to the missing treasure of a past emperor. The next morning, Mia awakens to her Aunt Lin gone and only a cryptic note left behind saying she would return in a few days.
Mia does not believe the note was written by her aunt, and she enlists her brother into helping her solve the riddles in the belief they will lead not only to the treasure, but also her aunt.
The Emperor’s Riddle is a fun mystery middle grade read, but the unique setting and the author’s ability to weave a mystery novel around a historical figure works well enough to be interesting for most any age. The author’s ability to use seemingly Chinese-inspired phraseology and use real sites in China are decided pluses, too. One downfall is how the author glosses over some of the atrocities wrought by the cultural revolution of the People’s Republic of China. Then, again, the fact that the true history is even alluded to, makes the book good for a literature and/or social studies teacher’s classroom library.
