The Epic Crush of Genie Lo

Fifteen-year-old Genie is studying hard, obsessed with getting into a good college, and playing basketball inbetween, being freakishly tall. But when the strange, small and unbelievably beautiful Quentin Sun starts school, her life goes slightly awry (what with suddenly having to fight demons in an epic, mythic world-saving battle), all whilst maintaining her grade point average.

Romance with Quentin blossoms, but Quentin is in fact the mythical Chinese Monkey King, which makes for some surprising twists and some even more amazing fight scenes.

Chinese mythology presented alongside a kickass all-Asian cast and written by a Chinese author isn’t something one finds much of in teen (and most other) fiction, so it’s a joy that this pacy, funny Buffy The Vampire Slayer meets kung-fu novel is out there.

Readers will identify with the difficulties of school pressure, keeping parents happy and maintaining friendships in fraught circumstances – and love the realistic teen voices and the hilarious dialogue between Genie and Quentin.