As well-heeled nobs queue up to enter their luxurious cabins on the famed Titanic, the unlikeliest of first-class passengers lines up with them.  Valora Luck, a 17-year-old British-Chinese acrobat, should be accompanying her wealthy employer on the trip across the sea.  The old woman's surprise demise has left Valora with two unexpected gifts—a ritzy room all to herself and the freedom to do whatever she pleases during the voyage.  The young woman intends to use her time to find her twin brother, Jamie, a sailor whom she hasn't seen in two years; persuade him to join her once again as a dynamic acrobatic duo; and convince an influential American circus owner onboard to hire them.  No small task, she knows.

When Valora is turned away on the gangplank because of her ethnicity, she's devastated but determined.  She will get on Titanic, no matter what it takes.  With a little assistance, some sneaky acrobatic moves, and a lot of pluck, she does just that.  In order to do what she needs to while on the ship, Valora has to dodge ship security by keeping a low profile, disguising her true identity, and not drawing any attention to herself.  She needs to be able to move throughout the entire ship without arousing suspicion.  Just as she's finding success, pulling all her goals within reach, disaster strikes.  As Valora struggles to save herself and those she loves from an icy death, her future seems to be sinking right along with them.  Will she and Jamie live to find acrobatic success in New York City?  Or will they, like so many others, go down with the great, "unsinkable" Titanic?

I find the Titanic disaster endlessly fascinating, so when I heard that Stacey Lee—one of my favorite YA historical fiction writers—was penning a novel about the disaster, I was stoked.  Especially since the story was to pay homage to the ocean liner's real Chinese passengers.  Although there were eight Chinese men aboard Titanic, six of whom survived, their stories have never been told.  Unlike other of the ship's refugees, these men were not welcomed warmly in America.  Instead, they were shipped off within 24 hours of arriving in the U.S., all but ensuring their plights would be forgotten.  Luck of the Titanic is not directly about these men, but it addresses issues of racism, classism, and other challenges Chinese people faced in Europe and America during that period.  These elements add intriguing layers to the story, which is also packed with plenty of action and conflict to keep readers turning pages (which I did, finishing the book in a day).  Valora is the best kind of storybook heroine.  She's daring, determined, kind, loyal, and brave.  It's easy to root for her as well as the other very likable characters in the book.  While I loved all of these things and more, there's one thing about Luck of the Titanic that I despised: the ending.  It took me by surprise, but not in a good way.  In fact, the finale made the novel feel unfinished and dissatisfying.  I didn't exactly throw Luck of the Titanic at the wall (I bought an expensive hardcover, so I had to be careful) in frustration, but I wanted to, darn it!  The ending soured the read for me, which—up until that point—I had been enjoying most thoroughly.  Grrr.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of other Titanic novels I've read, which you can see by selecting "R.M.S. Titanic" from the drop-down menu under the "Labels" tab on the left sidebar of my blog)

To the FTC, with love:  I bought a copy of Luck of the Titanic with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger.  Ha ha.

(Note:  While this review will not contain spoilers for Killer Kung Pao by Vivien Chien, it may inadvertently reveal plot surprises from earlier installments in the Noodle Shop Mystery series.  As always, I recommend reading books in a series in order.)  

As manager of Ho Lee Noodle House, her family's popular Chinese restaurant, Lana Lee is always at the center of the action in Cleveland's Asia Village shopping center.  Dealing with her overbearing mother and annoyingly perfect sister causes enough drama for the 28-year-old, but there's always tension and intrigue boiling among Asia Village's many strong personalities.  Add in the center's weirdly high murder rate and she's got a lot on her plate...

When Lana witnesses an altercation in the parking lot between two aging village divas—competitive mahjong player Millie Mao and heartless tea shop owner June Yi—she has no idea that one of them will soon end up dead  When Millie is electrocuted during a pedicure, it becomes apparent that it was no accident.  Did the argument in the parking lot lead June to kill Millie?  Is there someone else who had it in for the mahjong matron?  Although her detective boyfriend warns Lana to stay out of it, she's once again on the case.  Can she solve Asia Village's latest murder?  

I'm a big fan of Vivien Chien's Noodle Shop mysteries.  The series is fun, light-hearted, and entertaining.  Like most cozies, the books are a little silly and a lot far-fetched, but who cares?  They're easy, enjoyable, clean reads.  That being said, Killer Kung Pao—the sixth installment—might be my least favorite of them.  Why?  Although Chien's characters are always fun, the mystery in this one is a bit...lackluster.  The book is still a fast, engaging read; it's just not as compelling as some of its predecessors.  A bummer, yes, but not one that will keep me from continuing with this series.  Even the less satisfying books are more enjoyable for me than other cozies.

(Readalikes:  Other books in the Noodle Shop Mystery series, as well as culinary cozies by Ellie Alexander, Amanda Flower, Eve Calder, etc.)

Lana Lee is always looking for ways to promote her family's Chinese restaurant, Ho-Lee Noodle House.  As manager, it's her responsibility to keep the place running smoothly as well as look for new ways to bring in business.  Offering catering services seems like a good idea.  Especially when Lana sees just how swanky their first catered party really is.  Wealthy guests are eating up all of Ho-Lee Noodle House's delicious offerings and promising to use the restaurant for their own fancy galas.  Everything is going swimmingly until a dead body is found in the backyard pool.

Donna Feng—the party hostess and co-owner of the Asian Village shopping center where Ho-Lee Noodle House is located—swears she has no idea how her children's nanny ended up dead.  Everyone heard Donna screaming at the young woman earlier in the party.  Everyone knows Donna hasn't been quite right since her husband died.  Everyone seems convinced that the widow snapped and killed Alice Kam in a fit of rage.  Lana seems to be the only one who believes Donna, an old family friend whom she's known for years, is innocent.  True, the woman is not exactly who she says she is.  Still, Lana knows she isn't capable of murder.  So, who did the dastardly deed?  It's up to Lana to find out...

Vivien Chien's Noodle House Mystery series is one of my favorites.  The books don't take themselves too seriously which makes them fun, entertaining reads.  Lana is a spunky heroine whose natural curiosity leads her into plenty of far-fetched but exciting mystery-solving adventures.  Her relationship with her colorful, complicated family adds humor and tension to every book.  While Egg Drop Dead isn't my favorite installment in the series, it's still an enjoyable romp that kept me smiling while I zipped through its pages.  Even though the killer in this one is pretty obvious and Lana's boyfriend, Detective Adam Trudeau, drove me crazy with his condescending "dollface" comments, I still liked Egg Drop Dead.  I'll continue with the series, no question, because it really is a whole lot of fun!

(Readalikes:  Other books in the series, including Death By Dumpling, Dim Sum of All Fears, Murder Lo Mein, Wonton Terror, Killer Kung Pao, Fatal Fried Rice, and Hot and Sour Suspects; also reminds me of culinary cozies by Ellie Alexander, Amanda Flower, Kylie Logan, and Eve Calder)

Yumi Chung's Korean immigrant parents expect a lot of her—intensive studying, perfect grades, admission to an Ivy League institution, and the pursuit of an ambitious career (her older sister is in medical school).  Eleven-year-old Yumi couldn't care less about school.  In fact, she kind of hates the fancy prep academy her parents make her attend.  Her big dream?  Becoming the next great stand-up comic.  To her family, comedy is a silly hobby, a waste of time.  To Yumi, it's a way to express herself and connect with people in a way she can't otherwise.  

When Yumi happens upon a comedy camp for kids taught by her favorite YouTube comic, she can't help wandering in.  She's instantly mistaken for an absent camper.  Knowing her parents would never let her join the camp for real, Yumi assumes the missing girl's identity.  Yumi's thrilled to be learning from her idol, but maintaining her lie and keeping her activities a secret from her parents is stressing her out big time.  When the inevitable happens, Yumi must decide how much she's willing to risk to make her dream come true.  

A debut middle-grade novel by Jessica Kim, Stand Up, Yumi Chung! tells a fun, upbeat story that's entertaining and humorous.  The set-up is a little cliché with its demanding Asian-American parents and restaurant setting, but the stand-up comedy angle is one I haven't encountered before in a children's book.  Yumi is funny and likable, which makes her an easy-to-root-for heroine.  She and her friends act a lot older than 11, with more freedom and ambition than kids typically have at that age.  This made the story feel unauthentic, making me think this novel would have worked a little better as a YA book.  Still, Stand Up, Yumi Chung! is an enjoyable, empowering romp with lots of heart.  I didn't absolutely love it, but I definitely liked it.

(Readalikes:  A hundred titles should be coming to mind, but I'm drawing a blank.  Any ideas?)

With a white father and a Chinese/Korean mother, 14-year-old Hanna has always been different, never quite fitting in among Asians or Caucasians.  She's never stuck out quite as much anywhere as she does in her new town of La Forge in Dakota Territory, though.  Although Hanna tries to show people that she's kind and hard-working, a person just like anyone else, the townspeople can't see past her mixed ethnicity.  When she walks down the street, they stare and whisper.  When she's finally allowed to enroll in school, parents withdraw their children.  When she tries to make friends, she's rebuffed.  All Hanna wants is to become a successful dressmaker like her mother.  Along the way, though, she's desperate to find just one person to be her confidante, one who will accept her for who she is instead of how she looks.  Can Hanna achieve her dreams in a place as unfriendly as La Forge?  Or will she and her father be forced to move on once again?  

Little House on the Prairie was one of my absolute favorite book series growing up.  Laura Ingalls Wilder's descriptions of frontier life were so vivid and captivating that they seemed to tell everything there was to know about homesteading on the prairie.  Turns out, Wilder left out a few things!  With her newest middle-grade novel, Prairie Lotus, veteran children's author Linda Sue Park aims to rectify that.  Like the Little House stories, this one describes pioneer life in rich detail, making it come alive for the reader.  It's told through a different lens, though, one of prejudice and small-mindedness, not just against Asians but against Native Americans as well.  Through smart, brave Hanna we see the courage and resilience that is required not just to do daily battle against these hardships but also to triumph over them.  Prairie Lotus ends on a positive, hopeful note, teaching valuable lessons about empathy, inclusion, and standing up for what's right along the way.  While I didn't end up absolutely loving the novel, I did find it interesting, important, and eye-opening.  

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of the Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder as well as The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee)

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Abandoned as a baby in the deep forest that surrounds it, the only home Kallia has ever known is the isolated Hellfire House.  Under the tutelage of a master magician and now his son, she has become a powerful show magician, the masked star of the House's nightly show.  Despite the celebrity that comes from providing jaw-dropping performances for awestruck audiences, Kallia longs for more.  She dreams of breaking free of her gilded cage, traveling beyond the impenetrable woods that keep her trapped, and harnessing all of the magic she feels burning through her veins.  Jack, the master of the House, refuses to even entertain the idea of Kallia leaving.  But, when she learns of a magic competition in the mysterious ice-laden city of Glorian, she ignores his warnings and flees in the night.

Female show magicians are looked down upon, but Kallia soon becomes a crowd favorite.  Although the other contestants and most of the judges are clearly rooting against her, Daron Demarco can't look away from the competition's stunning star.  He's in town for his own secret reasons and can't afford to be distracted.  Nevertheless, he can't stand idly by while Kallia—obviously the most talented magician in the contest—is shunned.  As the competition heats up, though, magicians start disappearing, Glorian's only exit mysteriously vanishes, and Kallia is acting strangely.  Is she systematically eliminating her competitors?  Or is someone cheating in order to cripple her chances of winning?  It's up to Demarco to figure out what is going on before the competition becomes not just dangerous, but also deadly ...

It's tough to ignore a book billed as Phantom of the Opera meets Moulin Rouge and Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles is certainly earning a lot of attention.  The YA debut deserves it for its vivid imagery, which does give the story a sumptuous "glamdark" backdrop.  Beyond that, though, there's nothing super original about the novel, the first in a planned duology.  Kallia's world is a confusing one that doesn't get much clearer as the story moves along.  Our heroine is a kick-butt MC, whose confidence and determination make her admirable, even while her vanity and coldness diminish her likability.  Her comrades, including Demarco, aren't fleshed-out well enough to make them stand out.  Even the colorful members of the Conquering Circus, by far the most interesting characters in the novel, don't get enough page time to show off their uniqueness.  Likewise, Glorian—whose mysterious secrets were the only thing that really kept me reading this book—is relegated to a side act while the lukewarm romance between Kallia and Demarco steals the spotlight.  Added to these irritants is the fact that Where Dreams Descends drags on for 464 pages, a good 200 of which could have been cut.  Although there is a fair amount of action in the novel, there was no point at which I couldn't have put it down for good.  I stuck with it, though, expecting a dazzling finale that would provide enough answers to bring a satisfactory end to the story's first volume while leaving me eager to read the second.  Didn't happen.  The cliffhanger ending just felt disappointing, trailing more questions than answers in its wake.  After wading through 464 pages, it didn't feel like much of a reward.  Needless to say, I won't be bothering with the sequel.  I just don't care that much.  Despite its intriguing premise, in the end Where Dreams Descend felt like a long, dissatisfying slog for me.  Bummer.  I really wanted to like it more.

(Readalikes:  I rarely read YA fantasy, so nothing's coming to mind.  You?)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for brief, mild language (no F-bombs), violence, and mild sexual innuendo

To the FTC, with love:  I received an e-ARC of Where Dreams Descend from the generous folks at St. Martin's Press and Wednesday Books.  Thank you!