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Jul 09, 2018SurreyLibraries_Teens rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
The Epic Crush of Genie Lo is an interesting novel that really spoke to me. The book was very clear, and I happened to enjoy the book very much. The diversity among the characters made them much more lifelike. This novel showed an excellent perspective of an Asian teen going through high school with the pressure of perfection and high expectations. The novel educated me in Chinese mythology and had a strong female character grow and realize that grades are not everything in life. The school life part of the book blended with the fantasy part quite nicely. Overall, an excellent book with lots of potential. The book had a few flaws that did not really affect the actual material but were noticeable. It did not feel entirely original because it felt a lot like a book from the Percy Jackson series but from an Asian perspective. The story plot went by too fast and it threw too much information at the reader in the middle of the plot. The conclusion felt quick and rushed like the book just wanted to end. However, it did wrap everything up nicely and made a good conclusion that left me wondering. I left off craving for more and I would really enjoy a sequel. - Muntaqim --------------- The Epic Crush of Genie Lo is excellent book that encompasses Chinese mythology and includes a strong female protagonist. The plot revolves around A kickass Chinese-American named Genie Lo, a snarky overachiever who dreams of attending Harvard in her future. She was living a normal life until she met the new transfer student named Quentin Sun. Quentin is not out of the ordinary if you choose to ignore the fact that he is the living incarnation of the fierce Chinese deity Sun Wukong, better known as the Monkey King. Quentin came to warn Genie that demons from Chinese mythology have escaped Hell and it's up to them to protect Earth. As one might expect she did not take this news well, but throughout the story Genie discovers that she has powers that rival the gods and with Quentin's help they have a chance at returning the demons to whence they came. There are many things that I liked about this book such as the use of Chinese Mythology because I find it very uncommon in fiction novels compared to Greek or Norse mythology. Genie was an excellent MC with relatable goals and life problems, however I did have some problems with the book. Some of these problems included the action scenes which were quick to end and the romantic tension of the love triangle was somewhat bland. The overall quality of the book was good with strong characters nonetheless. There is excellent irony and plot twists that I didn't see coming as well. The overall conflict was straight forward, but the humour gave the book some witty vibes. I would recommend this book for mythology fanatics and people who enjoy stories of a strong protagonist learning about themselves and the people around them.