[Review] Daughter of Xanadu by Dori Jones Yang

Title: Daughter of Xanadu

Author: Dori Jones Yang

Publication (dd/mm/yy): 11/01/11

Publisher: Random House (Delacourte)
Price: $17.99 US

Source: ARC Tour (Good Golly Miss Holly Tours)
Age: 16+, violence

Pages: 320

My Rating:

Summary:

Athletic and strong willed, Princess Emmajin's determined to do what no woman has done before: become a warrior in the army of her grandfather, the Great Khan Khubilai. In the Mongol world the only way to achieve respect is to show bravery and win glory on the battlefield.
The last thing she wants is the distraction of the foreigner Marco Polo, who challenges her beliefs in the gardens of Xanadu. Marco has no skills in the "manly arts" of the Mongols: horse racing, archery, and wrestling. Still, he charms the Khan with his wit and story-telling.
Emmajin sees a different Marco as they travel across 13th-century China, hunting 'dragons' and fighting elephant-back warriors. Now she faces a different battle as she struggles with her attraction towards Marco and her incredible goal of winning fame as a soldier.

My thoughts: 

Daughter of Xanadu is the first book I have read this year that I can say with absolute honesty deserves a 5 star rating. Daughter of Xanadu was everything I had expected of it. This was one of those books that I could not wait to get my hands on, to the point of stalking the author around the blogosphere. Yang's debut YA novel was a phenomenal mix of the historical (and thus, educational) and fictional, the memorable and the entertaining.

Waiting on Wednesday (10)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

For this week, I am swooning over Daughter of Xanadu by Dori Jones Yang, which is due for release on January 2011!

Why I'm Waiting on Daughter of Xanadu:

Historical YA about ancient China. I really REALLY like the cover for this one. It's just so pretty. :) Also, this one kind of reminds me of Mulan, a movie which I love! ♥ According to early reviews, Daughter of Xanadu provides a historical background both unique, different and interesting. I also like the idea of romance being not just a love triangle, that it'll be something that is a little more in the background, rather than pervading the novel or driving the plot forward.

Synopsis (Goodreads):

Athletic and strong willed, Princess Emmajin's determined to do what no woman has done before: become a warrior in the army of her grandfather, the Great Khan Khubilai. In the Mongol world the only way to achieve respect is to show bravery and win glory on the battlefield. The last thing she wants is the distraction of the foreigner Marco Polo, who challenges her beliefs in the gardens of Xanadu.

Marco has no skills in the "manly arts" of the Mongols: horse racing, archery, and wrestling. Still, he charms the Khan with his wit and story-telling. Emmajin sees a different Marco as they travel across 13th-century China, hunting 'dragons' and fighting elephant-back warriors.

Now she faces a different battle as she struggles with her attraction towards Marco and her incredible goal of winning fame as a soldier.

Links:
Goodreads page
Dori Jones Yang's site


Thanks for visiting my weekly WoW post. 2011 is continuing to look like a promising year in the YA book department. ♥

While you're here...

Check out my early review for BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS by Anna Godbersen!!!

What are you waiting on this week?

[ARC Tour] Daughter of Xanadu @ Good Golly Miss Holly

So I'm a part of the ARC Tours at Good Golly Miss Holly -- a blog I love infinitely. She's an Aussie book blogger like me, and quite an established and well-known one at that. :) Anyway, for now, her tour program is the only one I am signed up for, I believe. (maybe IBT too)

Anyway, I thought I'd just take a breather and list all those I've been signed up for. I can barely remember signing for them, but am really glad about them, and excited to read & review each one of them! 

• Secondhand Charm by Julie Berry
• Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters by Natalie Standiford
• Aces Up by Lauren Barnholdt
• Fixing Delilah Hannaford by Sarah Ockler

I'm wondering what happens when you're at the end of the list- do you get to keep the ARC? :) Hehe. That'd be pretty cool. No shipping, AND a free ARC!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So anyway, why am I REALLY here talking about ARC tours? As is evident in the title, I am obviously here to promote a book that I want more people to sign up for, for the tour! There are still 4 more spots available, you can choose who you are able to send to (as in, within your country, or intl'), and it's free!

Athletic and strong willed, Princess Emmajin is determined to do what no woman has done before: become a warrior in the army of her grandfather, the Great Khan Khubilai. [MULAN, ANYONE?] In the Mongol world the only way to achieve respect is to show bravery and win glory on the battlefield. The last thing she wants is the distraction of a foreign man, Marco Polo, who challenges her beliefs during encounters in the gardens of Xanadu. Marco has no skills in the "manly arts" of the Mongols: horse racing, archery, and wrestling. Still, he charms the Khan with his wit and story-telling. Emmajin sees a different Marco as they travel across 13th-century China, hunting 'dragons' and fighting elephant-back warriors. She faces an even tougher inner battle as she struggles with her attraction towards Marco and her far-fetched goal of winning fame as a soldier.

I'm just loving the idea of this novel! It sounds like win all over, especially since Mulan is my definite favourite Disney movie (haven't watched the "real" Mulan, much too sad for me). It's a historical novel, so I'm interested to see how accurate the portrayal of China in the 13th century is. Sounds good though. Strong protagonista, dragons & warriors, a love story, a war? = action, and well, the cover is BEAUTIFUL. I don't know about some of you, but I'm sold!

ALSO, this is a DEBUT 2011 RELEASE!!! Want to get a head-start for The Story Siren's debut challenge for 2011? Well, this would be a great start, I'm certain. So, PLEASE, if you are interested, go over to Good Golly Miss Holly, and sign up! I'll be devastated if this tour doesn't go forward!

Title: Daughter of Xanadu

Author: Dori Jones Yang

Publisher: Delacorte Press (a division of Random House)

Release Date: January 11, 2011

ISBN Number: 9780385739238

Goodreads | ARC Tour | Amazon