I loved this smart, funny young adult book complete with Chinese folklore, a rock-solid friendship, creative fantasy elements, and great action and romance.
Genie Lo is a Bay Area sixteen-year-old who's tall enough to be generally criticized by her petite Asian mother (and to be awesome at volleyball), is focused on her grades, and is obsessed with getting into Harvard.
She and her best friend Yunie are making their way together through high school and all of its pitfalls. Then a persistent, oddball new classmate, Quentin Sun, starts hanging around. He's kind of cute but seriously strange. That's because, as it turns out, he's actually Sun Wukong, the Monkey King. An immortal being.
Oh, and he shares with Genie that she's the heaven-appointed Guardian of California, responsible for all spirits visiting the area from other planes. Even though she's supposed to be on college visits, she's in charge of keeping the peace among the bickering supernatural creatures who seem determined to make her life difficult. Quentin may also be in love with her. But she's supposed to keep all of this mayhem a secret from her family and friends.
I loved this smart, funny young adult book--the first in a series--complete with Chinese folklore, a rock-solid friendship, creative fantasy elements, and great action and romance. It's about embracing your true self, saying yes to adventure, and the strength and power of loyalty and steadfast friendship.
What did you think?
The Epic Crush of Genie Lo reminded me of Buffy the Vampire Slayer at times, in the best way possible.
For a different (not young adult) book I also loved, which centers around superheroes, loyalty, revenge, and following your calling, see Hench.