When I got my first Amazon Review, I was so warmed to see that the reader compared it to Harry Potter and it's my strong belief that the next Harry Potter experience can be an immersive fantastical Asian American experience.
The next Amazon review was also a delight as a 12 year old boy finished the entire book in 2 days! So the parents had to buy him book two, Clara Wu and the Jade Labyrinth. This is also a testament that boys can enjoy this book that feature some serious Asian girl power!
But it's also mommy APPROVED as this adult reader could enjoy the book and eventually wants her two daughters to follow in the adventures of Clara Wu and her friends, Sung Kim, Yuka Satoh and Daniel Nguyen.
When this Asian American teenager finally found a book that she could relate to, as an Asian American, she told her mother to buy it. This just reinforces the reality that there isn't a YA Asian American fantasy series that takes place in the present where they can find a heroine who also enjoys boba tea while battling a demonic Warlock.
As much as I want Asian Americans to read this book, I also want our allies to read it. Because if anyone who is not White can enjoy Harry Potter, why can't non-Asian readers enjoy an Asian American fantasy? So this mother who is White was thoroughly delighted when her 11 year old daughter got into the book and she got to see Asian American teens as heroes. How often does that happen?
Representation matters and for this young reader, who is half Black and Latino, he was entirely enthralled by Clara Wu and the World of Azen. But the magic of this book is that it brought in Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese culture along with Chinese culture. In this YA Asian American fantasy, the entire Asian fantastical world is immersive, the Asian culture is transformed and martial arts is re-imagined in a new way that will enthrall readers. I would never have thought that my book would create so much genuine interest in so many Asian cultures that an 8 year old boy would read the dictionary in the back of the book. When we get Asian American stories that move away from the stereotypical portrayals, we get genuine interest and respect. That is what we want in order to portray ourselves authentically and genuinely.
