FEBRUARY 2019 - AudioFile
Narrator Nancy Wu expertly conveys Peasprout’s hilarious snarkiness and spunk in the sequel to PEASPROUT CHEN: FUTURE LEGEND OF SKATE AND SWORD Traditional Asian music introduces the audiobook before giving way to an original pop song, presaging the blending of worlds in this Asian-inspired fantasy. Entering her second year at Pearl Famous Academy of Skate and Sword, Peasprout joins a “battleband," a skating team with elaborate moves that are part musical spectacle, part defensive attack. Wu’s varied voices and accents help distinguish the characters, reflecting the friendships, sibling relationships, and rivalries, but it’s Wu’s eager and vulnerably sincere Peasprout who gives the story its heart. While listeners new to the series should start with Book 1, Peasprout fans will definitely be satisfied with this sequel. S.C. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
From the Publisher
Praise for Peasprout Chen, Future Legend of Skate and Sword Audiobook:
"Delivers all the joys of a classic new-kid-at-school story. . . . Wu liu may be an invented martial art, but Lien's descriptions of fantastically beautiful complicated moves and spins will doubtless inspire many young readers to wish it were real." —Parents' Choice Foundation
"The narrator, Nancy Wu, finds just the right blade edge between girlish naïveté and brashness for our protagonist" —New York Times
"Massively entertaining...Peasprout Chen is a future legend, indeed." —Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
"Wu glides deftly through the narration with distinct characterizations...This unique heroine will skate into the hearts of middle-grade listeners." —Booklist, Starred Review
"The narrator, Nancy Wu, finds just the right blade edge between girlish naïveté and brashness for our protagonist, who isn’t about to be cowed by teenage queen bees or distracted by romance, and who registers her near-constant displeasure with epithets like “Ten thousand years of stomach gas!”" -New York Times
"[Nancy] Wu glides deftly through the narration with distinct characterizations. ...Wu’s pacing is flawless, slow and thoughtful or tense and fast when the story’s action calls for it. In competition scenes, especially, Wu shines, imparting a breathlessness listeners can feel. ...By turns funny and serious, Peasprout Chen tackles tough subjects: immigration, family, and hard choices. This unique heroine will skate into the hearts of middle-grade listeners." -Booklist, Starred Review
"With dazzling versatility, narrator Nancy Wu immerses listeners in this complex East Asian-inspired fantasy about a martial arts legend in the making. ...Wu's narration captures Peasprout's every nuance—hubristic yet vulnerable, snarky yet sincere—alongside character voices that range from subtly accented to all-out caricature. Peppered with breathless wu liu action and bookended by original music, this memorable performance will leave listeners hoping for a sequel." -AudioFile, Earphones Award Winner
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2018-11-26
Facing possible deportation, imminent war, and a nest of "usually benevolent but now vicious coiling water dragons," Chen Peasprout and her friends skate into full gear.
Entering her second year at Pearl Famous Academy of Skate and Sword, Peasprout is still reeling from the discoveries of Book 1—and readers new to the series should start there. Charming classmate Hisashi returns to Pearl with the mysterious Wu Yinmei, allegedly seeking refuge from her great-great-grandmother, the ruthless Shinian Empress Dowager. As the school transforms into a military academy, the three students, along with Peasprout's best friend, Doi, and brainy younger brother, Cricket, join forces (team name: Nobody and the Fire-Chickens) to outwit their classmates and defend Pearl. Lien hits his stride in this second installment, as the series' many narrative threads begin to coalesce. The Asian-inspired fantasy, with its presumably all-Asian (or fantasy equivalent) cast, takes on weighty and relevant questions of gender, ability, leadership, immigration, conservation of natural resources, national identity, and political change with intelligence, deftness, and precision. Romances, including one between two girls, are realistically awkward (but maybe less realistically chaste—though they are still in their early teens) while the friendships, sibling relationships, and rivalries continue to provide the story's emotional core. And Peasprout is its snarky, brilliant, hilarious, and utterly human heart. Readers, who have to wait for the next volume to see what happens next, will echo one of Peasprout's favorite imprecations: "Ten thousand years of stomach gas."
A riveting second act. (Fantasy. 10-14)
