Breath of the Dragon

September 23, 2024
An ambitious teen warrior risks all in this cinematic duology-opener from Fonda Lee (the Green Bone Saga) and Bruce Lee’s daughter, Shannon Lee (Be Water, My Friend, for adults). Jun Li is six when East Longhan’s Aspects of Virtue come to take his twin, Sai, to join their sect of elite fighters who protect the sacred Scroll of Earth. Sai may be breathmarked—blessed by almighty Dragon with scales and a special ability—but Jun, a superior martial artist, shows off, hoping they’ll take him, too. Instead, Jun and his trainer father are exiled, as East Longhan civilians are forbidden from studying combat. Ten years later, in martial arts-revering West Longhan, Jun runs away to compete in the Guardian’s Tournament. If Jun wins, he’ll become Guardian of the Scroll of Heaven and earn the 10-year-old emperor’s ear—an important perk given that corrupt General Cobu intends to rig the contest and use his chosen candidate to facilitate a coup. The authors extol Bruce Lee’s principles while continually raising the stakes and surprising readers with thoughtful twists in this relentlessly paced and exquisitely choreographed martial arts fantasy series opener. Characters cue as East Asian. Ages 13–up. Agents: Penny Moore and Jane von Mehren, Aevitas Creative Management.

Starred review from November 1, 2024
In a Chinese-inspired fantasy world, a teen on the path to personal glory discovers his role in the complex world around him. For the past decade, Jun and his father, Li Hon, have lived in West Longhan, exiled from their East Longhan home and separated from Jun's identical twin, Sai, and the boys' mother for illegally practicing martial arts. Jun embraces martial arts, training daily at the Iron Core school in hopes of winning the Guardians' Tournament: Guardian of the Scroll of Heaven is a powerful and influential position with access to the emperor. Li Hon, blaming martial arts for destroying his family, instead pushes Jun to take the imperial exams and try to join the civil service. So Jun sneaks aboard the wagon of travelling performer Chang, a blind flutist, and his daughter, Ren. His plan is to leave town, win the tournament, and prove his father wrong. Jun's journey skillfully weaves together his martial arts training and his gradually expanding political worldview as he realizes the impact he could have as Guardian. The unpredictable plot twists and innovative magic system, which incorporates religious elements, are intriguing and, along with Jun's realistic emotional development and reactions, create a gripping narrative. The romance between Ren and Jun is low-key; the story focuses more on familial and platonic relationships, and the depiction of the family's separation and its impact on both Jun and his father is nuanced and believable. A complex, hard-hitting, epic martial arts journey. (map)(Fantasy. 12-18)

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Starred review from January 1, 2025

Gr 7 Up-The time has come for the Guardian's Tournament in East Longhan, where the best martial artist on the east side of the wall will be named the Guardian of the Scroll and take custody of the nation's most sacred artifact. Li Jun, separated from his brother and exiled to West Longhan at the age of six, is determined to prove his martial arts skills and become the Guardian. When his rival, Yin Yue, is chosen to represent their martial arts school at the tournament instead, Jun stows away in the cart of a blind, traveling musician who is secretly a skilled martial artist. Jun's inability to stay still and his struggles with self-control will make him an instantly relatable character to teen boys, while the fast-paced nature of the tournament will keep any reader's attention locked on the page. Although there is more afoot than the tournament in East Longhan's capitol, Jun's ability to focus on what is immediately in front of him keeps the plot progression straightforward and manageable. Defying expectations of such a neat narrative, even the side characters have a compelling presence that heightens the stakes in even non-tournament scenes. VERDICT This straight shot of pure shonen manga energy is a priority purchase for libraries struggling to meet the needs of middle schoolers who are striving readers.-Austin Ferraro

Copyright 2025 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from December 1, 2024
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* Li Jun and Li Sai are identical twins: exactly the same in every way. Except for one thing--Sai bears the breathmark of dragon skin, requiring his surrender to the Council of Virtue and its Aspects (the government's most highly trained warriors). When the boys are just six years old, their family is torn apart by this system. Jun and their father are banished from East Longhan to the West as punishment for delaying Sai's training, separating them from Sai and Jun's mother. Despite this painful exile and his father's resulting distaste for the martial arts, Jun is deeply convinced that he is capable of winning the upcoming Guardian's Tournament, a feat that would afford him all the power he has never known. Attaining the position of Guardian of the Scroll of Heaven would also restore the Li family's honor, so against his father's wishes, Jun sneaks away in the cart of a blind flutist and his prickly dancing daughter to his destiny. What follows is an intense tale full of action, with political intrigue galore and a main character working through the implications of familial responsibilities at war with personal convictions. A very light romance and meticulously crafted fight scenes round out this duology opener that absolutely does justice to its Bruce Lee inspiration.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

March 1, 2025
Honor, family, respect, ambition -- familiar values are embedded in this Chinese-inspired fantasy set in a world with a long, winding Snake Wall separating East and West. Some children are "breathmarked," born with a patch of dragon scales on their skin indicating an innate talent. East-born twins Sai and Jun have always shared everything, except that Sai is breathmarked and specially chosen to train to protect the East. Jun, who has been illegally training in martial arts for years, betrays his own secret in a fit of jealousy, which tears their family apart; Jun and his father are banished to the West, while Sai and his mother remain in the East. Resentful but undeterred, Jun runs away to fight in a tournament to restore his family's honor. He soon discovers that political corruption has transformed the tournament into a deadly battle against reunification, and he must decide what he is willing to risk. Sensory details plunge readers into the danger and splendor of the tournament as well as Jun's poignant inner conflicts. A page-turning adventure and coming-of-age tale steeped in fantastical myth. J. Elizabeth Mills

(Copyright 2025 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)