The Phoenix Pencil Company

by Allison King

A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK!

In this dazzling debut novel, a hidden and nearly forgotten magic—of Reforging pencils, bringing the memories they contain back to life—holds the power to transform a young woman’s relationship with her grandmother, and to mend long-lost connections across time and space.

Monica Tsai spends most days on her computer, journaling the details of her ordinary life and coding for a program that seeks to connect strangers online. A self-proclaimed recluse, she's always struggled to make friends and, as a college freshman, finds herself escaping into a digital world, counting the days until she can return home to her beloved grandparents. They are now in their nineties, and Monica worries about them constantly—especially her grandmother, Yun, who survived two wars in China before coming to the States, and whose memory has begun to fade.

Though Yun rarely speaks of her past, Monica is determined to find the long-lost cousin she was separated from years ago. One day, the very program Monica is helping to build connects her to a young woman, whose gift of a single pencil holds a surprising clue. Monica’s discovery of a hidden family history is exquisitely braided with Yun’s own memories as she writes of her years in Shanghai, working at the Phoenix Pencil Company. As WWII rages outside their door, Yun and her cousin, Meng, learn of a special power the women in their family possess: the ability to Reforge a pencil’s words. But when the government uncovers their secret, they are forced into a life of espionage, betraying other people’s stories to survive.

Combining the cross-generational family saga and epistolary form of A Tale for the Time Being with the uplifting, emotional magic of The Midnight Library, Allison King’s stunning debut novel asks: who owns and inherits our stories? The answers and secrets that surface on the page may have the unerasable power to reconnect a family and restore a legacy.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Magical Realism, Audiobook, Historical, China

368 pages, Paperback

First published June 3, 2025

About the author

Allison King is an Asian American writer and software engineer based in Massachusetts. In technology, her work has ranged from semiconductors to platforms for community conversations to data privacy. Her short stories have appeared in Fantasy Magazine , Diabolical Plots , and LeVar Burton Reads, among others. She is a Reese's Book Club LitUp fellow.

Reviews

[L.A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5* This is not my usual genre, but I'm so glad I branched out for this one.
"In this dazzling debut novel, a hidden and nearly forgotten magic—of Reforging pencils, bringing the memories they contain back to life—holds the power to transform a young woman’s relationship with her grandmother, and to mend long-lost connections across time and space."
I loved the title and cover but never imagined what the story held. In 1937, a pencil factory in China was a front to make magical pencils that held the power to bleed out the memories of their owner into stories. It was used during the Shanghai war to spy on dissidents through various regimes. It is more about survival and two cousins were separated by war and reunited by one of the granddaughters involved with a research program in America.
The Shanghai culture during the war is heavily compelling. With dual timelines, not only the past but modern time Monica is a college student majoring in computer science. Her grandmother raised her and is now in her nineties diagnosed with Alzheimer's. She finds journals and letters that reveal the emotional turmoil her grandmother and cousin Yun faced. They survived selling pencils and would pass them on with decoded messages.
Fun facts: A Phoenix is a magical creature born from its ashes, weirdly enough then the fantasy part of the magical realism comes to life. If you can step aside from fantasy, it becomes a history lesson, a romance and a story of survival meshed together to find life lessons, espionage and betrayal. Diving into the diaries and journals becomes quite the surprise for Monica.
Who isn't fascinated by the yellow pencil? The cover is eye-catching and delivers well when we all know pencils do contain magic of their own. Well-written for a debut and entertaining!
Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for this ARC in exchange for my review.

[Anne Bogel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club July 2025 selection and a 2025 Summer Reading Guide Minimalist Pick. The author will join us for a live discussion!

This exceptional debut was inspired by King’s grandparents and the pencil company they once ran in Shanghai. The magical pencils in this book retain the memory of what they’ve written, and those who know how to “reforge” them can bring the memories they contain back to life. This power can be used to expose family secrets, betray a nation, or communicate loving words that were never uttered aloud.

This is a real genre-bender, blending WWII-era historical fiction, grounded fantasy, family drama, and queer romance, all with compelling characters and an original and propulsive plot. Readers may also be drawn to the sweet grandmother/granddaughter relationship, close look at Chinese history, and thoughtful exploration of questions concerning data, privacy, and who owns our stories.

[Terrie Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Secrets. Survival. Emotional. Magical...

The Phoenix Pencil Company is the story of two women, Monica Tsai and her grandmother, Wong Yun. They are tied together by the secret and lost magic of reforging pencils—the ability to bring memories and experiences, of those who wrote with them, back to life...

This story alternates between Monica's computer journaling, describing her introverted life as a college student in Massachusetts, and Yun's handwritten letters recalling her early life in 1940s Shanghai at her family's Phoenix Pencil Company, and later, as she emigrates to the United States.

Monica was raised by her grandparents, who are now in their 90s, and there is deep love between these two generations. However, little is revealed of the generation in between, Monica's father and mother. It leaves a noticeable gap and many unanswered questions concerning the family story.

I paired the audiobook with the DRC; the narrators' voices give life to Monica and Yun, and I became attached to both characters in the first two chapters. Yun's chapters are especially evocative, and I was utterly mesmerized by the words and the voice of the narrator.

The Phoenix Pencil Company uses the magical concept of reforging as a metaphor for the power of storytelling, and how we pass down stories from generation to generation. This family story is told through a tangle of hardships, silences, and fears that gives this tale a heaviness, felt primarily through Yun's narrative, and it is that part of this debut novel I enjoyed the most!

4⭐

Thank you to William Morrow and Allison King for the gifted DRC through NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Up until I was about 60% done with this book it was headed towards 4.5 stars. I loved the characters and the story and the idea so much!

And then it took such a weird turn that felt like it came out of nowhere and was so awkward for no good reason. It totally ruined the experience.

[Denise Ruttan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The prose was beautiful in this book and I loved the way the story wove together the concepts of storytelling, memory, family history, spying and immigrant stories with social media data, technology and broader privacy and ethical issues. But it's only not getting 4 stars because I struggled with the love story.

This book tells the story of Monica Tsai, a shy, reclusive computer programmer who's more at home with lines of code than the ways of the heart. She is close to her loving grandparents, who raised her. Her family has a secret that she unearths with the help of a new social media app that scrapes journal entries to make connections between users.

She connects her grandmother with a long-lost family friend and finds out about the family secret: They used to own a pencil factory in China. But the pencils were a front for a magical power the women in the family possessed to Reforge pencils and bleed out the memories of their owners into stories. This power was used during wartime in Shanghai to spy on dissidents through various regimes. I was confused about the mechanics of how this power worked and could never really picture it.

The narrative is woven together through multiple points of view in the form of journal entries and personal letters, which I found creatively executed and easy to follow.

On this journey of discovery, Monica meets Louise, the family friend's daughter, whom she develops a crush on. The two dance around a tentative situationship while Louise is using her for her real project, her future career as an archivist. She wants to get close to Monica's grandmother to record her story. Stories, for her, are a way of connecting to a family that she's never felt she belonged to.

There was a nasty third-act betrayal in the love story though, not cheating but I found myself disliking Louise and not trusting her intentions, and I did not forgive her as quickly as Monica did. I would have been happier with a sad ending for them than the flimsy HEA presented. Betrayals are my least favorite third act breakup and they require a strong redemption arc and a deep-dive into character motivations for me to appreciate them. That didn't happen here; their reunion felt rushed and tentative.

In short... the story was beautiful but the romance really did not work for me at all.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[NILTON TEIXEIRA · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The Phoenix Pencil Company”, a debut novel by Allison King (magical realism)

Dazzling 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I thought that this is an excellent debut novel.
The storytelling was marvellous! And so was the writing.
There was so much passion and feelings, especially during the grandmother’s perspective, which written in epistolary form.
I really enjoyed this book, more than I expected.
The dual timeline structure was well done.
The concept was quite interesting and fascinating.
The younger character was likeable and believable, but annoying at sometimes.
The story is absolutely moving, mixing history and magical realism. The author did a great job weaving stories across generations.
The narrative is structured as a series of letters and journal entries, primarily between Monica Tsai and her grandmother, Yun, who is writing to her cousin Meng. This epistolary style is used to explore themes of memory, family secrets, and intergenerational connection across different timelines.
So fascinating!
I must confess that I could not stop seeing the pencil as an instrument of addiction. This is a work of fiction where the women in the family have the ability to recreate the words written with a pencil. An ability that could be used for both good and bad purposes.

I read the book while simultaneously listening to the audiobook. The narrator performing the grandmother was awesome, so I highly recommend the audiobook. But the narration is very slow, so I must confess that I had to listen to at least at 1.25x up to 1.50x.

Audiobook narrated by Carolyn Kang, Jodi Long, Sura Siu, Crystal Yu (13.8 hours at normal speed - unabridged)

Hardcover by Williams Morrow: 368 pages, 35 chapters

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Phoenix Pencil Company by Allison King is a debut novel that combines family secrets, magical realism, and a sprinkle of espionage. The story follows Monica Tsai, a college student who is stuck between two worlds: should she stay on track with her computer science degree or hit pause to care for her beloved grandmother, Meng, who’s been diagnosed with Alzheimer's? But just when Monica thinks life can’t get more complicated, she discovers her grandmother’s jaw-dropping secret - Meng can use a magical pencil heart and literally inject them into her veins to read what the writer has written. It's called Reforging.
The novel flips between two timelines: Monica’s modern day struggles and Meng’s past life in war-torn Shanghai. As a young girl, Meng and her cousin Yun survive by selling handmade pencils, using their mysterious power that helps them navigate a dangerous life of espionage in the International Settlement. It's never truly discussed why or how they receive these abilities. We just accept it as it is.
What starts as a tender tale of grandmother and granddaughter quickly unravels into a sweeping saga of family, betrayal, and secrets. Meng’s hidden history comes to light as she reveals the untold stories of her past, and along the way, Monica forms an unexpected bond with Louise, a fellow college student who has her own ties to Meng’s cousin Yun. Monica begins working on a tech company her Professor has created called EMBRS—a data heavy online diary. I found the EMBRS portion of the book uninteresting. It was a confusing program to me, while I get the relationship between the pencils and the diary, I just didn't connect with it the technology.
Meng is reframing her past as we read it, weaving us into her survival story. While the narrative weaves between timelines, at times, it feels a little hard to follow who’s speaking to whom, and some of the espionage elements feel like they get brushed over. I would’ve loved to see more of the gritty details of life in China during these turbulent time and how Meng and Yun interacted with the people the government deemed as enemies. This part was glossed over.

The story is truly about how we keep stories and how we share them.

As much as I wasn’t completely sold on the EMBRS subplot, or the romance portion, the magical realism at the heart of the novel is undeniably unique and intriguing. And it’s always a pleasure to see fresh voices from Asian-American authors entering the literary world. Allison King clearly has a ton of talent, and I’m excited to see what she’ll write next!

[Bkwmlee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Allison King’s debut novel The Phoenix Pencil Company was an interesting read that turned out to be nothing like what I expected when I first picked it up. This is one of those books that I would call a “genre mashup” where several different genres – historical fiction, contemporary fiction, light fantasy with touches of magical realism, and even a dash of romance – are woven together to form a compelling story that not only kept me engaged from the beginning, but also continually surprised me with the various directions that the narrative took.

One of the unique aspects about this story is that it is a dual timeline narrative (alternating between past and present), but told in an epistolary format from both first person and second person point of view. The present timeline, written in the form of blog-like journal entries, is told from the perspective of Monica Tsai, a reclusive twenty-something computer engineering student whose two main joys in life are coding and spending time with the beloved grandparents who raised her. When Monica returns home to Cambridge, Massachusetts during the summer of her freshman year in college, she discovers that her grandmother Wong Yun, has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s – a discovery that sets Monica on the path of not only reconnecting her grandmother with her long lost cousin Chen Meng, but also unearthing a long-buried family secret: the magical power of Reforging words written with the pencils created by her family’s Phoenix Pencil Company. The historical timeline is told from the perspective of Monica’s grandmother Wong Yun, written in the form of a “letter” to her cousin Chen Meng, through the Reforged pencil which Yun uses to preserve her memories. In this past timeline, we are transported back to late 1930s Shanghai, China, during World War II, as Yun recounts her childhood working with Meng at the family’s Phoenix Pencil Company. With the historical timeline, one of the things I appreciated was the depth of coverage in terms of the historical events on the Asian front during WWII. Indeed, when it comes to novels set during this period, the mainstream familiarity with WWII is traditionally from either the European or the American perspective – from the Chinese perspective however, WWII actually started when Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931, which officially launched the Sino-Japanese War and ultimately, Japan’s occupation of various parts of China in the late 1930s when the story’s historical timeline begins. The timeline also covers the period immediately after WWII, with the Chinese civil war in which the Nationalists and the Communists fought for control of China, resulting in the formation of a separate government in Taiwan.

Of course, as a fan of historical fiction, I found the “past” timeline more interesting story-wise, but from a character perspective, the “present” (contemporary) timeline definitely won hands down. I absolutely loved the relationship between Monica and her grandparents – their interactions were so genuine and moving that I was nearly brought to tears more than once, especially during those moments when the characters would find themselves at a crossroads, trying to reconcile the aspects of their culture (for example, the emotional restraint and reticence that is a common trait in Chinese culture) that was in conflict with the reality of their life experiences and situations. I also found it especially refreshing that the novel centered on the Chinese American experience without following the usual immigrant narrative. Instead, it highlighted the significant role of grandparents – a perspective that is deeply important, yet often overlooked.

With that said, there was some “science-y” stuff related to Monica’s profession – coding and tech terminology, specifically – that went completely over my head, but luckily, this didn’t detract from my overall enjoyment of the novel.

King’s strong debut is a genre-defying, heartfelt tale that explores family, culture, identity, and sacrifice, while also providing thoughtful insight on contemporary concerns related to the use of technology, data privacy, and consent. While some aspects of the story may require a little bit of patience to get through, the emotional resonance of the characters’ relationships as well as the unique narrative format make this a worthwhile read that I wholeheartedly recommend!

Received ARC from William Morrow via NetGalley.

[Crystal Palmisano-Dillard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story follows a family of women with the gift of making pencils but also taking in the stories/messages written by those pencils along with the ability to Reforge the stories onto paper for others to read.

The narrator jumps between Monica, a young woman in 2018 who has been raised by her grandparents and her grandmother, Yun, who began her life in Shanghai only to have it disrupted by wars and conflicts.

Yun's mother and aunt (and later her and her cousin) were used by the Chinese military and later the Nationalist and Communist parties to pass and decode messages. This led to both of them separating themselves as much as possible from this ability.

Monica is working on a digital project that scrapes social media and other online sources for information to make connections.

I loved how Monica was able to learn her family's history and rebuild connections when she felt so alone as her grandparent's health deteriorated.

Overall this struck me as a tale about who gets to tell your story and privacy. As so many of us have huge digital footprints these days, it hits deeply.

[Angie Miale · Rating 3 out of 5]

You have 32 great-great-great-grandparents. And some of them were probably very brave. Some were very smart, and some were very good people. Over time, their stories have been lost, likely you do not know any of their stories specifically. If you have done 23 and me, you likely know where they were born and grew up. For most people on earth today, you live in a different country than your great-great-great grandparents did. And so much of our experience, our connections, are wildly different than theirs. And yet, much is the same.

Monica's family's legacy is the Phoenix Pencil company, a manufacturer of pencil in Shanghai. As her grandmother Yun is facing her final days, Monica wants to reconcile her relationship with her cousin Meng. She survived the Chinese civil war (I did have to look up "Chinese civil war" on wikipedia quickly for context) and came to California, leaving her beloved cousin behind. Soon Monica discovers that the pencils are not just pencils but carry the stories within them. And what is a Phoenix but a magical creature that burns and is born from its own ashes.

Highly lyrical and descriptive, The Phoenix Pencil Company is a debut novel that spans generations and continents. The characters change and grow, and there is also a tangential love story that (to me) kind of sprang up out of nowhere. The plot, while simplistic, was hopeful and original. True to the culture and timeline, the story echoes the question, "who owns your story and who will tell it?"

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC. Book to be published June 3, 2025.

[Debbie H · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ Generational family historical novel with magic throughout. Told from two points of view and two timelines. Monica, young college student wants to reunite her grandmother Yun with her cousin Meng left behind in Shanghai after WWII. They had been estranged since.

Their family has a secret related to the family’s company, The Phoenix Pencil Company. Monica’s narration is 2018 in the US, Yun’s is told from her childhood in China to the present. I found the story interesting and learned a lot about the hardships faced by the people during the war.

I didn’t really connect to the magic pencil story and was expecting more of that story line relating to Monica and her friend Louise and what was revealed about Yun and her cousin Meng.

Magic realism is not my favorite genre, but if you like this sort of story I think you’ll like this one.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow Publishers for the ARC in exchange for my honest review

[Zana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was totally on board with this generational saga and sapphic romance until the last 10-15% of the novel, which turned this from a 4-star read to a 3-star read.

The dual timeline POVs were really done well. Each chapter's header told you exactly whose POV you're reading and, more importantly (at least for this novel), how it was written.

The historical chapters were atmospheric and you could feel yourself being in Japanese-occupied Shanghai. Those chapters kept me on edge, especially with the scenes that were heavy on the characters' experiences with the Japanese soldiers, the Nationalists, and the Communists. It was brutal and didn't pull any punches. If you like historical fiction, those chapters will be a treat.

I also liked the contemporary POV chapters. Monica's life as a Comp Sci college student, her work with her professor on the EMBRS project, and her budding romance with Louise were easy to relate to and straightforward to read. (I did like the romance up until it turned out that Louise didn't understand boundaries.)

I read a lot of darker novels, so the magic with the Reforged pencils didn't throw me off. It was disgusting, but in a cool, dark magic kind of way.

So why was this a 3-star read for me?

The climax and ending felt so out-of-character for Monica. Throughout the novel, she was adamant on following through with her school and career goals, fully believing in the potential and purpose of the EMBRS project. But then Louise's (potentially bad?) influence came into play and Monica acted in a very impulsive manner.

At first, I didn't want to discredit her activism (because I was a young idealist once, so I totally get it). But after that scene, it felt like the novel tried to say that preserving stories and archivism are dangerous acts because all of that data will be collected and sold to information brokers. So, why bother?

It was such a weird take that it took me out of the story and left a bad taste in my mouth.

I understand data privacy issues and I agree with Monica and Louise's stance, but this quote made things weird. "But if there’s truly no pattern, if our stories will be lost, no matter how hard we try to preserve them, then the only thing that really matters is the people in our lives, and how we treat them in this moment in time."

I don't know. I studied cultural anthropology so I've had firsthand experience with feeling guilty about using people's stories as data. But that quote was strange and didn't really sit well with me. The second half is great and all, but the first half ruined the heart of the story for me because it read like an ultimatum.

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for this arc.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Allison King is a new author and this is her debut novel. The descript and the cover are what captured my attention and caused me to pick up this book. I am glad I did.

Description:
Monica Tsai spends most days on her computer, journaling the details of her ordinary life and coding for a program that seeks to connect strangers online. A self-proclaimed recluse, she's always struggled to make friends and, as a college freshman, finds herself escaping into a digital world, counting the days until she can return home to her beloved grandparents. They are now in their nineties, and Monica worries about them constantly—especially her grandmother, Yun, who survived two wars in China before coming to the States, and whose memory has begun to fade.

Though Yun rarely speaks of her past, Monica is determined to find the long-lost cousin she was separated from years ago. One day, the very program Monica is helping to build connects her to a young woman, whose gift of a single pencil holds a surprising clue. Monica’s discovery of a hidden family history is exquisitely braided with Yun’s own memories as she writes of her years in Shanghai, working at the Phoenix Pencil Company. As WWII rages outside their door, Yun and her cousin, Meng, learn of a special power the women in their family the ability to Reforge a pencil’s words. But when the government uncovers their secret, they are forced into a life of espionage, betraying other people’s stories to survive.

Combining the cross-generational family saga and epistolary form of A Tale for the Time Being with the uplifting, emotional magic of The Midnight Library, Allison King’s stunning debut novel who owns and inherits our stories? The answers and secrets that surface on the page may have the unerasable power to reconnect a family and restore a legacy.

My Thoughts:
This is a tragic tale about a family who owned a pencil company. The women had a unique ability with pencils and memory that was tragically exploited - though I think their use during the war at first was probably a good thing, it was just that later it just wasn't. What befell the girls was hardship and pain. A series of events separated them and they had not found their way back to each other. When Monica searches for Yun's cousin, what she finds is unexpected. The book is a story of family, of pain, tragic events, hope and romance. It covers a great deal of themes and provides the reader with a great deal of history and Chinese culture. This is a wonderful debut novel. Congratulations to Allison King!

Thanks to William Morrow through Netgalley for an advance copy.

[Alex Z (azeebooks) · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was so much good about this book but it ultimately fell short for me.

I really appreciated the discussion on social media and personal narrative/history. Yun’s story was SO immersive and captivating. I enjoyed learning about Shanghai during WWII and the magical realism of the pencils was an enticing aspect.

Unfortunately Monica’s story fell a little short and I thought her story with Louise ended poorly.

⭐⭐⭐

Available June 3, 2025

Thank you to William Morrow for a free advance review copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Zoë · Rating 3 out of 5]

definitely went back and forth from feeling very emotional over this book to looking at the lead that has been wedged into my hand since kindergarten

[Susan in · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm 30% in and just had to put this one down. I love some magical realism blended with historical fiction, but the particular "magic" that is happening in this book isn't the kind that grabs me. I was struggling with the voice of the grandmother writing to her cousin recounting their shared history. It sounded like she was telling the cousin what happened (memories that the cousin shared) instead of reminiscing? It was "tell" vs. "show," and just felt wooden to me. Not sure if that was intentional since the grandmother is trying to preserve her memories before she loses them, but the woodenness of it just didn't work for me.

I got this as a "Read Now" selection off of NetGalley a week before its release to see what the buzz was about that I was hearing. Alas, it was not for me, but may be perfect for others.

[Anna Heald · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the equivalent of the cinnamon challenge…such a cool concept but the characters are as dry as trying to swallow a spoonful of cinnamon. Hope others get into it more than I did! ✏️

[Rae | The Finer Things Club CA · Rating 3 out of 5]

Allison King’s debut novel 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘰𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘹 𝘗𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘭 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺 is a multigenerational family saga told from the points of view of a granddaughter and grandmother. In 2018 in the northeastern United States, Monica is an engineering student whose work in a university research project—part journaling tool, part search engine—helps her locate a long-lost relative. In late 1930s and 1940s Shanghai, Yun and her cousin Meng come of age during World War II and the civil war and work alongside their mothers for the mysterious family business. Both accounts are told in an epistolary format and explore the importance of human connection, the dangers of commodifying communication, and the power of storytelling. I found the dialogue and prose stilted at times and the pace a bit too slow for my liking, but overall this is an interesting novel with an unraveling family mystery and a dose of magical realism. 3.5 stars rounded up. Thank you to Williams Morrow for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Marianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5★s
The Phoenix Pencil Company is the first novel by Asian-American author, Allison King. Computer Studies sophomore Monica Tsai has been searching for a meaningful gift for her beloved grandmother’s ninetieth birthday. After a year, finally the search engines have a result: she has found Meng Chen, the cousin Yun left behind in Shanghai seven decades earlier.

The contact is from a young woman named Louise Sun, a student at Princeton, and she has a gift from Meng for Yun: a pencil. Monica is confused by the unpretentiousness of the gift, and by her reaction to Louise, who is changing her major to focus on memory work, has already interviewed Meng and would like to interview Yun.

Back in 1937, ten-year-old Yun and her mother were living with her grandmother in Shanghai’s International Settlement, running the Phoenix Pencil Company, and trying to stay under the radar of the occupying Japanese. Yun’s aunt had fled their hometown, with its bigger pencil factory, and brought her daughter Meng to Shanghai seeking refuge. Both husbands were absent, probably fighting for the Chinese Army, possibly dead.

Yun felt both admiration and resentment for this interloper cousin. And jealousy that the sisters and Meng shared a secret they had been forbidden by grandmother to reveal. Eventually, though, the need of the Chinese resistance movement for secure messaging is so great that Yun needs to learn how to Reforge the pencils the agents use. It’s a technique the women of the family know, and works best with Phoenix pencils.

And now that Yun is losing her memory, it’s time to teach her granddaughter how to reclaim the stories from the pencils with which they were written. Monica’s college work involves sharing of journals, but when Louise expresses her interest in Yun’s memories, she’s not sure these are things that should be made public. When she says she’s afraid of what she might learn about her grandmother, Louise asks “but will you regret not learning about her?”

Alternating first person narratives over two timelines tell the story: Monica’s presented as a digital journal; Yun’s as the memories of seventy years ago which she is writing to her cousin before she loses them. Her memories involve secret messages conveyed by pencil and later, the covert surveillance of unwitting purchasers of Phoenix pencils by the Chinese Nationalists in Taiwan.

Both narratives hold secrets and betrayals, but also much love and care. The characters, though, are not easy to connect with, and the scant information about actual pencil making may leave some readers dissatisfied. The story does tend to drag in places, the magical reality aspect is less than convincing, and readers may wonder why the pencil communication is necessary at all in the modern era. While it has a 3.5 rating on GoodReads, it is more likely to appeal to readers with a Chinese/American background. Not for everyone.

[Katrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dazzling and unexpected (in a good way!). Reading Allison King’s debut novel reminded me of how I felt when reading, among others, Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, The Midnight Library, The Book Eaters, and The Cartographers. Monica, a college student and computer scientist, learns about her family’s pencil company and her family’s secret - the ability to Reforge pencils. And in the process, Monica learns about her family’s history, especially that of her beloved paternal grandmother. I don’t want to accidentally give anything away, but I loved the alternating timelines and viewpoints and the gradual reveal of feelings and secrets. Looking forward to reading more from King in the future.

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the advance reader's digital copy. #ThePhoenixPencilCompany #NetGalley

[Sarah (sarahanneisreading) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Sierra · Rating 1 out of 5]

*audiobook

[Mel Wick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story which alternated narrators between a grandmother who grew up in China with a family secret and her granddaughter in present day Massachusetts. The writing was terrific and I flew through the book. This is not my favorite genre but it totally worked for me. Highly recommend. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for copy of this arc.

[Monet Daffodil · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Phoenix Pencil Company
Author: Allison King

Thank you so much Netgalley and William Morrow for this ARC! I’m pretty shook from this one. I honestly requested it as another buddy read and damn I had no idea what I was in for. This book is about a magic that involves reforging pencils and using them to store memories, and bring them back to life. This story focuses on Monica who is a computer science student that works in a networking program. She uncovers her grandmother's past with the Phoenix Pencil Company and ends up trying to connect with her long lost cousin. This ends up opening her to this whole secret history of her family’s past. The book is told from Monica and her grandmother's POV. I loved every second of it. The grandparents made the story. There was so much emotion in this book. Like my heart is sore but also somewhat whole? I highly recommend this read. This book releases 6/3/25!

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this dual timeline debut that has a unique take on a Chinese American family history during the Japanese occupation, a moving Sapphic romance and a fun magical realism situation in which pencils can be manipulated to send messages across time. Really unique and good on audio. Would definitely recommend it and made for a good Pride month pick from the Reese Book Club. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Susan · Rating 1 out of 5]

UGH! What a disappointment. The write up for this book was so good and I was really looking forward to reading it. Needless to say I did not agree with the review. Just because someone is introverted and does not make friends easily, does not mean they are gay. To me, that was the implication. Then we have the mothers and daughters stabbing themselves (drawing blood) to release what the pencil has written for the writer. Ridiculous!

[Elena L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

[ 3.5/5 stars ]

Monica Tsai is a computer programmer who works with searching apps that make connection between people and finds herself escaping into a digital world. She lives with her grandma (Yun) and, now in her ninety and whose memory has begun to fade, Monica is determined to find a friend separated seventy years ago.

Told in dual POVs in the format of journal entries/letters - Monica and Yun - the story follows Monica as she dives into her family's past while one is transported to a Japanese-occupied Shanghai, to Yun's own memories working at the Phoenix Pencil Company. Between wars, betrayals and pencils, King questions what stories are meant to be shared/unearthed? how stories define one's life? who inherits one's stories?

I found the use of social media data and pencils brilliant, the enchanting magical realism exposing the meaning of connections and role of memory. Yun's perspective is the most compelling as one is able to witness the mystery behind the pencil and how politics dictate life. Even though I initially found the Yun's first person narrative quite confusing, I soon came to a realization of the author's intention, the vulnerability that was waiting towards the end of the story.

While the middle lost me a bit, the intimate touch in the second half of the book added an emotional layer and I could feel all the emotions. The romance, which dynamic seemed to be odd at first, convinced me. One aspect that I cherished most is the relationships in this book, between friends, lovers but especially family.

Inspired by King's family history, THE PHOENIX PENCIL COMPANY is, at its core, about family connection and the power of stories. The magical realism and examination of storytelling in this book are reminiscent of 'A tale for the time being' by Ruth Ozeki.

[ I received an ARC from the publisher - William Morrow books . All opinions are my own ]

[Amanda Hedrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Forgive my brief, steam-of-consciousness review - I became a mom to beautiful identical twin girls in June, so life has been a whirlwind ever since! While I’m still able to get some reading in, putting together coherent words for a review is much more difficult than it was a couple of months ago :)

I was really intrigued by the premise of this one when it first came onto my radar - while it was a unique and entertaining read, the novel as a whole didn’t quite work for me as well as I’d hoped. The story is told from two different POVs, following young coder Monica and her grandmother, as Monica slowly starts to learn about her family’s past. While I loved the history lesson of experiences in China during WWII, I never really grasped the magic piece (particularly the “second way” of reforging – just, why?) and found it harder to root for the characters than I anticipated. There’s a love story element that I struggled with a bit in the end. I think much of the reason I found it hard to connect with the larger story is that there were too many unanswered questions for me – did Louise have a family connection to Shanghai? What happened to Monica’s mom? I was also thrown by feeling like the messages about memory and sharing stories were mixed. I didn’t dislike it as a whole, but it felt much more YA than I usually enjoy and I ended up skimming a bit to finish it since I wasn’t nearly as invested as I’d hoped to be.

I did really appreciate the unique storytelling here though, and will certainly keep an eye out for what this author does next! Thank you so much to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

[Anne Robles · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to reforge the pencil in my eyeball.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Phoenix Pencil Company had major potential, and honestly, Yun’s story totally delivered. It was heartfelt, nuanced, and had that slow-burn emotional payoff I love. I was all in for her chapters. Monica’s storyline, though, felt kind of scattered and less compelling by comparison. I found myself skimming just to get back to Yun. While the book explores themes of memory, reinvention, and legacy, the imbalance between the two narratives threw off the pacing. It’s a solid read overall, but I found myself wishing the entire novel had focused on Yun.