Sword

Forbidden Tales

by Da Chen

On the morning of Miu Miu's fifteenth birthday, her mother makes a startling Miu Miu's fate is to travel to the faraway city of Chang'an, avenge her father's death, and find her true love. But the evil emperor has other plans for her. Defeating him will take all of Miu Miu's courage, wit, and martial arts experience. Master storyteller Da Chen paints a vivid portrait of his native land in this classic tale of honor, adventure, and romance in ancient China.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Historical Fiction, China, Adventure, Asian Literature, Middle Grade

232 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Da Chen (born in 1962 in Fujian, China) was a Chinese author whose works include Brothers, China's Son, Sounds of the River, Sword, and Colors of the Mountain. A graduate of Beijing Language and Culture University and Columbia Law School, Da Chen lived in the Hudson Valley in New York but then moved to Torrance, California with his wife, the paranormal romance author Sunni, and two children. Brothers has been awarded best book of 2006 by The Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald and Publishers Weekly.

Chen passed away on December 17, 2019 at his home in Temecula, California from lung cancer.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Thea · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an intriguing story overall. I liked the theme of the story, which is what this Chinese tale is supposed to convey.

[Joy Ramlogan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tale of Miu Miu and her journey for vengeance against her father's murderer. Da Chen wrote this book for children, based on the martial arts world Miu Miu grows up in Goose Village and is trained by the head monk in combat. Like most journeys of the heroine, she sets off to kill the evil emperor who brutally killed her father before she was born. Sounds simple? This is a layered book. Miu Miu is plucky and dreaming of a sweet life with her betrothed and doubts whether this is the right path. She and her betrothed confront the emperor and are badly beaten. Again, not the typical fairy tale - Mr. Chen wants the reader to think, to question these quests of vengeance and to wonder whether not the path of a happy life is the better path for our young heroine. Easy reading with many introductions to the world of martial arts. The village life is vividly drawn, people are dirt poor and struggling. Across the empire, it is the armed forces that maintain order with the poor weighed down. Too sad that Mr. Chen has passed away, I would have loved to see more adventures of Miu Miu and her family.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a quick read.

The story was...odd. No at all what I was expecting. That being said, I couldn’t put it down. It was very well written: characters that felt real and I emphasized with, enjoyable writing style, excellent choices of words and phrases.

The physical book is so beautiful, I would have been happy even if the writing was just okay.

Combine the good writing, the beautiful physical book, and that my copy is autographed by the author in 2 languages, and it’s earned its spot on my “Most treasured books” shelf.

[Roseby Valencia · Rating 3 out of 5]

DISCLAIMER: Spoilers ahead

This book gives
* Mulan feels (Girl of marrying age goes out of the village for a mission) - INTERESTING
* My Name feels (Girl avenging father's death) - INTERESTING
* Frozen feels (Anna falling in love immediately) - NAAAAHHHH
* Kung Fu Panda feels (action scenes, qi, powers, dragons, kung fu poses, wise monk who coming to rescue) - INTERESTING
* Annoying-village-elders-in-Kdrama feels - NAAAAHHH

[Karen Ball · Rating 3 out of 5]

Miu Miu lives in Goose Village in ancient China. Before she was born, her father, a master sword-maker, was killed by the emperor. If Miu Miu had been born a boy, her fate would have been to avenge her father's death, but as a girl, her fate is to marry someone who will have to do the avenging for her. She has been engaged since birth to Tong Ting, a boy she has never met, and she has been secretly trained by the local monks in martial arts. Her mother makes a deal with the village elders to allow Miu Miu to seek vengeance as a son, and she is sent on an epic journey with little more than her father's last and best sword (long hidden in the dirt under their hut), his clothing, a few coins and a small jade pendant with her unknown betrothed's name carved into it. Miu Miu faced trials of all kinds, and finds allies in all sorts of places. Lots of fairy tale events, but a wonderful tale with strong characters, exciting events, and really good villains! Especially good for 7th grade, since we study ancient China.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is for all the Kung Fu Panda fans out there, and other kung fu movie fans.

Miu Miu is told the truth about her father's death on her fifteenth birthday, that he was a legendary swordmaker who made a sword for the emperor, who betrayed him, and killed him so he would never make a better sword. Unbenownst to the emperor, Miu Miu's father already had, a blue female sword to balance the red male sword of the emperor, made from the same sky steel. Miu Miu is also told of a betrothal to her father's apprentices' son, Tong Ting, who will avenge her father before marrying her. Instead, Miu Miu rejects this and takes up a son's role to avenge her father by killing the emperor. However, this is easier said than done, and Miu Miu will need help from unexpected places to fulfill her quest . . .

[Jordan Taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

On the morning of her birthday, Miu Miu's mother reveals some startling information. Miu Miu's father was killed by the evil emperor, and now it is her job to seek revenge. But wait. Girls aren't allowed to officially vow vengeance. You would think that Miu Miu could just set out on her quest without this "official vow" nonsense, but instead, she spends much time convincing her tiny, irrelevant village that she needs to defeat the emperor. After she is finally on her way, she is able to combat the emperor with her martial arts skills.
What a silly book. I love historical China, but I found the story to hold many pointless, irrelevant details, and go far too quickly, especially at the beginning. An unrealistic story with badly portrayed characters and events.
Not recommended.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Miu Miu sets out to avenge the death of her father at the hands of the emperor with her betrothed she has never meet until they join together in the quest for revenge. Beautiful language and stunning cultural details with lots of martial arts action make this a fast paced read. But the story is poor and it lacks cohesion. It jumps around so fast you feel like your getting whiplash. The changes are very hard to follow and they do not give good justification for the characters. Also the way the story is framed at first makes some sense but it really may be hard for some readers to understand and it is not resolved at the end.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Miu Miu finds out the real truth about her father when she turns fifteen. Her father was a sword maker and the emperor killed him after making a special sword for him. If he is dead he can make no swords again. Her betrothed is supposed to avenge her father's death but instead she decides she is strong enough to take matters into her own hands. In the magical, mythical fashion of Kung Fu movies, Miu Miu attempts to avenge her father leading her from one catastrophe to another. Readers of this type of fantasy fiction will enjoy the story as well as anyone who enjoys a good fairy tale now and again.

[Sabrina Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who was my favorite character and why? My favorite was miu miu, she had a sad life, but i'm happy she got to be with her family and husband, and THEN have a happy life!
What surprised me? Probably when she go hung. ( But she didn't die thank goodness )
Would I change the ending? YES! I would change the ending to make it not so sad, because I thought mui mui was gonna die! She got poised! And tried to fight someone twice her strength! Like, girl are trying to get yourself killed at a young age!? But i'm happy that they had a good end.. ( I still would change it though! )

[Alex L Criddle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a quick read. I liked the concept of the story, but I wanted to learn more about the characters, to see them grow and feel their love, their pain, their sorrow. The entire novel was rushed, especially the ending, and left me wanting more. Although I only thought this novel was ok, I would recommend it to anyone who likes Kung fu or is looking to learn a little more about ancient Chinese culture.

[Reita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am so glad I did not grow up in China. This poor girl is damned if she does and damned if she doesn't by either her mother or the emperor or the village. This honor thing of revenge, a pledge made upon a child, is ludicrous. And because she didn't die, the village is against her and she must die anyway. A well written novel that kept me turning the pages.

[Lee Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this could be appealing to boys as well as girls, even though the primary character is female. Martial arts, sword play and some pretty powerful stuff. Discussions about cultural differences between girls and boys, as well as honor, family and revenge. I enjoyed this one, it is staying on the list.

[Victoria Law · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this book after reading the prologue. (I really enjoyed the prologue and wonder if Chen's Colors of the Mountain or other non-fiction contains more stories like that.) Sadly, the main story (of MiuMiu and her quest) disappointed.

[JalapenoSoup · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting world with a compelling main character. However, the book seemed like it didn't know exactly what sort of a story it wanted to tell, and the story arc felt kind of off. It was an okay read but I found the backstory to it- being relayed to the author by an ex-prisoner in communist China- to be far more fascinating.

[Ms. Scolaro · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book for readers who are interested in the martial arts. Miu Miu is a clever, brave girl who has been trained as a martial arts fighter. There is a touch of romance as well. Although this is a short book, there is a lot of detail about life in rural China.

[Wisteria Leigh]

ARC,children's literature,revenge,arranged marriage,China,martial arts,2008-Spring,adventure,

[Jessi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.

[Patti · Rating 2 out of 5]

An okay book, but I probably won't read it again. The story took a little too long for me to get into, and all the descriptions of kung fu fighting were confusing for me.

[Candice M (tinylibrarian) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately, the prologue to this book was more interesting to me than the story itself. I had high hopes for it, but some of the plot transitions were awkward.

[Challis · Rating 2 out of 5]

definitely juvenile fiction. was disappointed, felt this had a lot of potential. but fans of kung-fu will probably enjoy it?

[Clara Liang · Rating 2 out of 5]

kind of pointless plot, not very captivating, and unsatisfying ending. also, some of the characters were rather unpleasant and their identities confusing. interesting idea though...

[Skedatt · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was, ummm, interesting. Definitely a cultural look at certain aspects. I did like the ending. So that is always a bonus.

[Tasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Da Chen is a master storyteller. He had me captivated from the very first page. I loved the powerful character of Miu Miu and her journey of finding her place in the world. Excellent book!

[Kian Ann]

QUite incomplete

[Teyanna James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I like how it was a very unique story line. I also found theyre chinese names funny.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good! Can't wait for the next one!

[Johanna]

This book is great if you like Asian history and culture.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but a bit short and simple.

[Caraleena Quesenberry · Rating 4 out of 5]

meh