Waterstones Young Adult Book Club discussion

Hello, this month of August we will be reading and discussing 'The Epic Crush of Genie Lo' by F.C. Yee.

Anyone can join and comment at any time, I will leave comments as I read, but I'll only be online and be able to reply to you from 1pm-2pm every 4th Sunday.

Happy Reading,
Janayne

Hello, Janayne here. I hope that all those who joined in and read the book enjoyed this month's pick.

'The Epic Crush of Genie Lo' was a really fun read for me. It was a quick read, action packed from the beginning. It reminded me off anime or a Chinese drama which I love to watch.

I really loved reading about Chinese folklore in this book, it was nice learning about a different culture other than my own.

This book is an #ownvoices book, which I really loved. The language (Chinese terms) weren't dumbed down for the reader, which I think is a huge benefit of it having and #ownvoice author.

I really liked Genie Lo, she was funny and very badass. I liked how she took her time to think things through, and didn't just accept things without proof or some sort of explanation.

I really liked the relationship she had with her friend Yunie. There were times that Genie wasn't the best friend to have, but they worked through it and stayed strong. I'm very glad that in the end Genie decided to tell Yunie the truth. I think there were times that Genie was feeling so unsettled with everything because she didn't have anyone close to her to talk to. Perhaps with yunie by her side she won't feel so lost.

The love subplot in the book was also quiet entertaining. It wasn't really part of the main plot so it didn't feel too mushy or cliché, which some books with a love-to-hate trope tends to be like sometimes. I felt like Genie and Quentin being together in the end felt quiet natural for the book, thanks to their chemistry throughout the book. Will they last though? I'm not sure. He is a, I don't know how many years old, Monkey King from Ancient China, and Genie is a 16 year old incarnation of Ruyi Jingu Bang ( the staff) who apparently isn't really considered a human.

The ending was quiet predicable. I became suspicious of Erlang half way through the book. He was just too nice, and I just kept wondering if Quentin didn't like him just because of their past or if there could be something there. I think that he was a quiet clever villain. He was just so honourable that no one could see him coming.

The Jade Emperor is an idiot, but he's a very powerful idiot. I got frustrated alongside Genie with his philosophy of do nothing - that things will sort out by themselves. Things that are left alone, don't tend to sort out themselves, they tend to fester and rot, and the Jade Emperor seems to be just fine with that idea.

What did you think of the book?

Any book recommendations?

Our September Pick will be 'All the Bad Apples' by Moira Fowley-Doyle.

Thank you for joining and having a look today. I hope to see you next month.