95 Books In 2006, George W. Bush read 95 books. We will do better.

I remember reading Cindy Pon’s first book for the 95 books blog two years ago. This is the sequel to that story, a young adult fantasy set in Xia, a fictional version of ancient China. I had some trouble with the beginning of Fury of the Phoenix because I could barely remember the plot of the previous novel. While this book avoids the boring repetition that other fantasy series often employ, I felt a little lost at times. This is definitely a series that needs to be read chronologically, and preferably without too much time in between readings. The action was well paced and the fantasy elements were enjoyable. I thought it was a bit more predictable than the first book and Chen Yong resolved his family troubles too easily—that plot line could have used more tension between secondary characters.

Still, I would highly recommend this book to young adult fiction readers. Cindy Pon writes in a nice clear style that I find very entertaining.

~Claire