cover image Zodiac Rising (Descendants of the Zodiac #1)

Zodiac Rising (Descendants of the Zodiac #1)

Katie Zhao. Random House, $19.99 (416p) ISBN 978-0-593-64641-0

Once, 12 families, each empowered by a sign of the zodiac, protected China. But in 1860, several of their magical fountainheads were stolen, stripping them of their power, and many of the Descendants were slain, the survivors cursed and transformed into immortal supernatural creatures. Now they hide in plain sight, masquerading as students at Manhattan’s elite Earthly Branches Academy. When Julius Long, chancellor of the Descendants’ High Council, is killed, it’s up to his vampire sister Evangeline to fulfill an age-old prophecy by retrieving the lost fountainheads and restoring her people’s mortality. She recruits her best friend Nicholas Hu, a fox spirit; her werewolf ex-boyfriend Tristan She; and 16-year-old mortal mind-reader Alice Jiang to undertake a treacherous quest. Together, they venture to Faerieland, only to uncover shocking revelations that could affect every Descendant. The worldbuilding of this ambitious, complicated, and wide-ranging fantasy adventure by Zhao (The Lies We Tell) occasionally suffers from an overabundance of characters and plot threads. Nevertheless, Zhao weaves together supernatural politics, teen drama, and a fusion of Western and Chinese mythologies to deliver an intriguing series start with great potential. All major characters are of Chinese ancestry. Ages 14–up. Agent: Penny Moore, Aevitas Creative. (Oct.)