Mylo and Max Break the World

When 10-year-old Max Chu, presumed Chinese American, wishes upon what he thinks is a shooting star, Mylo Zapp, a mysterious blue-haired “life mechanic” with a magical wrench, appears from a “Wish World” called Omnus. Mylo is a young, sardonic Wish Guide, and soon, he is using his wish-granting powers to fix everything Max doesn’t like about his life: particularly escaping a dreaded concert performance and avoiding his terrifying, instrument-smashing music instructor, Al Chompkins, implied white. After Max’s wish for a canceled recital results in general mayhem and Max’s three-year-old “Child Genius” sister Baby Jess being kidnapped by an evil orchestra, Mylo casually informs Max that granting wishes is tearing everything apart—from planet Earth to the fabric of reality itself. Charles’s creative, high-energy plot fruitfully interweaves a life-size piano turned sentient supervillain, accelerated aging, and a World Repair Service that causes more chaos and calamity than anyone could have anticipated. Good fun for reluctant readers and young fans of speculative fiction, Max’s oft-comedic, onomatopoeia-packed journey will speak to those who feel overlooked or misunderstood, all while gently imparting the lesson that shortcuts aren’t always the best route. Ages 6–12. [em](Self-published) [/em]