Genie Lo’s Bay Area town is coming under siege by demons from Chinese folklore. As she traverses her old life of school and college admissions, Genie must also hone her powers and build up her strength. With Quentin her only guide, Genie finds out the hard way of how to be a hero. The Epic Crush of Genie Lo shows that a hero can defeat demons without skipping classes and admissions prep.
The Epic Crush of Genie Lo was a thoroughly entertaining read. It definitely has some tropes, but humour was often a factor which overshadowed them. Genie as the ‘chosen one’ to help defeat demons was a hilarious reveal moment. She’s a very plain, average girl who gets both cynical and angry when told what she is. Unlike some common character arcs, Genie doesn’t become the best fighter alive miraculously. Plus, Quentin gets himself into hysterically awkward situations.
Genie was a great hero, but she also felt very real and ordinary. There weren’t any points that made me question whether Genie was being written too old. She acted in a typical teenage way, although she was a lot more hotheaded. There were awkward teenage moments with friends, family and crushes alongside the fantasy and folklore elements.
I’m used to reading many European fairytales, Greek mythology, and England based lore. But I really enjoyed reading more about folklore from China. It helped make the book less predictable and more surprising because I personally didn’t know much about it beforehand. The Epic Crush of Genie Lo also brought the folklore out into America. Alongside this it discusses stereotypes within America which is important for middle-grade books.
It only took me two nights to read the Epic Crush of Genie Lo. It was a very fast read. But it was a good one, I didn’t think anything was missed due to it being smaller. There’s also going to be a sequel so they’ll be more expansion on the folklore introduced.
I received The Epic Crush of Genie Lo* by F.C. Yee as an e-book from the publisher via Netgalley. This is an unbiased and honest review.
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Interesting concept! I like the cover art