Reviewed by Jasmine Sov, age 16<\/p>\n
The tale of Zheng Yi Sao is renowned all across the South China Sea\u2014a tale of a woman pirate, her legendary Dragon Fleet, and a famous lost treasure. It\u2019s just one of the many tales that 16-year-old Xiang has read between the returning visits from her salt merchant mother, who is often absent, doing business in the vibrant trade city of Canton. Her father, who died at sea before she was born, only left one thing to remember him by\u2014a small gold pendant. When a strange girl named Anh steals the pendant, Xiang is devastated. However, Anh returns it, and it turns out that the pendant is much more than just a simple memento. Inside is a tiny map that leads to none other than Zheng Yi Sao\u2019s lost treasure. Determined to gain her mother\u2019s approval, Xiang embarks on an adventure with Anh and her crew to find the treasure. But, of course, finding a long-lost, highly coveted cache of riches is never as easy as \u201cX marks the spot\u201d makes it seem\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cA Clash of Steel: A Treasure Island Remix\u201d bears a fair amount of similarity to the original novel\u2014it\u2019s a coming-of-age story centered around searching for a fabled treasure marked with an X on the map. That being said, the story is still clearly remixed. C.B. Lee tells the story from the perspective of a sheltered, poetry-loving, Cantonese girl while weaving a real historical figure, Zheng Yi Sao, and a sapphic romance into the fray. Refreshingly, Xiang\u2019s queerness is quite apparent in her internal thoughts, from staring at pretty court ladies to recalling her own feelings for a childhood friend. I loved Xiang and Anh\u2019s dynamic, especially because of how they think so differently from one another at the beginning but gradually start to understand one another as the book goes on. Xiang gives readers beautiful, lush descriptions of the settings, which suit her romantic and bookish character. Xiang\u2019s character arc is clear from start to finish, and it was interesting to follow her decisions in relation to her situation and the actions of other characters. Anh\u2019s crew was also a fun addition to the story, though I wish their characters could have been explored a little bit more. This unique, creative retelling of \u201cTreasure Island\u201d is equal parts immersive, swashbuckling, and lovely.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n 4 stars.<\/p>\n Find this book in our catalog: N\/A<\/p>\n Catalog Number: N\/A<\/p>\n 425 pages<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Reviewed by Jasmine Sov, age 16 A Clash of Steel: A Treasure Island Remix by C. B Lee The tale of Zheng Yi Sao is renowned all across the South China Sea\u2014a tale of a woman pirate, her legendary Dragon Fleet, and a famous lost treasure. It\u2019s just one of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":7059,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[120,54],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-reviews","category-teen-reviews"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/teens\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/18\/files\/sites\/18\/2022\/08\/53185340-min-1-scaled.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5ZwbD-1PQ","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7558,"url":"https:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/teens\/2024\/travelers-along-the-way-a-robin-hood-remix-teen-book-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":7058,"position":0},"title":"Travelers Along the Way: A Robin Hood Remix – Teen Book Review","author":"Nathan Wang","date":"March 13, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Reviewed by Kaelin Leen, age 16 Travelers Along the Way: A Robin Hood Remix by Aminah Mae Safi During the Third Crusade, a young soldier named Rahma al-Hud follows her older sister Zeena into war over the Holy Land, which is threatened by the false Queen Isabella and the Faranji\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Book Reviews","link":"https:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/teens\/category\/teen-reviews\/book-reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pasadena-library.net\/teens\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/18\/files\/sites\/18\/2024\/03\/56978097.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7555,"url":"https:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/teens\/2024\/lies-we-sing-to-the-sea-teen-book-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":7058,"position":1},"title":"Lies We Sing To The Sea – Teen Book Review","author":"Nathan Wang","date":"March 6, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Reviewed by Kaelin Lee, age 16 Lies We Sing to the Sea\u00a0by Sarah Underwood Lies We Sing to the Sea by Sarah Underwood is a young authors' fantasy and Greek mythology novel about the kingdom of Ithaca\u2019s curse which annually condemns twelve girls of Ithaca to be hung as a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Book Reviews","link":"https:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/teens\/category\/teen-reviews\/book-reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pasadena-library.net\/teens\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/18\/files\/sites\/18\/2024\/03\/Screenshot-2024-03-24-at-12.39.30%E2%80%AFPM.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6319,"url":"https:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/teens\/2021\/of-salt-shore-teen-book-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":7058,"position":2},"title":"Of Salt & Shore — Teen Book Review","author":"Teen Blogger","date":"April 3, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Review by Jasmine Sov, 15 Of Salt & Shore By Annet Schaap Emilia \u201cLampie\u201d Waterman is the lighthouse keeper\u2019s daughter, and it\u2019s her responsibility to light the lighthouse\u2019s lantern every day so that incoming ships won\u2019t crash into the rocks. 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