Breath of the Dragon: Breathmarked

Gr 7 Up–The time has come for the Guardian’s Tournament in East Longhan, where the best martial artist on the east side of the wall will be named the Guardian of the Scroll and take custody of the nation’s most sacred artifact. Li Jun, separated from his brother and exiled to West Longhan at the age of six, is determined to prove his martial arts skills and become the Guardian. When his rival, Yin Yue, is chosen to represent their martial arts school at the tournament instead, Jun stows away in the cart of a blind, traveling musician who is secretly a skilled martial artist. Jun’s inability to stay still and his struggles with self-control will make him an instantly relatable character to teen boys, while the fast-paced nature of the tournament will keep any reader’s attention locked on the page. Although there is more afoot than the tournament in East Longhan’s capitol, Jun’s ability to focus on what is immediately in front of him keeps the plot progression straightforward and manageable. Defying expectations of such a neat narrative, even the side characters have a compelling presence that heightens the stakes in even non-tournament scenes.