This is like a breath of fresh air in the middle grade fantasy adventure genre; it's utterly unique, drawing on a wealth of Chinese culture and folklore to help build a fantasy world that is rich, complex and immersive.
This world is so vivid and well crafted; I really felt transported into the centre of it and didn't want to leave it, I was snatching pages of this at every opportunity just to be back in this world and I can't wait for book two so I can return.
From age-shifting tutors to communication through jellyfish (loved the jellyfish!) to magical clouds and unusual creatures and clever names (there is a BRILLIANT glossary at the back explaining the meanings and origins of some of the names and words in the book, but a word of advice - read it AFTER you read the book or it might give away more than you'd like to know!) - there is so much originality and imagination here, so much to have you gasping in wonder, goggling or giggling.
I think probably my favourite scene of the book was at the Floating Market - I could have happily wandered around its stalls for hours and the mirror stall and packing away were joyous. I'm really hoping we'll see more of Gertie and the market in the next book!
But let's not get ahead of ourselves, before we get to the next book, more about this one -
Zhi Ging is desperate to be taken on as a Silhouette (like an apprentice or trainee) at underwater school Hok Woh, home to the Cyo Bhan, immortals who are charged with protecting and guarding the nation. They use magical gifts to aid the various provinces with inventions and ideas to make their individual specialisms and trades easier, better or more productive. However, it soon becomes clear that many of the non-magical, non-immortal population are unhappy with the Cyo Bhan and no longer trust that they are up to scratch...
And so we see Zhi Ging begin her training, after quite an unusual entry into Hok Woh, and - amidst dangerous, tense and fast-paced trials, thrilling dragon boat races, friendship-forging and rivalry-fuelled rumours of spirit-summoning - the evil Fui Gwai and its thralls grow nearer...
I loved the way the politics of the story blended with the superstition and magic in the book so seamlessly, and was totally gripped. The thralls prove a dark and menacing enemy, with a particularly thrilling scene towards the end of the book, and the plot is carefully layered so we only gradually come to see what is happening.
It sets us up perfectly for what promises to be a tense and dangerous quest in book two, in which I fully expect to be immersed in the rich landscapes of some of the provinces (and hopefully the floating market again...did I mention I want to go back to the floating market?!) and in which I dearly hope we find what we're looking for...it can't come soon enough!
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