Team Chu and the Epic Hero Quest

by Julie C. Dao

Overview

Check out acclaimed author Julie C. Dao's debut middle grade series, featuring a team of kids ready for any challenge–even saving the fantasy world of Pantaera from dark forces and certain ruin!

In Team Chu and the Epic Hero Quest, the popular fantasy video game War of Gods and Men is being adapted for reality television. Team Chu and company are competing for the title of child hero: the young person destined to unite the forces of Pantaera to save it from a sinister fate. Over the next week, they’ll be challenged by sirens, vampires, elves, and more in Tests of Courage, Determination, Humility, Intelligence, and Strength.

Popular athlete Clip is confident he’ll take the prize, if it weren’t for that test of humility. And despite claiming not to care about the game, Sadie finds herself pulled into the immersive world of Pantaera and rising to meet the challenges thrown her way. And her best friend, Jeremy, proud nerd and last pick for P.E. teams, wants more than anything to save the world of the game he loves, no matter the cost.

Join Clip, Sadie, Jeremy, and their friends on a thrilling adventure through an extraordinary fantasy world to learn who among them has what it takes to become Pantaera's child hero!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780374388829
Publisher:	Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date:	05/02/2023
Series:	Team Chu , #2
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	416
File size:	13 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Julie C. Dao is the critically acclaimed author of many books for teens and children. Her novels have earned starred reviews from Booklist, School Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly, won recognition as Junior Library Guild Selections and Kids' Indie Next List picks, and landed on multiple best-of-year lists including YALSA and the American Library Association. A proud Vietnamese-American who was born in upstate New York, she now lives in New England. juliecdao.com
Julie C. Dao is the critically acclaimed author of many books for teens and children including Forest of a Thousand Lanterns and Broken Wish. Her novels have earned starred reviews from Booklist, School Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly, won recognition as Junior Library Guild Selections and Kids' Indie Next List picks, and landed on multiple best-of-year lists including YALSA and the American Library Association. A proud Vietnamese-American who was born in upstate New York, she now lives in New England.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Team Chu and the Epic Hero Quest:

"In this exciting story full of puzzles and mystery, readers are in for a wild ride with Team Chu and friends as they tackle their latest adventure and learn to be proud of who they are." –Adrianna Cuevas, author of Pura Belpre Honor book The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez

"Friendships are tested and grown in this page-turning adventure where contestants compete in a fantasy-based set of challenges to be crowned the one true hero. I was fully immersed - squealing, laughing, cringing, and cheering. I’m Team Chu all the way!" –Debbi Michiko Florence, Debbi Michiko Florence, author of Keep it Together, Keiko Carter and Just Be Cool, Jenna Sakai

"This is a snappy, vivid, sci-fi fairy tale with the sweetest sibling duo at the core. I adore Team Chu!" –Natalie Lloyd, New York Times bestselling author of Hummingbird

Praise for Team Chu and the Battle of Blackwood Arena:

A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year

"Dao is a bright voice in middle grade fiction, crafting characters and plot in a way that feels effortless...A fresh title that weaves elements of sports stories and sci-fi with realism and beautifully developed characters, in a way that makes this story irresistible." —School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW

"Through the siblings’ alternating perspectives and respective internal struggle... Dao (Song of the Crimson Flower) delves into the Chu’s intergenerational dynamics, pressures, and expectations. A rousing adventure and heartwarming series opener." —Publishers Weekly

"Chapters alternate between sports-loving Clip’s voice and academically inclined Sadie’s point of view as the siblings unravel the mystery in the most challenging—and imaginative—game of laser tag they’ve ever played. Young gamers, and readers who enjoy rooting for a strong sibling relationship full of competition and support, will revel in this fun, fast-paced adventure." —Booklist

“An action-packed tale of sibling rivalry where thrills and challenges highlight the importance of family and teamwork. This book will delight readers with its fast pace and captivating worlds. Dao has once again crafted a must-read story full of immersive adventure.” —Adrianna Cuevas, author of Pura Belpré Honor book The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez and Cuba in My Pocket

“Laser tag has never been cooler! Both a wild, rollicking adventure and a sweet and nuanced sibling story, Julie C. Dao’s middle-grade debut is first on the leaderboard for me.” —E.L. Shen, author of The Comeback

“Julie Dao delivers a thrilling, pulse pounding joy ride of an adventure brimming over with humor and heart. Readers will love following bickering siblings Sadie and Clip into their wildly imaginative and sinister game of laser tag that will test their skills, their nerve and their love for each other. Team Chu forever!” —New York Times bestselling author Samira Ahmed

“An epically cool adventure that combines fantasy, virtual reality, and competitive sibling rivalry. Team Chu and the Battle of Blackwood Arena is fast-paced and bursting with richly designed gaming worlds that you'll wish were real. It's vivid, thrilling, and so much fun.” —Akemi Dawn Bowman, author of the William C. Morris Award Finalist Starfish and The Infinity Courts series

“The perfect balance of heart and action that will have young readers racing to that last page—and then screaming for the next book.” —Scott Reintgen, Indie Bestselling author of the Nyxia series

From the Publisher

2023-03-14
Tryouts for a reality TV series veer into realms of fantasy for a dedicated group of young gamers.

Having won chances in the 2022 opener to try out for an upcoming series based on a favorite video game, the racially and culturally diverse group of middle schoolers led by squabbling Vietnamese American sibs Clip and Sadie Chu fly to Ireland (families in tow) to join other young competitors in screen test challenges. As the tests take place on elaborately constructed medieval sets and come complete with costumed actors and dramatic but manufactured scenarios, both the contestants and readers have the option of taking them as games of pretend or (the fun option) as real and going with the flow. Actually, the challenges do turn out to be real tests of courage, intelligence, humility, teamwork, and determination, and Dao certainly has fun with them—concocting not only safe, but thrilling exploits for her multiple narrators to tackle, including a blindfolded zip line ride, decoding puzzles, and gathering magic substances from an orc-infested castle. She gives young cast members who are eliminated along the way further roles to play, too, so that no one is totally cut out of the action or made to feel like a loser. Ngo contributes comical if sparse vignettes.

Perceptive takes on the potential of role-playing games for building character as well as for fun and excitement. (Adventure. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews