Book Review: “Daughter of Xanadu”

Daughter of Xanadu by Dori Jones Yang

Delacorte Press, 2011

Reviewed by Erica Haglund, 17

Wisconsin

Emmajin is different from the other women in her country. She is determined to become a warrior in the army. While she is a bit of an outsider, she is not expecting to meet Marco. Marco has an entirely new set of values from Emmajin. He changes everything and makes her question everything she thought she once knew and believed in.

I love historical fiction -- I read as much of it as I can get my hands on—but when read the description of this book, I'm not going to lie, I was not sure if I was going to like it. The time of the Mongol Empire isn't one that had interested me all that much prior to reading this book. But Daughter of Xanadu surpassed every single expectation" I had for it. It was absolutely amazing! I got addicted to the story, and didn't want to put the book down.

I loved the characters. One of the things I love most about historical fiction is seeing how the characters lived and how they reacted to different events. Emmajin was a really strong character, and Marco was a much warmer character than I had been expecting him to be. Yang made me feel like I was right in the story, next to Emmajin and Marco. Everything was so real. I loved seeing the cultural differences between what Emmajin grew up with and what Marco had.

Daughter of Xanadu is a book you will not want to miss! If you are a fan of historical fiction, this is DEFINITELY a book to check out. Even if you are not typically fan of historical fiction, I suggest giving it a try. Daughter of Xanadu is a book that will not disappoint, and I'm anxious to read future" works from" Dori Jones Yang!