By Samantha Pak
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
The Mortal Enemy Club
By Gloria Chao
Park Row, 2026
Kathryn Hu is not looking to get into the murder-solving business. Despite the fact that she and her friends, Olivia and Elle, were able to figure out who killed their cheating ex-boyfriend, Kat just wants to go back to a murder-free existence.
But when podcaster Mandy Thorne reaches out for Kat’s help in finding out who is trying to kill her, Kat finds herself wavering on her stance. Surprising seeing as how Mandy, whose podcast is focused on revenge, was the one who did her best to frame Kat and her friends for their aforementioned mutual ex’s murder. As much as Kat wants to tell Mandy no and wash her hands of the woman, it starts to look like she and her friends may be the only ones who can help, and the Ex-Girlfriend Murder Club may have to become the Mortal Enemy Murder Club.
Picking up shortly after “The Ex-Girlfriend Murder Club,” “The Mortal Enemy Club” is a fun, second installment in this cozy murder mystery series. The core trio of Kat, Olivia, and Elle is as strong as ever, despite how events from the first book could have easily broken them apart. I appreciated seeing how supportive they were of each other, especially as they each have to deal with the trauma from previous events.
The trio’s bond compared to how they treat and are treated by Mandy is a fun juxtaposition. Because while Mandy’s “crimes” may not be as serious as others’, her attitude toward others and lack of contrition for ruining others’ lives shows just why someone may be targeting her—as well as the importance of treating others the way you would like to be treated. Mandy was annoying, but I understood that was the point of her.
One thing I would have liked to see was Kat having a little more confidence in herself. She is a smart and strong woman who was key in solving a murder, but she still struggles to stand up for herself with her boss and coworkers. But I guess that is something to look forward to in future installments of this series.
Of Sorcery and Science
By Mike Chen
Running Press Kids, 2026
It’s only been three months since Andy Lao came home through a magical portal where he became a mage, was named the Chosen One, and saved everyone in the distant realm. Now, he’s back home, where he’s your average disgruntled Bay Area Asian American high schooler just trying to survive his science and math classes—and where nobody believes what happened to him. If anything, he’s actually worse off as the letdown of coming back home has caused his grades to drop. Who cares about tests and college applications when you’ve mastered spells and fought magical beasts? The real world, that’s who.
Then one day, Andy returns to the portal’s location and finds a glowing bit of mana (magic) on the ground. And all of a sudden, he realizes magic is possible again. But then a grumpy teenage girl comes through the portal claiming to be the Chosen One, and she’s working to save the realm after Andy had doomed them all a century ago. This leads Andy to question everything he had been through so many months before. How can he be the villain now, when in his time, he was the hero?
Together, they’ve got to work to save magic, but the solution may not lie in the supernatural; it may lie in modern science.
“Of Sorcery and Science” is a fun story about what happens after the hero saves the world. I love stories that turn tropes on their head. Here, we see what happens after the happily ever after; and learn it wasn’t such a happily ever after all, as Andy may actually be the bad guy—albeit, without even knowing it. Chen does a great job of realistically portraying what it would be like to come down from such a huge high of saving an entire realm, only to have to go back to trigonometry the next day. Andy is a relatable protagonist who just wants to know that his actions mattered and that he was able to help people, which is something we should all be so lucky to accomplish.
These Deathless Shores
By P.H. Low
Angry Robot Books, 2024
Pretending is Jordan’s specialty.
On the Island where boys fly and fight pirates, but girls can only be mothers, Jordan’s shaved head and false swagger is the only thing between adventure and her having to become the Lost Boys’ caretaker. But as she gets older, and it’s revealed that she’s actually a girl, Jordan is forced back Outside—into a world where grownups go to work in offices and she goes into withdrawal from the Island’s magical Dust.
Nine years later, addicted to the drug she’s been using to medicate her withdrawal, Jordan decides enough is enough. So after persuading her best friend and fellow ex-Lost Boy, she returns to the Island with a plan to oust Peter from his throne and seize control of the Island’s Dust supply. If that makes her the villain, then so be it.
As an origin story for Captain Hook from “Peter Pan,” “Deathless Shores” is a dark—and alarmingly violent—retelling of the story about the boy who never grew up. Told from multiple perspectives, we meet a number of characters who, like Peter, also refuse to grow up and are in a state of arrested development, for one reason or another. And they all could use a fair amount of therapy, if I’m being honest (but if they had gone to therapy, there wouldn’t be much of a story). And it is satisfying to see their growth as the story progresses.
I love a story that flips the narrative script. And here, we see things from the pirates’ perspective and how Peter really isn’t the fun-loving boy we all know from the J.M. Barrie tale. He’s much more malevolent and menacing here—and just an overall jerk—and the author will have you siding with the swashbuckling crew in no time.
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