Very creative world-building. Who would have ever thought of combining ice-skating with martial arts (and Chinese-style opera!)? It's interesting to watch Peasprout's growth as a character. Relationships of all sorts, from familial to patriotic to attraction, whether with the same or opposite gender, to friendship are part of this intriguing series beginning. Review based on an ARC from the publisher.

I wanted to like this better than I actually did. It's certainly inventive. We have this whole unique culture with skating, martial arts, the importance of chi. THe philosophical elements can get a bit dense. The tone is formal and there isn't a great deal of character development.

This book is completely original, totally fresh and fun and whimsical. I mean, martial arts figure skating!!! The voice and plot and characters all live up to that excellent hook, too. This is a wonderful book that is going to have readers begging for more about Peasprout

This is an absolutely amazing middle-grade fantasy and every library that serves children should be ordering it immediately. Sports, mean girl school drama, siblings who love each other but are also kind of embarrassed by each other, a really fascinating alternate history of China and Taiwan, horrifying consequences of political dissent, girls with a deep intense rivalry-to-friendship (in kiiiiiiiinda gay but also kinda not way, I can't explain without spoilers) storyline, and also one of the greatest, most believably flawed but appealing heroines I've ever read. Give this to the kid in your life who's obsessed with figure skating or martial arts or both. Keep it for yourself if you love the idea of a mashup of Mean Girls, House of Flying Daggers, and The Cutting Edge. If there's not a sequel I'm going to start a riot.

Chen Peasprout and her brother Cricket are chosen as the personal emissaries of the Empress Dowager to travel to Pearl to study at Pearl Famous, the school of combat figure skating. All Peasprout wants to do is become a wu liu legend—the best of the best of the best. However, between her lone pair of skate blades, the mean girls and getting blamed for the destruction of school temples, Peasprout has a lot to balance if she's going to be the future legend of skate and sword.

Sassy and opinionated Peasprout is a lot to handle at the beginning of the book, but she slowly learns that it's okay if she's not the best...and it's okay to focus on girls other than the best in the class. Those girls matter too. And that it's okay that her brother changes and follows his own path—instead of the one she has planned for him.

Lien's world is absolutely fabulous and utterly fantastical, if a little overwhelming at first with all of the long place-names and the concept of the magical pearl (I kept trying to figure out what it was made of until I finally threw my hands up—maybe Peasprout will have more luck in book 2). I really enjoyed the combination of kung fu and figure skating, and the idea that a "deficiency" can be turned into a strength with a little maneuvering and thought (which was how the girlish figure skating was turned into wu liu).

This is a perfect read for middle-grade students looking to expand their horizons from Western-focused fantasy.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

This book is completely original, totally fresh and fun and whimsical. I mean, martial arts figure skating!!! The voice and plot and characters all live up to that excellent hook, too. This is a wonderful book that is going to have readers begging for more about Peasprout!