Review by Jill Williamson
Jade’s dad remarried a Chinese woman when she was a baby, so Jade might be a white girl, but she’s Chinese to the core. When her grandfather’s talking parrot goes missing, he asks Jade to look into it. A sucker for a mystery, Jade starts asking around. The closer she gets, the stranger everything is. What is the Jade Monkey? And why has it chosen her? And why does TF, the hot Chinese guy, pop into her mind more than Cedric, her cute eco-friendly blond boyfriend? One this is certain, if she keeps on this case—and learning kung fu in secret—she won’t only lose Cedric, she’ll lose her best friends too, because this case is threatening to take over her life.
The tag line for this book is awesome: One girl. One Parrot. One ancient kung fu mystery. Got kung fu?
Enter the Parrot reads like a movie, and I think Hollywood needs to get on the case. Jade’s character is funny and sarcastic. I absolutely adored her family dynamics, being the white girl in the Wong family. The other characters in the book are unique and entertaining. My favorite being TF, of course, the tall, dark, and mysterious young man Jade keeps running into in her search for more clues. I thought the premise was really unique and clever. I haven’t seen a case like this before in anything I’ve read, so check it out, mystery lovers. Kiki Lon is the best thing to happen to teen fiction in a long time. Fun, fun, fun! I can’t wait for book two.
Age Range: 12 and up
Genre: Mystery/Suspense
Part of a Series: Book 1 in the Got Kung Fu? series
Pages: 223
Publisher: Wild Rose Press
Released: 2008
I read this to my daughter and she loved your review. She really liked the “Got Kung Fu” aspect since she has been learning Kung Fu for the past 4 years. Thanks for the recommendation.
She is currently reading a great teen adventure book by Kathleen Wilson called Rumer & Qix. It’s set in the 31st century and the book is adventurous, whimsical at times, often defies the laws of physics and a fun, quick read. (I read the book too.) It assumes that kids are really smart and enjoy the challenge of stretching their minds.