Zhao, Katie – The Bell Bookshop https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk Henley-on-Thames Wed, 29 Mar 2023 16:28:09 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9 https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/cropped-Bell-Background-Blue-32x32.png Zhao, Katie – The Bell Bookshop https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk 32 32 The Lies We Tell https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/product/the-lies-we-tell/ Tue, 15 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/?post_type=product&p=27404 All Anna Xu wants to do as she starts freshman year at the local prestigious Brookings University is keep up her stellar academic performance, break out of her shell, be more social … and investigate the unsolved on-campus murder of her former babysitter six years ago. And if that wasn’t difficult enough, it seems that Chris Lu, whose family are the Xu’s business rivals, is attending Brookings too. There’s no way they can be friends. Until a vandal attacks the Lu’s bakery and Anna puts the perpetrator’s call sign together with a clue from her investigation into the cold-case murder.When a very specific threat is made to Anna, she is forced to team up with Chris to undertake a dangerous search into the hate crimes happening around campus. Can they root out the current threat or will the town’s ugly history take them down?

]]> Last Gamer Standing https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/product/last-gamer-standing/ Thu, 07 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/?post_type=product&p=24049  

Ready Player One meets the action of battle royale video games in this middle-grade sci-fi perfect for fans of Fortnite.

To twelve-year-old Reyna Cheng, gaming is everything, so she’s thrilled to have the opportunity to attend a gaming summer camp courtesy of Dayhold – the world’s biggest VR battle royale game.

Reyna is an up-and-coming junior amateur gamer but despite her rising popularity and skills online, no one knows that behind her male avatar is a twelve-year-old Chinese American girl. Gaming is still a boys’ club and to protect her true identity against trolls and their harassment, she plays as the mysterious TheRuiNar.

When Reyna qualifies for the Dayhold Junior Tournament, she knows she’s got what it takes to win the championship title and the $10,000 prize. It’s a chance to make a step forward towards her professional esports dreams and to help her family with the costs of her mother’s hospital bills.

But when she’s blackmailed and her identity is threatened to be revealed by an anonymous troll, Reyna has to confront the toxic gaming community head-on.

With her dreams and the cash prize on the line, it’s game on!

  • Gaming has never been more popular with the tournament in the book reflecting real tournaments such as the Fortnite World Cup
  • Fantastic representation of a Chinese-American character from an own voices author  
  • Exhilirating, heartracing experience – Reyna’s perspective lets you feel like you’re playing the game yourself!

 

REVIEWS OF LAST GAMER STANDING

Emotional depth and nuanced representation level up this action-packed, futuristic page-turner. – Kirkus Reviews

Combining ruthless online rivalry and real-life dilemmas, Zhao (How We Fall Apart) pushes her inspirational heroine to the limit in the pursuit of success, validation, and financial security. An insular-feeling first-person narration underlines how Reyna’s intense focus in the high-pressure environment can leave her feeling isolated. – Publishers Weekly

A fantastic and relevant addition to children’s literature, in a world where e-sports is just as popular as traditional sports, younger readers and gamers everywhere will love this gem of a book. – The Quiet Pond

]]> How We Fall Apart https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/product/how-we-fall-apart/ Thu, 11 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/product/how-we-fall-apart/ Crazy Rich Asians meets One of Us is Lying in this electrifying YA thriller where students at an elite prep school are forced to confront their secrets when their ex-best friend turns up dead.Nancy Luo is shocked when her former best friend, Jamie Ruan, top-ranked junior at Sinclair Prep, goes missing, and then is found dead. Nancy is even more shocked when word starts to spread that she and her friends – Krystal, Akil, and Alexander – are the prime suspects, thanks to “the Proctor,” someone anonymously incriminating them via the school’s social media app.They all used to be Jamie’s closest friends, and she knew each of their deepest, darkest secrets. Now, somehow the Proctor knows them, too. The four must uncover the true killer before The Proctor exposes more than they can bear and costs them more than they can afford, like Nancy’s full scholarship. Soon, Nancy suspects that her friends may be keeping secrets from her, too.Katie Zhao’s YA debut is an edge-of-your-seat drama set in the pressure-cooker world of academics and image at Sinclair Prep, where the past threatens the future these teens have carefully crafted for themselves. How We Fall Apart is the irresistible, addicting, Asian-American recast of Gossip Girl that we’ve all been waiting for.

]]> How We Fall Apart https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/product/how-we-fall-apart-2/ Thu, 11 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/product/how-we-fall-apart-2/ Crazy Rich Asians meets One of Us is Lying in this electrifying YA thriller where students at an elite prep school are forced to confront their secrets when their ex-best friend turns up dead.Nancy Luo is shocked when her former best friend, Jamie Ruan, top-ranked junior at Sinclair Prep, goes missing, and then is found dead. Nancy is even more shocked when word starts to spread that she and her friends – Krystal, Akil, and Alexander – are the prime suspects, thanks to “the Proctor,” someone anonymously incriminating them via the school’s social media app.They all used to be Jamie’s closest friends, and she knew each of their deepest, darkest secrets. Now, somehow the Proctor knows them, too. The four must uncover the true killer before The Proctor exposes more than they can bear and costs them more than they can afford, like Nancy’s full scholarship. Soon, Nancy suspects that her friends may be keeping secrets from her, too.Katie Zhao’s YA debut is an edge-of-your-seat drama set in the pressure-cooker world of academics and image at Sinclair Prep, where the past threatens the future these teens have carefully crafted for themselves. How We Fall Apart is the irresistible, addicting, Asian-American recast of Gossip Girl that we’ve all been waiting for.

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