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ENTRY TYPE: new
WORK TITLE: PANGU’S SHADOW
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.karenbao.com/
CITY: New York
STATE:
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
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RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born ca. 1996, in CA.
EDUCATION:Attended Columbia University (environmental biology); doctoral studies (neuroscience) at Harvard University.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer and ecologist.
AVOCATIONS:Cooking, singing, playing violin
WRITINGS
Contributor to anthologies, including Ab(solutely) Normal: Short Stories That Smash Mental-Health Stereotypes, edited by Nora Shalaway Carpenter and Rocky Callen, Candlewick Press (Somerville, MA), 2023.
SIDELIGHTS
[open new]Karen Bao is an author of young-adult science fiction partly inspired by her burgeoning career as an ecologist. She is a second-generation Chinese American, born in California and raised alongside a younger brother in New Jersey. Her mother was raised in Maoist China, where her grandfather was once dispatched to the countryside for “reeducation.” As a kindergartener, Bao was an avid bug collector, unfazed by her mother being grossed out. She imagined one day becoming a scientist or perhaps a professional violin player. In the realm of literature, she delighted in mysteries—which, as she has noted, harken to the scientific quest to unravel nature’s mysteries—and found young-adult books of all genres appealing. When she was just seventeen, she started what would prove her debut novel, Dove Arising—having already written some three drafts she did not expect to publish. She told Cracking the Cover, “While I always loved reading books, I never thought I could actually write one. Then I tried it, and sort of learned as I went along. Writing was a lot harder than I expected.” Studying environmental biology at Columbia University, Bao thrived during a trip to Fiji that involved investigating mollusks, fish, and fishing practices. In her doctoral studies at Harvard, she has looked at ecology and evolution at the molecular level, including in mosquitoes.
About her impulse to write, told Lerner Books that she enjoyed “creating people and places in my head. Writing stories was the only way to share my inner world with other people, so I learned to do that.” With her “Dove Chronicles” trilogy set on the Moon, Bao explained to Cracking the Cover, “In Chinese folklore, there’s a lonely woman with a pet rabbit living up there, and China’s second-biggest holiday is called the Moon Festival. In short, the moon interested me both scientifically and culturally: it was a playground for new ideas.”
Dove Arising centers on Phaet—whose name means “Dove”—a fifteen-year-old girl born and raised on the Lunar Bases, where some humans have settled to escape war and climate change. She works in greenhouses and dreams of a future in science, but when her mother is quarantined for illness—her father died years ago—Phaet decides to start military training early in hopes of earning enough money to support her younger siblings. She says little, as does Wes, the gifted trainee who just might prove an essential ally, as the competitive military exercises unfold.
Dove Arising was published when Bao was just nineteen. Sean Rapacki noted in Voice of Youth Advocates that she thus joined the “extremely small” ranks of “formidable young adult authors who got published before they were out of their teens,” alongside two others: Christopher Paolini and Isamu Fukui. Rapacki deemed Bao’s first novel “fresh and compelling.” Liz Overberg remarked in School Library Journal that the “characters are well developed … and an even pace will keep teens turning pages” in this “well-written debut.”
In Dove Exiled, Phaet and Wes have ended up on Earth, hiding among Wes’s island people at Saint Oda, in Pacifia, as enemies of the Moon’s ruling Committee. Upon learning that Pacifia has allied with the Committee, who is torturing her brother, Phaet enlists in a suicide mission, with Wes insisting on accompanying her. Soon she finds that she has become an icon of the resistance on the Moon. In School Library Journal, Liz Overberg observed that “the ending sets the stage nicely for the action that is to come in the next installment.” Dove Alight, which finds Phaet taking a leading role in the Dovetail resistance, led Kristee Copley to declare in School Library Journal that “Bao’s writing will leave teens on the edge of their seats right from the first scene, and it remains consistent to the very end.”
Pangu’s Shadow, Bao’s next novel, takes place in the distant Pangu Star System. Bronze-skinned seventeen-year-old Aryl Fielding is fond of dance, but with her family, immigrants from agricultural G-Moon Two, striving to get by on wealthy G-Moon One, she duly takes an apprenticeship at the Institute for Natural Exploration. There she meets olive-skinned Ver Yun, who hails from factory-filled G-Moon Three and is hoping to find a cure for her all-too-common degenerative disease. When the power fails one night and the girls’ unpleasant boss, Cal, is murdered, prejudicial blame falls on them, forcing them to team up to solve the mystery. Although they bristled at each other’s presence as colleagues, the high-stakes circumstances propel them toward a more intimate relationship.
A Publishers Weekly reviewer affirmed that in Pangu’s Shadow Bao “writes incisively and empathetically about Ver’s physical impairments,” while Aryl’s and Ver’s alternating narrations “capably ferry a spirited plot, during which tender romance sparks.” A Kirkus Reviews writer hailed Bao for “keeping up an exciting pace and unfurling a satisfying mystery” with this “strongly written work that pulls no punches.”[close new]
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews, December 1, 2014, review of Dove Arising; December 15, 2015, review of Dove Exiled; March 1, 2017, review of Dove Alight; December 15, 2023, review of Pangu’s Shadow.
Publishers Weekly, November 6, 2023, review of Pangu’s Shadow, p. 52.
School Library Journal, November, 2014, Liz Overberg, review of Dove Arising, p. 110; December, 2015, Liz Overberg, review of Dove Exiled, p. 112; April, 2017, Kristee Copley, review of Dove Alight, p. 148.
Voice of Youth Advocates, December, 2014, Sean Rapacki, review of Dove Arising, p. 72; February, 2016, Jonathan Ryder, review of Dove Exiled, p. 67; April, 2017, Lisa Martincik, review of Dove Alight, p. 68.
ONLINE
Cracking the Cover, https://www.crackingthecover.com/ (June 1, 2024), “Q&A with Dove Arising Author Karen Bao.”
Harvard University, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology website, https://www.mcb.harvard.edu/ (June 1, 2024).
Karen Bao website, https://www.karenbao.com (June 1, 2024).
Lerner Blog, https://lernerbooks.blog/ (February 1, 2024), “Pangu’s Shadow: An Interview with Author Karen Bao.”
Lerner Books website, https://lernerbooks.com/ (June 1, 2024), author profile and interview.
Transmedia Mutts, https://www.transmediamutts.com/ (February 27, 2016), Jocelyn Rish, “Karen Bao, Author of Dove Exiled, on Going Outside Once in a While.”
Karen Jialu Bao does science in the lab, then goes home and writes about it. A Ph.D. candidate at Harvard University, she studies mosquito brains by blasting them with an electron beam. She has eight ear piercings for no reason. Her favorite activities include cooking, tending her plants, singing, and playing her violin. She is the author of Pangu’s Shadow (Lerner, 2024), the Dove Chronicles trilogy (Penguin), and a contributor to the YA mental health anthology Ab(solutely) Normal (Candlewick).
Follow her on TikTok for absurdist writing videos and Instagram for a glimpse of life outside writing. She is championed by Tricia Skinner of Fuse Literary.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did you know you wanted to be a writer?
When I finished the first draft of Dove Arising as a teen. I'd always loved to read and write, but this book was bigger and better and more alive than anything I'd written before.
I'm an educator. Will you visit our school?
I'd love to! Interacting with students is my favorite thing to do as an author. Shoot an email to my contact page to set up a visit. All other information you may need is here.
What's a typical working day like for you?
No such thing. Most days, I’m doing science and can squeeze in a couple of hours of writing in the early morning or evening. Sometimes I’ll write for an entire morning on the weekends or when I’m on “vacation.”
My brain gets tired after ~4 hours. This is long time to be staring at a blank Word document and hallucinating vividly. When I hit a wall, I shut down my computer for the day.
Sometimes I don’t write for several months at a time. If I’m not feeling it, and I’m not on a deadline, it will not and should not happen. Rest is important for all human beings.
What are you working on now?
My adult sci-fi debut, a contemporary thriller, and my Ph.D in neuroscience.
Do you have any writing advice?
Read and write a lot -- but don't forget to go outside! Your own experiences could provide your next inspiration.
Make writer friends. Exchange manuscripts with them. Love them.
I wrote a story and want to get published. Would you read my manuscript/critique my work/refer me to an agent?
I wish I had the time to help everyone who asks. Events like #PitchWars are a great opportunity to get your foot in the publishing door, and you might even end up with a published author as a mentor. There are also plenty of writers seeking critique partners on Twitter and Facebook; I highly recommend finding someone you click with for your first few rounds of revisions.
Here are some great resources that I used when I was starting out: Nathan Bransford's publishing blog (for advice on the publishing process), Steph Sinkhorn's writing blog (she's hilarious, and amazing!), and Christopher Paolini's website (scifi and fantasy GOLD).
If you have a really specific question, don’t hesitate to email me or DM me on Twitter/Instagram.
Why did you set the Dove Chronicles on the Moon?
Because getting food, water, and air up there seemed like a cool challenge!
Also, since I'm Chinese, I grew up celebrating holidays based on the lunar calendar and hearing stories about the Moon. I wondered what it would be like to actually live there.
Phaet? Umbriel? How do you come up with these otherworldly character names?
Everyone in the Dove Chronicles has an astronomical name, since Lunar society is so fixated on space exploration and other scientific fields. (A couple of people are named after famous researchers.) My favorite character name, Yinha, is derived from the Chinese words for “Milky Way.” Literally translated, “yin he” (银河) means “silver river.” Isn’t that pretty?
What's the coolest thing you learned while doing research for Dove Arising?
You can use a super-strong electromagnet to levitate a frog. (Look!!) Secret: the magnet repels the water in the frog's body. This video inspired the Lunar Bases' ceiling magnets, which create the illusion of greater gravity on the Moon.
How did your studies influence Dove Arising?
High school physics, which I took while writing Dove Arising, helped me write fight scenes and spaceship chases! Chemistry 101 in college led me to write a lot of corny puns. But it wasn’t only science that inspired me; political science courses helped me construct the future Earth’s power regime, with its two powerful alliances, in a way that felt believable.
CONTACT
karenbao@fas.harvard.edu
OTHER LABS
Wei-Chung Lee (HMS)
ABOUT ME
As a kindergartener, I grossed out my mother with my passion for bug collecting. I showed her all the glorious terrestrial arthropods of New Jersey; sadly, she didn’t love them as much as I did. My love for science only grew from there: at Columbia University, I studied Environmental Biology with a focus on coastal marine conservation. The highlight of this experience was a trip to Fiji, where I studied mollusc ecology and fishing practices and sampled fishes for the American Museum of Natural History. Now, my interests are much broader and more mechanistic; I hope to answer questions of ecology (how are these organisms working together, or not?) and evolution (how did they get here and why are they like this?) at a molecular level. Over the past five years, I have also written science fiction novels published through Penguin Random House. This extracurricular distraction helps me digest what I am learning and relate it to society. Additionally, it may incept a love of science into the younger generation’s brains, which is always a plus. (Google Dove Arising if you’re curious.) In my spare time, I enjoy being a twentysomething grandma: I cook, draw, read, care for my houseplants, and go out for tea. But don’t hesitate to invite me to play sports, especially if you want to embarrass me.
KAREN BAO
Karen Jialu Bao does science in the lab, then goes home and writes about it. Having earned her Ph.D. in neuroscience from Harvard University, she studies mosquito brains by blasting them with an electron beam. She has eight ear piercings for no reason. Her favorite activities include cooking, tending her plants, singing, and playing her violin. She is the author of Pangu’s Shadow, the Dove Chronicles trilogy, and a contributor to the YA mental health anthology Ab(solutely) Normal.
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INTERVIEW
What was your favorite book when you were a child?
Wait For Me by An Na
What’s your favorite line from a book?
“Even if it means oblivion, friends, I’ll welcome it, because it won’t be nothing. We’ll be alive again in a thousand blades of grass, and a million leaves; we’ll be falling in the raindrops and blowing in the fresh breeze; we’ll be glittering in the dew under the stars and the moon out there in the physical world, which is our true home and always was.”― Philip Pullman, The Amber Spyglass
Who are your top three favorite authors or illustrators?
It’s so hard to choose. Mo Xiang Tong Xiu, NK Jemisin, Fonda Lee, most recently.
Why did you want to become an author or illustrator?
I liked creating people and places in my head. Writing stories was the only way to share my inner world with other people, so I learned to do that.
Do you have any advice for future authors or illustrators?
Living life is just as important as practicing writing. In addition to knowing how to write, you need to know WHAT to write.
PANGU’S SHADOW: AN INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR KAREN BAO
A lab, a murder, and two young scientists that risk it all. Pangu’s Shadow follows rival apprentices Ver and Aryl who work in the most prestigious biology lab in the Pangu Star System. One night they’re working late and find their brilliant but egotistical teacher, Cal, sprawled on the floor, dead. Murdered. And they immediately become the prime suspects. To clear their names, the girls must put aside their mutual suspicion and team up to investigate Cal’s death.
Today author and neuroscientist Karen Bao joins us to share how her career in research inspires her science fiction, her writing process, and more! Don’t forget to download the free discussion guide and share a video from Karen on life as a scientist with your readers!
Q: Are you a dancer, like Aryl?
A: Challenge me on TikTok.
Q: You’re a real-life scientist. How did your career inspire Pangu’s Shadow?
A: While writing the book, I was a PhD candidate studying mosquito brains to find out how they sense carbon dioxide—one big cue that gives away the presence of their human prey. The competitive research environment of the Institute for Natural Exploration—and the strong friendships that form during the process of discovery—reflect what I’ve experienced in real life.
Disclaimer: Everyone in my lab is alive and well. They’re all very nice people.
Q: You previously wrote epic YA sci-fi novels like Dove Arising. What made you switch to a sci-fi mystery for Pangu’s Shadow?
A: I love reading every genre of young adult book and have always been a fan of mysteries. Also, as a scientist, I’m trying to unravel mysteries of nature, so to speak. While writing about two young scientists, I decided it made sense to have them use all their skills to find the culprit who tried to ruin their lives.
Q: Immigration is a topic that runs throughout the text. Did your experience as a first-generation Chinese American inspire the storyline?
A: For sure. Like me, Ver and Aryl have never felt like they fully belonged on one moon or the other. They’re often judged by where they come from, which is silly because all the Gui Moon inhabitants’ ancestors originally came from Earth, millions of miles away. But both girls, especially Aryl, experience the amazing feeling of having two cultures and a tight-knit immigrant community forging a better life together in a new world.
Q: What was your writing process for Pangu’s Shadow?
A: I went through only thirty-something drafts (I lost count) over about five years. It was so tough! First, I wrote a fantasy novel with similar themes, but the worldbuilding didn’t make sense. I scrapped that and rewrote the story as an academic sci-fi adventure set in the Pangu Star System. But that lacked tension, so I decided to make it a murder mystery. After that draft, Pangu’s Shadow started to feel like a real book. Then I went through many more iterations to streamline the story and make it easier to read. Thank goodness I had the sharp eyes of my writer friends, agent, editor, and more!
Q: Rapid Cellular Degeneration isn’t a real disease. How did you come up with it, and what does it mean for Ver and the story?
A: I wanted to create a disease that exists only in the Pangu universe but that also mirrors my experience with chronic pain. When I was writing this book, I had back issues that caused tingling in my legs and led me to use a cane to get around. I saw every doctor around and most of them couldn’t help. Like Ver, I became almost obsessed with finding a way to feel better.
Disability is a vast, complicated topic, but my core thoughts about it are simple: Ver has a right to try to improve her own life and the lives of her fellow RCD’ers. She deserves to have a full place in society. Her condition doesn’t define her and doesn’t make her any less of a person.
Q: You use a lot of variety in naming your characters, reflecting the wide range of cultural roots that have come together in the Pangu System. Aryls and esters are functional groups in organic chemistry. Did you name give Aryl and her sister these names intentionally?
A: Don’t @ me. I could have named them Epoxide or Carboxylic Acid instead.
A Day in the Life of a Scientist
Free Educator Resources
Download the free discussion guide to encourage crucial conversation after reading. This guide can also be found on the Lerner website.
Pangus-Shadow_DiscussionGuideDOWNLOAD
Connect with the Author
Karen Bao does science in the lab, then goes home and writes about it. Having earned her Ph.D. in neuroscience from Harvard University, she studies mosquito brains by blasting them with an electron beam. She has eight ear piercings for no reason. Her favorite activities include cooking, tending her plants, singing, and playing her violin. She is the author of Pangu’s Shadow, the Dove Chronicles trilogy, and a contributor to the YA mental health anthology Ab(solutely) Normal.
Q&A WITH ‘DOVE ARISING’ AUTHOR KAREN BAO
Karen BaoKaren Bao is the author of “Dove Arising.” The following is a complete transcript of her interview with Cracking the Cover.
Have you always wanted to be a writer?
Nope! For a long time, I waffled between becoming a scientist and playing violin professionally. While I always loved reading books, I never thought I could actually write one. Then I tried it, and sort of learned as I went along. Writing was a lot harder than I expected.
Why write for young people?
Serious answer: young people are intelligent, sharp, and open to considering new ideas.
Not-so-serious answer: I haven’t really grown up yet (I sometimes eat cereal for every meal), so writing for adults would be a disaster.
Where do your ideas come from? Specifically the idea for Dove Arising?
My ideas come from life – I know, that’s too general to really be helpful, but it’s true. Dove Arising’s totalitarian government is based on Maoist China’s; since my mother grew up there, she told me stories about academic competition, resource scarcity, and her own father being sent to the countryside for “reeducation.” My ideas also come from class, nerdy as that sounds. For example, Phaet often outsmarts her enemies by manipulating the environment around her with concepts I learned in chemistry or physics class.
Why did you choose the moon as your setting?
The moon is so close to us, and yet it’s different from anything we know on earth. I wanted to take on the challenge of having people settle there – how would they meet their own biological needs? Also, the moon features prominently in cultures around the world, and I wanted to explore that. For example, in Chinese folklore, there’s a lonely woman with a pet rabbit living up there, and China’s second-biggest holiday is called the Moon Festival. In short, the moon interested me both scientifically and culturally: it was a playground for new ideas.
How did Phaet’s character come about?
In a surveillance state like the Moon, quiet people are “safer,” so I had my main character be almost completely silent. But Phaet’s introversion didn’t necessarily mean she’d be spineless – in fact, one of my best friends doesn’t talk much, and she’s one of the toughest people I know.
The biggest way in which Phaet resembles me is her deep appreciation for science. I think we should never stop questioning the universe. Although the Bases generally suck (for lack of a better word), their emphasis on discovery and innovation is on point.
Dove ArisingElements of your book include science and military training. How much came from your imagination and how much research was involved?
I consulted the Internet many, many times while drafting Dove Arising: when I picked out locations for the Bases, investigated the viability of weaponry, and learned my way around the gravitational “geography” of space that makes the Moon a strategic high ground. But I tried not to let fact-checking obstruct the story – after all, 200 years from now, who knows where technology and exploration will have taken us? For some aspects of the story, like the outlandish Lunar produce, I let my imagination run its course.
If you could choose between living on Earth or the moon, which would you choose?
Earth all the way! As a nature lover, I’d get bored on the Moon because it has no native organisms to study – I might even get freaked out by all the genetically engineered stuff the Lunars have come up with. Plus, the Moon has an authoritarian government, which doesn’t help their case.
What are you working on now?
Finishing the series, of course! That’s going right on schedule. After Book 3 is done, which will be around the time I graduate from college, I’ll take one or two years to write a fantasy book I’ve planned out in my head. It takes place in a completely new realm, which I built by drawing on the marine biology I’ve studied in school. I can’t wait to put the story down on paper.
Is there a book from your own childhood that still resonates with you? Why?
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbit, about a family that can never die and the girl who grows to love them, will always have a place on my bookshelf. When I was seven or eight years old, the concept of death terrified me – until I read this book and realized that dying is just a bookend to living. I learned to appreciate each successive stage of life because I knew that it would never come back.
DOVE EXILED is the second book in The Dove Chronicles, and we’re delighted to have Karen Bao here to chat about it.
Karen, how long or hard was your road to publication? How many books did you write before this one, and how many never got published?
My road to publication was rather short, without many detours — and for that I feel very fortunate. I wrote ~3 books before DOVE ARISING/DOVE EXILED, and never intended on publishing any of them. I’m so grateful to my agent for offering to represent me after reading the DOVE manuscript, even though I obviously had a lot to learn about writing at the professional level. To this day, he and my editors are continuously offering feedback that helps me improve.
What scene was really hard for you to write and why, and is that the one of which you are most proud? Or is there another scene you particularly love?
It was so hard for me to write the scenes involving Lazarus Penny, a morally upright man from Wes’ hometown, because I based him on a real person who made me grow up a lot. I’m also proud of those scenes, since I got to pass that growth along to Phaet.
What advice would you most like to pass along to other writers?
I’m usually the one taking advice, but here’s what I’ve figured out: Read a lot, write a lot, and don’t forget to go outside once in a while. Sometimes life provides the answers to your most pressing writing challenges.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Dove Exiled
by Karen Bao
Hardcover
Viking Books for Young Readers
Released 2/23/2016
Phaet Theta fled the Moon and has been hiding on Earth with her friend Wes and his family. But Phaet’s past catches up with her when the Lunar Bases attack the community and reveal that Phaet is a fugitive. She’s torn between staying on Earth with Wes—whom she’s just discovered her feelings for—and stowing away on a Moon-bound ship to rescue her siblings from the wrath of the government who killed their mother. But when Phaet makes the agonizing decision to return to the Moon, she finds the rebel movement there has turned her into their “Girl Sage,” a symbol of their struggle. She’s the biggest celebrity on the Moon: half the people worship her, and the other half want her dead.
Purchase Dove Exiled at Amazon
Purchase Dove Exiled at IndieBound
View Dove Exiled on Goodreads
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo of Karen BaoKaren Bao is a writer, musician, and aspiring ecologist. She’s three years older than her brother and sixty years younger than her violin. Born in California and raised in New Jersey, she currently studies environmental biology at college in New York City. Karen began writing Dove Arising at the age of seventeen. Dove Exiled is her second novel. Visit her at karenbaobooks.com.
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Have you had a chance to read DOVE EXILED yet? Do you find it harder to write scenes with characters based on real people? Do you remember to go outside to enjoy life? Share your thoughts about the interview in the comments!
Happy reading,
Jocelyn, Shelly, Martina, Erin, Susan, Sam, Lindsey, Sarah, Sandra, Kristin, and Anisaa
BAO, Karen. Dove Arising. 336p. (Dove Chronicles: Bk. 1). ebook available. Viking. Feb. 2015. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9780451469014. LC 2013041198.
Gr 7 Up-Set on the Moon in the not-so-distant future, this series opener follows an introverted teenager who has spent her life working hard and obeying the rules of the Committee, the governing body of the Moon. Water has been scarce and money is tight, but Phaet and her mother always find a way to provide for her little brother and sister since Phaet's father's death nine years earlier. When the teen's mother is quarantined, however, it is up to her to find a way to keep her family out of the filthy, poverty-stricken district known as "Shelter." Though it means deferring her dream of studying to become a scientist, the protagonist decides to join the Moon's Militia. If she can finish her training at the top of her class, she will become the youngest Militia Captain in history. Competition is fierce, and Phaet will need to work harder than ever before and learn everything she can from the top trainee, a quiet boy named Wes, who often seems more machine than human. Perceptive readers will recognize a burgeoning romance between the pair. Characters are well developed, especially strong-willed Phaet, and an even pace will keep teens turning pages. Fans of Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game (Tor, 1985), Veronica Roth's Divergent (HarperCollins, 2011) and Marie Lu's Legend (Putnam, 2011) should flock to this well-written debut effort by 19-year-old Bao.--Liz Overberg, Darlington School, Rome, GA
Overberg, Liz
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2014 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
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Overberg, Liz. "Bao, Karen. Dove Arising." School Library Journal, vol. 60, no. 11, Nov. 2014, pp. 110+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A388967340/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=7ead3aa6. Accessed 27 Mar. 2024.
Bao, Karen. Dove Arising: Dove Chronicles, Book 1. Viking/Penguin, 2015. 336p. $17.99. 978-0-451-46901-4.
The hero, Phaet, is a gifted teen living in a colony on the moon who dreams of pursuing her love of plants and biology. But she has to put her own desires aside for the good of her family when her mother gets first quarantined and then jailed by the restrictive Lunar government. In order to earn enough money to support her siblings and help her mother, Phaet must become what she despises: a soldier. She must not only compete with other cadets in order to be ranked high, she must also deal with fallout from her family and friends over her decision. With seemingly everyone against her, the only ally Phaet has is Wes, a handsome cadet who is her number-one competition--but even Wes may be more than he seems.
Until just recently, the number of formidable young adult authors who got published before they were out of their teens was extremely small: Christopher Paolini and Isamu Fukui. Well, it is time to make room for a third name in this elite list: Karen Bao. While Baos debut may have similarities to several other dystopian science fiction novels for teens, it is fresh and compelling enough to be a strong suggested read for fans of any of those popular print and film franchises.--Sean Rapacki.
Rapacki, Sean
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2014 E L Kurdyla Publishing LLC
http://www.voya.com
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Rapacki, Sean. "Bao, Karen. Dove Arising: Dove Chronicles, Book 1." Voice of Youth Advocates, vol. 37, no. 5, Dec. 2014, p. 72. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A424530084/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=8dec184a. Accessed 27 Mar. 2024.
Bao, Karen DOVE ARISING Viking (Children's Fiction) $17.99 2, 24 ISBN: 978-0-451-46901-4
In a far future in which humans have settled on the moon to escape wars and climate change on Earth, a teenage girl trains to become a soldier in order to support her family. Born and raised in the Lunar Bases, 15-year-old Phaet (whose name means "Dove") works part-time in the greenhouses with her best friend and hopes to become a Bioengineer. Her plans change, however, when her mother's illness and quarantine leave Phaet and her younger siblings destitute. To provide for her family, Phaet decides to begin her mandatory military training three years early. Her age and her silence (she rarely speaks) put her at a disadvantage; only her tentative friendship with Wes, a gifted trainee, gives her a fighting chance at survival, let alone at the high ranking she needs to earn prize money. Many of the elements of this debut--the totalitarian regime, amoral soldiers, class struggles, family secrets and love triangle--are familiar from other post-apocalyptic novels. Unfortunately, neither the characterization nor the prose helps Bao's riff stand out from the crowd. Phaet's journey from elective near-mute to military whiz is barely credible, and Bao's awkward attempts at lyricism detract from the narrative action. A cliffhanger ending sets up the obligatory sequel. This derivative debut never finds its wings. (Science fiction. 13-18)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2014 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Bao, Karen: DOVE ARISING." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Dec. 2014. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A391851575/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=8259122f. Accessed 27 Mar. 2024.
Bao, Karen DOVE EXILED Viking (Children's Fiction) $17.99 2, 23 ISBN: 978-0-451-46902-1
Even though she is on Earth, Phaet can't hide from the evil, totalitarian Lunar government for long. Months after Phaet and Wes' desperate flight from the Moon in Dove Arising (2015), they've taken refuge at his home, Saint Oda, where Phaet's become a member of the island community. Still, they cover up what actually happened on Wes' mission as well as the fact that Phaet's from the Moon--the highly religious Odans, who've previously suffered unprovoked Lunar attacks, call Lunars "demons." But when a representative from Pacifia, one of the two large, rival Earthbound powers, shows up with video footage of the Lunar forces torturing Phaet's imprisoned brother, Phaet covertly uses Odan technology to contact one of their Moon spies. She learns that Lunars have allied with Pacifia, located her and Wes, and will attack Saint Oda shortly. Her identity unveiled, Phaet's sent on a suicide mission against Pacifia to halt the attack, only to have Wes join her and decide instead to take them to Pacifia's enemy, Battery Bay, for help. The narrative moments that explore the Earthbound civilizations are interesting but over quickly. When the attack comes, Phaet sneaks back to the Moon to rescue her brother but finds she has become a symbol of the resistance. The slow Lunar plot culminates in elections for the all-powerful council. Glaring weak spots include secondary characters' unconvincing motives and tacked-on romantic plots. Its protagonist of Asian heritage aside, it's a standard-issue dystopian middle volume. (Science fiction. 13-18)
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"Bao, Karen: DOVE EXILED." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Dec. 2015. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A437247567/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=998b56f7. Accessed 27 Mar. 2024.
Bao, Karen. Dove Exiled: The Dove Chronicles, Book 2. Viking/Penguin, 2016. 304p. $17.99. 978-0-451-46902-1.
In this sequel to Dove Arising (Penguin, 2015/VOYA December 2014), Phaet Theta is a fugitive. A former resident of the Lunar Colony, she has found refuge among the Odans, a pacifist religious sect that simply wants to be left alone on their island. Unfortunately, the conflict raging among the assorted factions of Earth intrudes upon Phaet's idyllic existence. Aided by her friend Wes, Phaet must navigate the assorted factions in the conflict, and ultimately return to the Moon to assume the mantle of "Girl Sage" that had been reluctantly bestowed on her. Can Phaet separate her true friends from those who are trying to deceive her? Can she unite the scattered rebellion on the Moon, and stand up to the dreaded Committee? Will returning to the Moon result in her own demise? Only time will tell.
Although this is the second installment in the series, the book can be read as a standalone volume. Issues from the previous book are touched on, without being excessively summarized. Phaet is an engaging character, with whom the readers should readily identify. While the narrative is generally engaging, it does get confusing at times, especially at the end where some readers might have trouble keeping up with all the characters. Although this series has been compared to the Ender's Game novels, it bears far more similarities to the Hunger Games series, with a strong female character who finds herself (for better or worse) being the living symbol of rebellion, and trying to come to terms with that fact. The ending makes it clear that further adventures are planned. The story deals with issues of trust, loyalty, and justice. This book would be a worthy addition to most middle and high school collections. --Jonathan Ryder.
Dove Exiled is a great book. The author does an exceptional job explaining the setting, place, and characters. The book brings readers to new people, a different culture, and war. Readers will enjoy reading about Phaet's adventures and be drawn to her emotional experiences. This action-packed novel will appeal to teens and they will not be able to put it down. 5Q, 4P --Brianna Rojas, Teen Reviewer.
Ryder, Jonathan
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 E L Kurdyla Publishing LLC
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Ryder, Jonathan. "Bao, Karen. Dove Exiled: The Dove Chronicles." Voice of Youth Advocates, vol. 38, no. 6, Feb. 2016, p. 67. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A443367960/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=917950ac. Accessed 27 Mar. 2024.
BAO, Karen. Dove Exiled. 304p. (The Dove Chronicles: Bk. 2). ebook available. Viking. Feb. 2016. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9780451469021.
Gr 7 Up--When readers last saw Phaet in Dove Arising (Viking, 2015), she was fleeing the Moon in order to escape its controlling and dangerous ruling authority, the Committee. Now, Phaet finds herself in exile on Earth, forced to hide her true identity. She is miserable, desperate to find a way to return home and save her young siblings from the wrath of the Committee. She soon finds her opportunity when war breaks out on Earth. It becomes clear that the Committee's power has spread so far that even Earth can no longer escape its influence. Upon her return to the Moon, Phaet is surprised to discover that she has become a symbol of a burgeoning revolution: the "Girl Sage" who stood up to the Committee. The ending sets the stage nicely for the action that is to come in the next installment. Bao has employed a multitude of familiar young adult speculative fiction tropes here, including a controlling and immoral government, a reluctant heroine, and a guilt-ridden love triangle. While the first volume primarily focused on Phaet's militia training, this one steers more toward romance and the building of new alliances. Despite this emphasis on relationships, however, the characterization falls flat, with the main love interest reading more like the concept of the perfect boy than as a real person. Luckily, there is still plenty of action to keep readers intrigued. VERDICT Bao's second effort is not quite as original as her first but should still appeal to teens who enjoy predictable speculative fiction with a dose of romance.--Liz Overberg, Zionsville Community High School, IN
Overberg, Liz
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Overberg, Liz. "Bao, Karen. Dove Exiled." School Library Journal, vol. 61, no. 12, Dec. 2015, p. 112. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A436437459/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=141aebd7. Accessed 27 Mar. 2024.
BAO, Karen. Dove Alight. 336p. (The Dove Chronicles: Bk. 3). Viking. May 2017. Tr $18.99. ISBN 9780451469038.
Gr 8 Up-The final installment of the series opens five months after the events of Dove Exiled, with Phaet leading the charge to rescue those loyal to the resistance known as Dovetail from one of the few bases left on the Moon. With more mouths to feed and resources quickly dwindling. Dovetail must locate supplies soon if they plan to defeat the Committee. Their only chance of survival is finding allies on Earth. Help is not the only thing that Phaet is hoping to come across on Earth. Since she left Wes there months ago, she has longed to see him again but knows she can't let anything keep her from completing their final mission of taking down their lunar oppressors. The heroine has to learn to balance her many competing identities as she protects her family, figures out her feelings for Wes, and takes back the Moon from the clutches of the Committee. Bao's writing will leave teens on the edge of their seats right from the first scene, and it remains consistent to the very end. As always, the characters are incredibly fun to watch as they interact and go on adventures while fighting for their cause. VERDICT An action-packed yet satisfying conclusion to the series that should please fans. Purchase where the previous books have done well.-Kristee Copley, Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Washington, DC
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Copley, Kristee. "Bao, Karen. Dove Alight." School Library Journal, vol. 63, no. 4, Apr. 2017, p. 148. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A488688262/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=0426a23e. Accessed 27 Mar. 2024.
Bao, Karen DOVE ALIGHT Viking (Children's Fiction) $17.99 5, 23 ISBN: 978-0-451-46903-8
In this trilogy closer, Phaet, the East Asian teen symbol of the resistance, faces losses and the final battles over the fates of the moon and Earth.The jargon-packed (Pygmette speeders, an Omnibus ship, the Singularity, "the Pandora Particle Accelerator, or PaPA") in medias res opening of a Dovetail resistance mission may send readers back to Dove Exiled (2016) for a refresher. Despite the successful mission, Dovetail is running into supply troubles, including one of troops--they've started a draft and are dipping to soldiers as young as 15. Phaet proposes a risky mission to Earth to form an alliance with Battery Bay, which would bring her back to love interest Wes, a white boy. Before any deal can be struck, villainous, brown-skinned Lazarus strikes as part of a Committee-Pacifia alliance attack. Lazarus is a cliched, cartoonish bad guy ("Love has made you soft"), which makes it unfortunate how predictably he comes back. Once the Earth sojourn is out of the way and they start engaging directly with the Committee back on the moon, the stop-and-go jerky pacing begins to smooth out. Of the handful of climactic twists, all are effective except for one too heavily foreshadowed and artlessly deployed--unfortunately, that one is the final twist. The epilogue is one of the few places where this book deviates from the formula of the standard teen-dystopia trilogy conclusion. Notably diverse cast aside, derivative and predictable. (Science fiction. 12-18)
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"Bao, Karen: DOVE ALIGHT." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Mar. 2017. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A482911659/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=e2c801ae. Accessed 27 Mar. 2024.
Bao, Karen. Dove Alight: The Dove Chronicles, Book 3. Viking/Penguin Random House, 2017. 336p. $18.99. 978-0-451-46903-8.
Phaet Theta is back from her exile on Earth, fighting alongside the other rebels of Free Radical against the overzealous Committee that rules all the Lunar bases. Their victories cannot outweigh the steady loss of supplies and personnel, and soon Phaet and friends are returning to the floating city of Battery Bay to plead for an alliance against the despots. Past deceptions complicate matters and overshadow her anticipated reunion with fellow soldier Wes, who stayed behind to protect his family.
The third and final volume in The Dove Chronicles provides both more and less of the same. As the series progresses, the obvious parallels with other dystopian, teen-driven series has, thankfully, diminished. The characters remain the strongest element, especially the changes in personality wrought by a life of conflict. Bao's language works best when narrating relationships and personal moments, as when Phaet's experience of an annual festival on Earth gives a nod to her Chinese heritage and a succinct contrast to her life on the moon. National alliances and betrayals add some unpredictability to the scrappy rebellion story, and the body count continues to demonstrate the unwelcome rewards of war. The "sci-fi-lite" jargon, however, continues to stand out, a reminder of Bao's uneven world-building, and nemesis Lazarus remains almost comically sinister and capable. Bao employs Chekhov's gun, adding one trope-y tragedy too many to an already breathless, high-stakes final battle.--Lisa Martincik.
QUALITY
5Q Hard to imagine it being better written.
4Q Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses.
3Q Readable, without serious defects.
2Q Better editing or work by the author might have warranted a 3Q.
1Q Hard to understand how it got published, except in relation to its P rating (and not even then sometimes).
POPULARITY
5P Every YA (who reads) was dying to read it yesterday.
4P Broad general or genre YA appeal.
3P Will appeal with pushing.
2P For the YA reader with a special interest in the subject.
1P No YA will read unless forced to for assignments.
GRADE LEVEL INTEREST
M Middle School (defined as grades 6-8).
J Junior High (defined as grades 7-9).
S Senior High (defined as grades 10-12).
A/YA Adult-marketed book recommended for YAs.
NA New Adult (defined as college-age).
R Reluctant readers (defined as particularly suited for reluctant readers).
(a) Highlighted Reviews Graphic Novel Format
(G) Graphic Novel Format
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 E L Kurdyla Publishing LLC
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Martincik, Lisa. "Bao, Karen. Dove Alight: The Dove Chronicles, Book 3." Voice of Youth Advocates, vol. 40, no. 1, Apr. 2017, p. 68. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A491949528/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=6cf66e2b. Accessed 27 Mar. 2024.
Pangu's Shadow
Karen Bao. Carolrhoda Lab, $19.99 (288p) ISBN 978-1-72847-751-0
Queer teens find love while trying to clear themselves of suspicions of murder in this far-future mystery from Bao (the Dove Chronicles series). Though dancer Aryl Fielding was born on G-Moon One, the crown jewel of the Pangu Star System, she faces discrimination tor being the daughter of immigrants from agricultural hub G-Moon Two. Things are even harder for Ver Yun, who hails from manufacturing center G-Moon Three and, like many Three-ers, lives with a degenerative disease. To please her parents, Aryl is completing a research apprenticeship at the Institute for Natural Exploration--something she'd enjoy more if not for demanding boss Cal Eppi and brilliant, brownnosing fellow apprentice Ver. Meanwhile, Ver resents Aryl's physical strength and grace. The trio is working late one night when the power fails, and someone kills Cal. Police charge Aryl and Ver, largely out of prejudice, so the duo joins forces to solve the murder. Secondary characters lack depth, and the denouement is too pat. Bao nevertheless writes incisively and empathetically about Ver's physical impairments, and Aryl and Ver's alternating narration capably ferry a spirited plot, during which tender romance sparks. The cast is intersectionally diverse. Ages 12-up. Agent: Veronica Park. Fuse Literary. (Feb.)
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"Pangu's Shadow." Publishers Weekly, vol. 270, no. 45, 6 Nov. 2023, pp. 52+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A773694942/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=cf7f7f52. Accessed 27 Mar. 2024.
Bao, Karen PANGU'S SHADOW Carolrhoda (Teen None) $19.99 2, 6 ISBN: 9781728477510
Two teen girls accused of murdering their boss will be sent to their moon's penal colony unless they can find the real killer.
Seventeen-year-old Aryl Fielding's true passion is dance, but her coveted research apprenticeship at the Institute for Natural Exploration honors her parents' sacrifices as immigrants from agricultural G-Moon Two to affluent G-Moon One. Sixteen-year-old black-haired and olive-skinned Ver Yun left her industrially ravaged home of G-Moon Three to apprentice at the lab so she could search for a cure for the degenerative disease that has left her disabled. Aryl, who has "bronze skin and mahogany ringlets," sees Ver as an opportunistic know-it-all; Ver thinks Aryl is a slacker who skates by on her intimidating physical superiority. When Investigator Cal Eppi, the girls' supervisor, is murdered, the police automatically charge them, the immigrant offworlders. With only days left until their trial, they move from mutual distrust to working together. As their rivalry turns to romance, they take on powerful people who are hiding big secrets. This dual-perspective tale maintains a vivid connection to each narrator's voice while keeping up an exciting pace and unfurling a satisfying mystery. The portrayals of queer people, immigrant families, and those living with chronic pain and disability are well executed in this work, which is set in a world infused with Asian cultural elements.
Hard to put down: a strongly written work that pulls no punches while providing much-needed representation. (author's note, discussion questions) (Science fiction mystery. 13-18)
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"Bao, Karen: PANGU'S SHADOW." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Dec. 2023, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A776005385/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=23a4c28c. Accessed 27 Mar. 2024.