SATA
ENTRY TYPE:
WORK TITLE: Infinity’s Secret
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: https://katieandkevintsang.com/
CITY: London
STATE:
COUNTRY: United Kingdom
NATIONALITY: American
LAST VOLUME: SATA 368
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born 1987, in San Diego, CA; married Kevin Tsang (an author); children: two daughters.
EDUCATION:Attended the University of California, Davis, and the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer. Has worked for an international translation company, a technology startup, and the U.K. reading charity BookTrust. Pitch Wars mentor.
AVOCATIONS:Travel.
WRITINGS
Contributor, with Kevin Tsang, to The Book of Hopes, edited by Katherine Rundell, Bloomsbury Children’s Books (New York, NY), 2021.
SIDELIGHTS
Katie Tsang is an author of young-adult novels who has also teamed up with her husband, Kevin, to write juvenile and middle-grade fiction. She was born as Katherine Webber in California. Asked by a Deadline interviewer if she had a happy childhood, she responded: “Yes, I was very fortunate! I grew up in sunny Southern California and always had plenty of books to read and lots to spark my imagination.” As a girl her favorite book was Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time. Asked by JeanBookNerd about when she realized she wanted to become a writer, Tsang replied, “I can’t remember not wanting to be a writer, it always was my dream job!” She grew up alongside a brother, and in high school she participated in cross-country running and track. She studied comparative literature at the University of California, Davis, before shifting to study Chinese literature and culture at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. It was there that she met her husband, who was born in Denmark and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2008. Through her high-school and university coursework and travels, as well as a summer exchange program in Taiwan when she was seventeen, Tsang became fluent in Mandarin Chinese. She and her husband have been living in London since 2013. She wrote three young-adult novel manuscripts—one she kept to herself, and two more racked up over a hundred rejections—before writing a manuscript that appealed to numerous agents. Writing her young-adult fiction as Katherine Webber, she drew on a year living in Atlanta in setting her debut novel there.
The Heartbeats of Wing Jones follows the teenage title character, who sometimes gets unwanted attention for being half black and half Asian, with one grandmother from Ghana and another from China. Wing’s older brother Marcus, a football star, seems to have everything figured out—and his friend Aaron has caught her eye—but their lives are upended when Marcus drives drunk, kills two people, and ends up in a coma. With her policeman father deceased (he was killed in the line of duty) and her mother overwhelmed, Wing starts coping with the stress by running regularly. As she is inspired to join teams at school and gets a chance to earn sponsorship, her relationship with Aaron, who helps coach her running, also blossoms.
A Kirkus Reviews writer affirmed of The Heartbeats of Wing Jones, “Wing’s sense of isolation is well-captured, and her grief and confusion are raw and moving. Overall, a solid debut.” School Librarian reviewer Wendy Worley declared that teen girls “will love the emotional intensity and honesty of the novel.”
Speaking with Book Riot interviewer Lucas Maxwell about her second young-adult novel, Only Love Can Break Your Heart, and its setting, Webber said that in Southern California “there is a certain kind of demeanour and approach to life that I think differs than other areas of the world. I wouldn’t necessarily say laid back but maybe more contemplative. … In some ways, this book is my love letter to the California desert. There’s something really magical about it.”
The novel finds teenager Reiko Smith-Mori still dealing with the grief of losing her sister to an ocean accident five years earlier. She finds rejuvenation in going rock-climbing in the desert, where she also happens to meet Seth, a boy from school whose trailer-home origins make him an outsider to affluent Reiko and her popular friends. Reiko and Seth nevertheless slide into a relationship, secret at first but eventually public—and full of ups and downs—helping Reiko explore her own feelings as well as grow beyond the grief she has held on to for so long.
In School Library Journal, Gretchen Hardin found that “watching Reiko better understand her grief and eventually learn to love herself is a satisfying journey.” A Kirkus Reviews writer called Reiko “a nuanced, sensitively drawn protagonist” and Only Love Can Break Your Heart “an emotional roller coaster with a heroine who prevails.”
When Tsang and her husband collaborate, their joint writing process involves brainstorming, going for long walks, and taking turns typing out a story together on a large monitor in their living room. Discussing the origins of their “Sam Wu Is Not Afraid” juvenile novel series with Kelly’s Rambles, Tsang related: “I first had the original idea for a MG book about a boy who had to face different fears … but I knew it wouldn’t be a project I could do on my own because it was so different from what I usually write. So I pitched the idea to Kevin, and together we came up with Sam Wu!” Tsang’s husband has confessed to being easily frightened when he was a child.
Sam Wu Is Not Afraid of Ghosts opens the Tsangs’ series by introducing eight-year-old Sam Wu, brought to life in abundant illustrations by Nathan Reed. After an embarrassing incident at the Space Museum leaves him labeled a scaredy-cat, Sam is looking to turn his reputation around. With hopes of convincing school bully Ralph of his bravado, Sam acquires a giant snake, enlists his best friends—sporty Zoe and brainy Bernard—and tries to get to the bottom of some apparently supernatural activity.
Noting that some of Sam’s experiences as a Chinese American “will resonate with anyone who has ever felt different,” a Kirkus Reviews writer suggested that “reluctant readers” and fans of more active fiction “will appreciate the book’s dynamic type, graphics galore, cartoonish illustrations, and ironic footnotes.” School Librarian reviewer Carolyn Copland declared of Sam Wu Is Not Afraid of Ghosts, “It is so refreshing to find culturally diverse characters who are entertaining but also believable.” Copland further praised the characters as “positive and engaging” and the plot as full of “comedy and chaos.”
Sam Wu Is Not Afraid of Sharks once again finds Sam chagrined over a public moment of fear, this time at the aquarium. When a birthday beach party looms, Bernard has to face his fear of swimming, while Sam is focused on the unsettling prospect of a shark fin floating his way. A Kirkus Reviews writer was fond of the “loving, realistic, intergenerational relationship” between Sam and his “sassy” Hong Kong grandmother. Otherwise observing that the Tsangs largely adhere to the format of the series opener while getting deeper into the lives of the characters, the reviewer concluded, “A sequel skittish of uncharted waters still finds its way.” In School Library Journal, Tara Kehoe called the book “an engaging and authentic underdog tale.”
Katie and Kevin Tsang write for a middle-grade audience with the novels in their “Dragon Realm” series. In Dragon Mountain, the series opener, Billy Chan, a twelve-year-old surfer from San Francisco whose father speaks Cantonese, is sent to a cultural camp in rural China to improve his Mandarin. There he makes friends with a southern belle, a boisterous Irish lad, and a local Chinese girl, and after strange phenomena start occurring, the quartet end up discovering four dragons in a mountain cave. Each forming a special bond with a dragon that grants them special powers, the four must team up to face down the Dragon of Death.
In School Library Journal, Hillary Perelyubskiy suggested of Dragon Mountain, “Readers will enjoy new dragon lore … and most won’t be able to resist the predictable cliffhanger at the end of each chapter.” A Publishers Weekly reviewer observed, “Fast-paced and engaging, this tale emphasizes adventure over complexity, easily appealing to a young audience.”
[open new]Billy Chan and his trio of companions—Charlotte, Dylan, and Ling-Fei—return in Dragon Legend, to be joined by JJ, grandson of the language camp’s manager, as they plunge into the Dragon Realm, where Dylan needs to be rescued from a kidnapping. To impede the Dragon of Death, they must collect magical pearls from a series of perilous locales, even as Billy’s dragon Spark starts getting lured by the call of dark magic. A recap of the first “Dragon Realm” book opens the second to help new readers dive right in. Finding “plenty of escalating action … carefully balanced with character development,” a Kirkus Reviews writer affirmed that the “fast-paced narrative draws readers in with increasing challenges” and that young readers will be “clamoring for the next installment.”
For the “Twin Crowns” young-adult fantasy series, Tsang—writing as Webber—teamed up with fellow author Catherine Doyle, whom she met at book event in London and who eventually married her brother, Jack, becoming her sister-in-law. Fast friends, the two decided to team up for a set of novels featuring a pair of long-separated twins. As Webber told Cyn’s Workshop, “Cat is the funniest person I know, and she’s a brilliant writer, and I love spending time with her —and so I knew she was going to be the perfect person to co-write my dream YA fantasy rom-com with.” With Doyle living in Ireland, she wrote Wren’s chapters, while Webber wrote Rose’s, and they swapped drafts to refine the narrative.
In Twin Crowns, the kingdom of Eana was cast into turmoil seventeen years ago when the king and queen were murdered, infant Wren Greenrock was whisked away by the witches who were blamed, and Rose Valhart was brought up as a princess unaware of her sister’s existence. But the witches and battle-ready Wren have their sights set on the true murderer, ruling regent Rathborne. As Rose’s coronation approaches, they carry out a kidnapping and princess-switch, positioning Wren to welcome witches back into the realm and Rose to learn the meaning of magic. Dashing love interests enter the picture, but Rathborne has insidious designs to retain the power he stole.
Observing that Webber and Doyle’s series-opening narrative “gains its greatest energy from the romantic plots,” Katherine Magyarody in School Library Journal summed the novel up as a “romp about self-discovery through sisterhood, sexy men, and magic.” In Booklist, Maggie Reagan praised the alternating narration for “keeping the momentum of both plots high” and hailed Twin Crowns as a “light fantasy romp” with “breezy energy.”
The Revelry, a stand-alone young-adult novel by Webber, is set in the town of Ember Grove, where an annual party in the woods is a highlight for high-school seniors. What transpires is kept secret, which heightens the allure for sixteen-year-olds Bitsy and Amy, who illicitly sneak their way in—and wake up the next day with scars instead of friendship rings and no memory of the night before. As the scars start signaling a contrary paranormal connection—Amy’s good fortune makes Bitsy’s scar burn—Bitsy is lured by silver-haired Skyler toward understanding what was wrought by the Revelry. A Kirkus Reviews writer observed that Webber’s “atmospheric prose … is infused with old superstitions reminiscent of tales of European fae,” with magic proving a “fickle, double-edged sword.” A Publishers Weekly reviewer declared that Webber “weaves sinister ambiance by keeping the Revelry ambiguous,” helping make for a “tense tale of betrayal, codependency, friendship, and longing.”
Tsang and husband Kevin revived their penchant for middle-grade dragon lore with the “Dragon Force” series. Opening five years after the Great Collapse, when the Dragon Realm and Human Realm combined, Infinity’s Secret introduces Lance Lo, twelve-year-old denizen of New London, and his ten-year-old sister, Zoe. Both are invited to train for the elite Dragon Force at Camp Claw, where Zoe quickly bonds with dragon Violet, while Lance needs more time to become acquainted with Infinity. Friendship with Bea Garcia, troubling antagonism from privileged Arthur Royden, and increasing monster attacks bring the stakes of their blooming adventure into focus. A Kirkus Reviews writer remarked that the “worldbuilding is intriguing and the plot moves quickly” and called Infinity’s Secret a “solid dragon-filled series opener.”
The villainous power behind the rising danger surfaces in Devourer’s Attack, which finds Lance, Zoe, and a pair of dragon-riding young friends obliged to save the rest of the Dragon Force before the Devourer and Petrifiers doom their whole world. Each youth has a special move that proves essential, and super-suits lend extra powers. A Kirkus Reviews writer found the plot and language to be “distinctly gamelike” as the novel “plunges riders and rides into a series of set piece challenges and quests.” The reviewer reckoned the novel “chock-full of awesome RPG-style action.”[close new]
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, May 15, 2022, Maggie Reagan, review of Twin Crowns, p. 45.
Bookseller, February 18, 2022, Charlotte Eyre, “Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber Have Teamed Up for a Fantastical Tale with a Romantic Twist,” p. 48.
Kirkus Reviews, December 15, 2016, review of The Heartbeats of Wing Jones; August 15, 2018, review of Sam Wu Is Not Afraid of Ghosts; February 15, 2019, review of Sam Wu Is Not Afraid of Sharks; October 15, 2019, review of Only Love Can Break Your Heart; August 15, 2021, review of Dragon Legend; July 1, 2023, review of The Revelry; January 15, 2025, review of Infinity’s Secret; April 1, 2025, review of Devourer’s Attack.
Publishers Weekly, September 7, 2020, review of Dragon Mountain, p. 59; June 26, 2023, review of The Revelry, p. 109.
School Librarian, spring, 2017, Wendy Worley, review of Wing Jones, p. 59; summer, 2018, Carolyn Copland, review of Sam Wu Is Not Afraid of Ghosts, p. 108.
School Library Journal, February, 2019, Tara Kehoe, review of Sam Wu Is Not Afraid of Sharks, p. 56; December, 2019, Gretchen Hardin, review of Only Love Can Break Your Heart, p. 94; September, 2020, Hillary Perelyubskiy, review of Dragon Mountain, p. 83; June, 2022, Katherine Magyarody, review of Twin Crowns, p. 80.
ONLINE
Adventures in YA Publishing, http://www.adventuresinyapublishing.com/ (March 18, 2017), “Katherine Webber, Author of The Heartbeats of Wing Jones, on Racking Up an Impressive Number of Query Rejections.”
A Little but a Lot, https://alittlebutalot.com/ (October 12, 2020), “A Q&A with Katie and Kevin Tsang!”
Book Riot, https://bookriot.com/ (September 16, 2018), Lucas Maxwell, “Katherine Webber on Her New YA Novel Only Love Can Break Your Heart.”
Books for Keeps, http://booksforkeeps.co.uk/ (July 1, 2020), “Here Be Dragons: Dr Rebecca Butler Interviews Katie and Kevin Tsang about Their New Book.”
CILIP website, https://www.cilip.org.uk/ (August 5, 2020), Jacob Hope, “Sam Wu Is Not Afraid of Space—an Interview with Katie and Kevin Tsang.”
Cyn’s Workshop, https://cynsworkshop.com/ (May 2, 2024), “An Interview with Catherine Doyle & Katherine Webber.”
Deadline, https://www.deadlinenews.co.uk/ (August 13, 2017), “Festival Alter Ego Q&A—Katherine Webber/Wing Jones.”
Edinburgh International Book Festival website, https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/ (February 19, 2021), author profile.
JeanBookNerd, https://www.jeanbooknerd.com/ (May 12, 2022), “Katie & Kevin Tsang Interview—Dragon City.”
Katherine Webber website, https://www.kwebberwrites.com (August 7, 2025).
Katie and Kevin Tsang website, https://katieandkevintsang.com (August 7, 2025).
Kelly’s Rambles, https://kellysrambles.com/ (March 6, 2018), “Q&A with Katie & Kevin Tsang: Authors of Sam Wu Is Not Afraid of Ghosts!”
Liv’s Wonderful Escape, https://livswonderfulescape.wordpress.com/ (December 19, 2016), “Interview with Katherine Webber.”
Pitch Wars website, https://pitchwars.org/ (October 14, 2016), Nikki Roberti, “Pitch Wars Interview with Ashia Monet and her Mentor, Katherine Webber.”
United by Pop, https://www.unitedbypop.com/ (March 1, 2023), “Katie and Kevin Tsang Chat Their Favourite Dragons in Honour of World Book Day.”
Katie Tsang
USA flag
A pseudonym used by Katherine Webber
Katie and Kevin Tsang met in in 2008 while studying at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and have lived on three different continents and travelled to over 40 countries together. They currently live in London.
Genres: Children's Fiction
New and upcoming books
May 2025
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Eternity's End
(Dragon Force , book 3)
Series
Sam Wu (with Kevin Tsang)
1. Sam Wu Is Not Afraid of Ghosts! (2018)
2. Sam Wu is Not Afraid of Sharks! (2018)
3. Sam Wu is Not Afraid of the Dark! (2019)
4. Sam Wu is Not Afraid of Spiders! (2019)
5. Sam Wu is Not Afraid of Zombies (2020)
6. Sam Wu is Not Afraid of Space (2020)
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Dragon Realm (with Kevin Tsang)
1. Dragon Mountain (2020)
2. Dragon Legend (2021)
3. Dragon City (2021)
4. Dragon Rising (2022)
5. Dragon Destiny (2022)
6. A Dragon Realm Adventure (2023)
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Space Blasters (with Kevin Tsang)
1. Suzie Saves the Universe (2022)
2. Suzie and the Moon Bugs (2023)
3. Suzie and the Comet of Chaos (2023)
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Dragon Force (with Kevin Tsang)
1. Infinity's Secret (2023)
2. Devourer's Attack (2024)
3. Eternity's End (2025)
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Series contributed to
World Book Day 2023
A Dragon Realm Adventure (2023) (with Kevin Tsang)
Katherine Webber
aka Katie Tsang
Katherine Webber was born in Southern California in 1987. She has lived in Hong Kong, Hawaii, and Atlanta. She currently lives in London with her husband.
She loves an adventure, whether it is found in a book or in real life. She has climbed the Great Wall of China, ridden camels in the Sahara Desert, camped in the Serengeti, visited sacred temples in Bhutan, trekked to Machu Picchu, and eaten her way through Italy. Travel, books, and eating out are her favourite indulgences.
Katherine studied Comparative Literature at the University of California, Davis and Chinese literature and language at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She has worked at an international translation company, a technology startup, and, most recently, a London based reading charity.
Wing Jones is her first novel. Katherine is represented by Claire Wilson at Rogers, Coleridge and White.
Genres: Young Adult Fantasy
New and upcoming books
April 2025
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Captain of Fates
(Twin Crowns, book 4)
Series
Wing Jones
1. Wing Jones (2017)
2. The Heartbeats of Wing Jones (2017)
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Novels
Only Love Can Break Your Heart (2018)
The Revelry (2022)
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Series contributed to
Twin Crowns
1. Twin Crowns (2022) (with Catherine Doyle)
2. Cursed Crowns (2023) (with Catherine Doyle)
3. Burning Crowns (2024) (with Catherine Doyle)
4. Captain of Fates (2025)
About the author
Katherine Webber was born in Southern California in 1987. She has lived in Hong Kong, Hawaii, and Atlanta. She currently lives in London with her husband.
She loves an adventure, whether it is found in a book or in real life. She has climbed the Great Wall of China, ridden camels in the Sahara Desert, camped in the Serengeti, visited sacred temples in Bhutan, trekked to Machu Picchu, and eaten her way through Italy. Travel, books, and eating out are her favourite indulgences.
Katherine studied Chinese literature and language at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Davis. She has worked at an international translation company, a technology startup, and, most recently, a London based reading charity. She spends far too much time on Twitter so come say hello @kwebberwrites.
The Heartbeats of Wing Jones is her first novel.
We love to write books together!
Hi! We are Katie and Kevin Tsang - children’s authors, parents, and adventurers. Katie is originally from California and also writes YA as Katherine Webber. Kevin was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, but grew up in Atlanta, Georgia.
We met many moons ago studying abroad in a magical place called Hong Kong. Since then, we’ve been lucky enough to travel around the world together, live on three different continents, and we even got married. We now live in London with our baby daughter. We spend our days making up stories and thinking about what we want for dinner.
A Q&A with Katie and Kevin Tsang!
October 12, 2020
Good morning everyone!
Happy Monday… and what a surprise I have in store for you all!
A little while ago, I was asked about hosting a Q&A with the gorgeous duo of Kevin and Katie Tsang, authors of the amazing Sam Wu series! I was DELIGHTED to be asked, and I honestly can’t be happier!
For those of you who have been living under a rock, Katie and Kevin are the cowriting duo who are responsible for the incredible Sam Wu series! The final Sam Wu book came out recently and it is BRILLIANT. I am SO SO SAD this series is over! It’s an amazing series and it’s going down VERY WELL at school!
The latest (and the final) adventure in Sam Wu’s life sees him taking on being unafraid in Space!
“When Sam gets the chance to go to Space Camp with his friends this summer, he has never been more excited. He is desperate for everyone to love it as much as he does – and together win the Space Camp Challenge trophy! But not everybody at Space Camp is ready to be a team player and for Sam it’s starting to look like winning the trophy might be as difficult as landing on the moon!“
I had the absolute joy of reading Sam Wu in August (thanks Egmont!) and guys… it was everything I needed and more! The final Sam Wu adventure takes him to Space Camp! After all the books we’ve had talking about how much he loves Space Blasters, I was SO thrilled to hear he was finally going to Space (well… kind of!). With all of his Space Blasters knowledge and everything he’s learned about being a good friend, this is a perfect challenge for his final story! This is filled with friendship and some brilliant challenges that Sam and his crew have to combat! I loved the messages of forgiveness and including everyone. Just like the rest of the series, this one is absolutely gorgeously illustrated by the brilliant Nathan Reed (I think the illustrations add SO MUCH!!) and the footnotes are just the best! I am so so sad to say goodbye to Sam Wu, but I can’t wait to introduce more children to these books!
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Tell us about the brand new Sam Wu book. What was your favourite bit of this book to write?
The newest Sam Wu is SAM WU IS NOT AFRAID OF SPACE – and Sam Wu finally gets to go to Space Camp! We always hoped we would get to send our space-loving Sam to space camp so this was a really joyful one for us to write.
We had so much fun researching real life space camp. And it was really satisfying knowing that Sam has faced so many of his fears with the help of his family and friends.
What inspired you to write this series?
We wanted to write a funny series about an ‘every kid’ who has to face various common childhood fears, and Sam Wu was born! Part of the inspiration came from Katie’s experience working at the reading charity BookTrust, she saw first hand how funny books inspired a love of reading in children. It was also important to us to write a book with a diverse cast of characters – the book is never about Sam’s Chinese heritage, but it is woven throughout his experiences, in the food he eats at home and how he interacts with the world.
How does writing work for you? Do you take it in turns to write or do you pool your ideas together?
It took us a while to hammer out the best way to work collaboratively, but now we’ve got it down! First we talk through everything to make sure we are on the same page (pun intended!) for the book and the concept, and then we do a thorough outline. When we’re ready to start writing, we connect our laptop to a bigger screen so we can both see, and one of us types and the other one oversees and gives feedback, and we switch back and forth. Depending on who is more excited about a specific scene, we’ll take turns. We also take turns editing each other’s work and making sure that everything feels consistent and has a nice flow.
Which Sam Wu book is your favourite?
An impossible question! We think Ghosts has the best mystery, Sharks has the best facts, The Dark is probably the scariest, Spiders is the funniest, Zombies has the best illustrations (all the books are illustrated by super talented Nathan Reed) and is the most exciting, and Space has the most heart. We genuinely love all of them and are so proud to have six books in the series.
What’s your favourite thing about being authors?
We love coming up with stories! It is honestly the best job in the world. And we love when young readers connect with our books.
We always love a recommendation here! Is there a book you can recommend for kids and teachers alike?
We both recently read and loved My Life as a Cat by Carlie. We’d also love to recommend Catherine Doyle’s wonderful Christmas Carol retelling, Miracle on Ebenezer Street.
***
A massive, massive thank you to Katie and Kevin for taking the time to answer my questions! I am such a big fan of Katie and Kevin’s work! I can’t wait to see what comes from them next! A massive thank you to Egmont for this opportunity too!
Katie and Kevin Tsang chat their favourite dragons in honour of World Book Day
Katie and Kevin Tsang penned a special Dragon Realm story in honour of World Book Day.
By Tacye On Mar 1, 2023
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Katie and Kevin Tsang penned a special Dragon Realm story in honour of World Book Day. Like the 5 books in the series, this short story is another fun adventure featuring Billy Chan and all the other characters that readers have come to love. Today, we chat with Katie and Kevin about how they ensure new readers will also love A Dragon Realm Adventure, and all their favourite dragons from pop culture.
First of all, a fun question – can you share with us your favourite dragon characters from animes, books, shows etc?
There are so many amazing dragons in pop culture! Kevin loved Dragon Ball Z as a kid so he is a fan of the dragon Shenron. And we know there aren’t any dragons in it, but if we are talking about anime, Katie has to give a shoutout to her favorite childhood anime show—Sailor Moon! She now wishes that Sailor Moon had ridden on a dragon.
One of Katie’s favorite childhood dragon was the truly terrifying but also amazing dragon that Malificent turns into in Sleeping Beauty. That one definitely helped inspire our big baddie, the Dragon of Death! We also both love Mushu from Mulan – so sassy and funny, and a really great dragon companion.
As a child, Katie also loved the dragon from the classic children’s book ‘My Father’s Dragon’ by Ruth Stiles Gannett. And of course we are big fans of How to Train Your Dragon, and more recently we really enjoyed the show The Dragon Prince.
And we both love all the amazing and epic dragons in Samantha Shannon’s PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE. Katie also very much enjoyed the dragons in BURN by Patrick Ness.
Finally, we have to mention DRAGON HEART, a film that Katie loved as a child but that Kevin didn’t see until he was an adult. Sean Connery as a dragon! A shared heart between the dragon and the villain! So much to love.
The best part about writing about dragons is that there is no limit to what you can imagine and dream up. We love seeing all the different kinds of dragons there are in books and pop culture, and then creating our own.
You two are great at writing about dragons but between the two of you, who can draw a better dragon?
Drawing is definitely not one of our strengths—but we love to draw for fun with our kids! Kevin is probably the better artist out of the two of us.
Each Dragon Realm book is much longer compared to this World Book Day title. How did it affect the planning and writing process?
We loved writing a short and contained dragon adventure. By the time we wrote the WBD book, we had already written five full-length DRAGON REALM novels, so we really knew the characters and the world. And while A DRAGON REALM ADVENTURE absolutely can be read by anyone, including people new to the series, if you have read the first books, we think you’ll enjoy seeing some old friends and meeting new dragons! And, excitingly, there are a few clues in A DRAGON REALM ADVENTURE for things to come in our new series, DRAGON FORCE.
Given there are already 5 books in the series, and with so many characters, was it difficult to ensure new readers can connect with and understand the story?
The trickiest part was figuring out what information to share so it made sense to readers, while not spoiling too much of what happened in previous books! We had to do a little bit of explaining so readers understand why there are dragons flying around London, but once that is established, the story is just an exciting standalone adventure! Of course there are characters that feature in previous books, as well as hints of things to come in our future series, but the book stands alone as its own complete and contained adventure.
We also had an author friend who hasn’t read any of the Dragon Realm books yet read our WBD book to make sure it made sense to her, which was really helpful!
While we have already met many different dragons along the series, we meet a pretty special group – the Diamond Clan dragons – in this book. How did you come up with that?
Thank you! We loved writing the Diamond Clan! We wanted to include some new exciting dragons, and we loved the idea of gemstone dragons, and we hadn’t done that before, so it felt fresh and fun. We try to write very visually, and we felt like dragons that looked like they were made out of giant gemstones was a really unique and visually interesting concept, and once we had that idea, we were able to come up with their backstory and their powers. Coming up with new dragons is our favorite part of the writing process. And there are even MORE fun new dragons to meet in our new series coming in September!
You can win ALL 5 books in the Dragon Realm series here!
Katie & Kevin Tsang Interview - Dragon City
5:00 AM JBN, Jean Book Nerd, Katie Tsang, Kevin Tsang Interview - Dragon City (Dragon Realm #3) 8 comments
Photo Content from Katie and Kevin Tsang
Katie and Kevin Tsang met in in 2008 while studying at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Since then they have lived on three different continents and travelled to over 40 countries together. As well as the DRAGON REALM series, they are the co-writers of the young fiction series SAM WU IS NOT AFRAID (Egmont) and Katie also writes YA as Katherine Webber.
KATIE: FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | WEBSITE | GOODREADS
KEVIN: FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | WEBSITE | GOODREADS
Why is storytelling so important for all of us?
Katie: Stories connect people! They are a wonderful way to understand other experiences, but most of all they provide entertainment and an escape from reality.
Tell us your most rewarding experience since being published.
Kevin: Hearing from our readers! We love when readers take the time to write us letters and tell us that the books are meaningful to them.
Was there a defining moment during your youth when you realized you wanted to be a writer?
Katie: I can’t remember not wanting to be a writer, it always was my dream job!
Kevin: I loved telling stories, but I didn’t realise that I could be a writer until I met Katie and saw how driven she was to pursue being an author. And then she took me along on the ride!
What are some of your current and future projects that you can share with us?
We are currently working on the 5th book in the Dragon Realm series, as well as a new young fiction series called Space Blasters. Katie also writes YA novels so is working on edits for one of her YA novels.
In your newest book; DRAGON CITY, can you tell my Book Nerd community a little about it.
KT: Dragon City is set in an alternate future run by evil dragons, and our heroes have to survive and save the day!
What part of Billy did you enjoy writing the most?
KT: Billy is very loyal and cares a lot for his friends, we really enjoyed writing that, as well as his bond with his dragon Spark.
What was your unforgettable moment while writing DRAGON CITY?
KT: There is one scene in particular between Billy and Spark that we both found very emotional!
Last thing you made with your own hands?
Kevin: I love cooking, so I made homemade tortillas recently
Katie: I do lots of crafts with our young daughter, so the last thing I made was a painting with her.
What is your greatest adventure?
Having a family together and writing books together.
What was your favorite book as a child and why?
Katie: A Wrinkle in Time, I loved that it was an epic adventure with family relationships at its heart
Kevin: Jurassic Park – I loved how exciting it was!
What were you doing at midnight last night?
Taking care of our 6 month old daughter!
TEN RANDOM THINGS ABOUT ME
(we did some as a couple and some individually)
We met studying abroad in Hong Kong
We’ve travelled to over 40 countries together
Kevin loves to grill
Katie loves to eat cookies but is a terrible baker because she gets distracted
Kevin is afraid of sharks
Katie was born in San Diego, California
Kevin was born in Copenhagen, Denmark
Kevin’s favorite sweet is salty licorice
Katie loves anything spicy
We had our wedding on a mountain in Palm Springs
Your Favorite Quotes/Scenes from DRAGON CITY
One of our favorite scenes is the opening scene in chapter 2…enjoy!
CHAPTER 2
DRAGON TEETH
Billy Chan was inside a dragon’s mouth.
It was hot, damp and it smelled terrible. And, of course, there was the ever-present danger that the dragon might decide to crush Billy between his jaws.
He peered out from behind the dragon’s sharp teeth. “Could you open up a little wider? There’s something stuck back here,” he called out.
The dragon, who had sleek black scales and flowing silver whiskers, as well as a surprising and impressively long silver beard, grumbled but unhinged his jaws a bit so Billy had more space to move around.
“Thank you!” Billy said, repositioning himself so he had better access to the dragon’s back molars. Because Billy Chan, twelve-year-old surfer from California, was currently spending his days cleaning dragon teeth.
“Ugh,” he muttered under his breath, as he picked out something with feathers from in-between the dragon’s back two teeth. “What is this?” Why couldn’t dragons have toothbrushes?
Book 3 of the Dragon Realm series.
Billy Chan and his friends have been transported 5,000 years into the future where the evil Dragon of Death has become ruler of Dragon City. Humans now live to serve the dragon population, and it’s no different for Billy, Charlotte, Dylan, and Ling-Fei. After losing contact with their own dragons, they’re determined to track them down in this new city, even if it means putting their own lives at risk. But one dragon has turned to the dark side and has no plans to return. With the help of a new clan of dragons, can the four friends undo the Dragon of Death’s villainous work—or will she triumph eternally?
Katherine Webber is originally from California but currently lives in London. She has also lived and worked in Hong Kong, Maui, and Atlanta.
She loves an adventure, whether it is found in a book or in real life. Travel, books, and eating out are her favourite indulgences.
Her debut YA novel WING JONES/THE HEARTBEATS OF WING JONES is published by Walker Books in the UK and Penguin Random House/Delacorte in the US. Her next YA novel will be out in August 2018. Katherine also writes the young fiction series SAM WU IS NOT AFRAID as Katie Tsang with her husband Kevin Tsang.
Katherine is represented by Claire Wilson at Rogers, Coleridge, and White.
Katherine Webber is a bestselling and award-winning author of children’s and young adult books. Since 2017, she has published over twenty books across multiple genres for readers of all ages, and has been translated in more than a dozen languages. Her recent YA novels include the internationally bestselling Twin Crowns trilogy, co-written with Catherine Doyle, as well as The Revelry and Only Love Can Break Your Heart. In addition to her Young Adult novels, Katherine also writes younger fiction as Katie Tsang in collaboration with her husband Kevin. She met Kevin whilst studying at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Together they have penned a number of bestselling children’s series, from the Sam Wu is Not Afraid books, to Space Blasters, the Dragon Realm saga and most recently, the Dragon Force trilogy. Katherine was born and raised in Southern California and currently lives in London with Kevin and their two young daughters.
Instagram: @kwebberwanders
Website: katieandkevintsang.com
Books in order of publication:
Wing Jones (2017)
Only Love Can Break Your Heart (2018)
Sam Wu is NOT Afraid of Ghosts! (2018)
Sam Wu is NOT Afraid of Sharks! (2018)
Sam Wu is NOT Afraid of the Dark! (2019)
Sam Wu is NOT Afraid of Spiders! (2019)
Sam Wu is NOT Afraid of Zombies! (2020)
Dragon Mountain (2020)
'First Flight,' The Book of Hopes (2020)
Dragon Legend (2021)
Dragon City (2021)
The Revelry (2022)
Dragon Rising (2022)
Twin Crowns (2022)
Space Blasters: Suzie Saves The Universe (2022)
Dragon Destiny (2022)
Space Blasters: Suzie and the Moon Bugs (2023)
A Dragon Realm Adventure (2023)
Cursed Crowns (2023)
Infinity's Secret (Dragon Force Vol 1) (2023)
Devourer's Attack (Dragon Force Vol 2) (2024)
Burning Crowns (2024)
Captain of Fates (2025)
Agent: Claire Wilson
An Interview with Catherine Doyle & Katherine Webber
Hey there, readers! Boy, do I have a treat for you! I was offered the opportunity to interview the duo behind the Twin Crowns trilogy, and of course, I took it! So check out the interview below, and don’t forget to check out the final book in the series Burning Crowns.
Happy reading!
Cyn’s Workshop: How did you two meet? The story about sisters seems to really capture your relationship with one another, honestly if feels like you two really are sisters.
Katherine Webber: Cat and I met through our literary agent at a book event in London, and then we became friends, and then best friends, and then I introduced her to my brother, they became engaged, and THEN we decided to write together. It has been quite an adventure! So really, our literary agent is the fairy godmother in our story.
Catherine Doyle: Ten years ago, we began as peers, then became best friends, then co-writers, and now we are officially sisters-in-law. Since we talk all the time anyway and love spending time with each other, it seemed like a good idea to write something together – the sister dynamic came really naturally to us.
CW: What brought you two together to write this series?
Catherine Doyle: Sometime in mid-2020, when the pandemic was just getting into full swing,
and we were all stuck inside; Katie called me one evening with an idea that had been bubbling in the back of her mind: a YA fantasy twin-switch story about a princess and a witch. Something fun and swoony and pacy. A book that would make us laugh, and ultimately – cheer us up. It as the most excited I had been all year. And it made perfect sense. After all, we had both already written several books individually, we shared an undying love of YA fantasy (which we spoke about all the time), we were best friends and soon-to-be sisters-in-law. Why not become co-authors, too?
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Katherine Webber: Cat is the funniest person I know, and she’s a brilliant writer, and I love
spending time with her – and so I knew she was going to be the perfect person to co-
write my dream YA fantasy rom-com with. I already had experience co-writing with
my husband, Kevin Tsang, so I knew that sometimes the best projects come from
writing with someone you trust and combining your ideas for something even better
than either of you could have ever come up with on your own. I was ecstatic when
Cat said she wanted to co-write with me.
CW: Do you guys write the POVs for Rose and Wren together or separately? How does the process work for you two when it comes to putting the story together?
Catherine Doyle: Since I live in Ireland and Katie lives in London, we had to do most of our writing remotely. We usually began with a marathon 5-hour zoom call, where we planned out all the chapters and beats in the story. Then I wrote Wren’s chapters and Katie wrote Rose. We swapped back and forth so we could read over and edit each other’s work as we went alone.
Katie Webber: We had to figure out a system that worked! Luckily Cat is very organized so made sure we always had a plan. And it was so fun reading each other’s chapters too—even though I knew what was happening because we’d outlined it together, I still always giggled when I realised it was going to be a kissing chapter or something else exciting!
CW: Between the two of you who is more like Rose and who is more like Wren?
Catherine Doyle: I am Wren to my core lol!
Katherine Webber: I like to think I am a bit of both but I share Rose’s delusional optimism – she is determined to make the best of any situation and convinced she can handle anything even when she is WAY over her head!
CW: What are five words that best describe Burning Crowns?
Swoony, funny, surprising, magical, and EPIC!
CW: The book has special spayed edges from Waterstones? (Yes, I pre-ordered Wren’s edges) Did you have any input into the style or was it just a wonderful surprise to you both?
Our amazing designer Ryan Hammond at Farshore designs the sprayed edges – he has an incredible creative eye and totally understands the vibe of the books, so we are always thrilled (and grateful) to let him lead on that! We get to see them several months in advance, and those emails are always our favourites!
CW: Also, which sprayed edges do you prefer?
This is like choosing your favourite child, lol! We love ALL of them equally – and truly feel so blessed.
CW: This is the final book in this trilogy, did it come out the way you envisioned it or did some elements change as you wrote the series? Without giving anything away, how did it evolve?
Even from the outset, we knew we wanted to go out with a bang – to write an epic conclusion to the trilogy that, aside from being tense and exciting and magical, still showed the true heart of the book, which is the ultimate power of sisterhood. In terms of changes, the battle scenes got bigger and bigger, the stakes got higher (no spoilers!) and the villain got a lot scarier. But we are thrilled with the way it’s turned out, and the early reader reactions to it!
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CW: Without spoiling anything, what was the most heartbreaking moment in the series for each of you?
Catherine Doyle: Writing about Wren’s grief and loss (if you know, you know) in book 2 was definitely heartbreaking – but I think it was necessary for her growth, and for the story.
Katherine Webber: I cried for Ansel! I became surprisingly attached to him. And then when the trilogy was truly finished, I cried happy tears because I was so proud of what we had created.
CW: Describe each princess with three words?
Wren is brave, loyal and (a bit) reckless!
Rose is kind, loyal and (a bit) dramatic!
CW: Lastly, any words of warning you’d like to give readers and fans?
No cryptic warnings – just gratitude 😊 Thank you for coming on this epic adventure with us – we hope you love Burning Crowns!
Once again, thank you to Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber for this interview! And thank you to Hanna Lindsley from Spark Point Studio for putting us in touch with one another! This was so much fun, and I’m super excited to devour Burning Crowns on May 7th, 2024.
Once again, happy reading everyone!
Tsang, Katie DRAGON LEGEND Sterling Children's Books (Children's None) $16.95 9, 21 ISBN: 978-1-4549-3598-8
Magically gifted friends and their dragons struggle against the darkness.
A thorough recap of the events in Dragon Mountain (2020) opens this sequel, welcoming readers new to the series. Billy Chan and his friends Charlotte, Dylan, and Ling-Fei are bonded to their dragons, enabling them with special gifts to protect the dragon and human realms from the tyranny of the Dragon of Death. The group, with the addition of JJ, whose grandfather runs their summer Chinese language camp, is now in the Dragon Realm, where they are bent on rescuing kidnapped Dylan and collecting the rest of the magical pearls to prevent the Dragon of Death from consolidating his power. Gathering each pearl entails a perilous mission, which demands they quickly rise to the occasion. From monstrous worms to human-eating fish, the plot is action-packed but carefully balanced with character development. Billy’s dragon Spark’s inner conflict adds another dimension as she fights her growing hunger for dark magic. JJ also adds to the complexity, as he questions where he truly belongs. The fast-paced narrative draws readers in with increasing challenges for the young people to defeat their foe. Be warned, this volume ends on a particularly perilous cliffhanger. The first book establishes the multinational cast’s identities, including biracial (White American/Hong Kong Chinese) Billy, White American Charlotte, White Irish Dylan, and Chinese Ling-Fei and JJ.
Plenty of escalating action will have readers clamoring for the next installment. (Fantasy. 9-12)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2021 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Tsang, Katie: DRAGON LEGEND." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Aug. 2021. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A671783011/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=c3876308. Accessed 26 June 2025.
"There are fantasies that are very serious, and I love that, but there is not a load of humour in fantasy right now." Katherine Webber is talking, via Zoom, about the inspiration behind the upcoming YA novel Twin Crowns, with her co-author Catherine Doyle by her side and new baby daughter bouncing on her knee. "I had the initial idea in 2020, when I was thinking about the kind of books I love to read. Cat and I both love romances and rom-coms and Cat's the funniest person I know, so I thought we should write something together."
Twin Crowns certainly delivers on the fun and romance as well as the fantasy: it is one of the most joyous YA reading experiences I, someone who doesn't "get" fantasy a lot of the time, have had. The story is about twin girls Wren and Rose, who were separated soon after birth. One (Rose Valhart) is a princess confined to palace walls, awaiting her coronation and her marriage to the son of a nearby kingdom. The other (Wren Greenrock) grew up with witches in a faraway forest and has now returned to avenge her parents' murder and usurp the princess.
There is a dastardly villain, swoon-worthy love interests, nail-biting action sequences and physical comedy, and that is before we even get to the luscious descriptions of food. Roast duck drizzled with almond and pomegranate sauce, buttered greens and fondant potatoes, anyone? Publisher Farshore, now part of HarperCollins Children's Books, acquired the book in a major preempt and when announcing the deal, it promised "an irresistible romantic comedy bursting with high-stakes adventure". The book doesn't disappoint.
The girls' stories are told in alternating chapters: Webber took on Rose, and Doyle Wren. "Once we started talking about this idea the ideas flowed out of us for each of the girls," says Doyle, who is not only friends with Webber but will soon be family--she is engaged to Webber's brother, Jack. "Over time we became Wren and Rose and I have never laughed so much in my life. Especially in the midst of this pandemic, it was a huge kernel of joy that lit up our lives."
Far and wide
Doyle is from Ireland and the wild landscapes and oceans, as seen in some of her solo novels, are here, while Webber, who is from California, made sure there were epic scenes of a horse ride across a desert. "Katherine loves deserts. Orchards and deserts. And I love the sea," says Doyle. "We brought things from our childhoods to make it feel authentic, despite it being a fantasy world."
"Coming up with the back story for that world was so much fun," adds Webber. "We had one day when we were like, 'Let's think of some legends. Where is this country? What do people believe? What holidays do they have?' Even if it didn't all make it into the book, it meant it feels developed and real."
They also relished exploring the sisters' different personalities and spinning some tropes on their head. "Wren is very bad-ass, then we have got Rose, who is a bit sheltered and can be spoiled. But she is stronger than she realises."
When the reader meets Rose, she believes several things--that she must secure an alliance for her kingdom through marriage and that witches are evil--but she shakes off these ideas once she realises that the evil Willem Rathborne is not really the protector she grew up believing him to be. Rather (spoiler alert), he wants to marry her off to the incredibly dull Prince Ansel to get her out of the way, in order for him to then rule the kingdom himself. He also wants to destroy all of the witches in the land. Once Rose accepts the truth, she knows her destiny lies with her sister and stopping Rathborne in his tracks. It is, as Doyle says, the ultimate expression of girl power.
The authors didn't fight once when writing the book. Having a really good plan is important, says Webber, and it helped that they each took on a different twin. For the chapters featuring both twins, they sat down together, either at a kitchen table or by working on the same Google Doc, while acting out the scenes at the same time. Webber has written several books with her husband Kevin, published under their married names of Kevin and Katherine Tsang (the Sam Wu series is published by Farshore, acquired when Farshore was Egmont, and their ongoing series is with Simon & Schuster Children's), and she cheerfully admits she argued with him a lot more during their co-writing than she did with Doyle. "There are two reasons for that," she says. "Being married means you are going to argue more, and Kevin and I write in one voice. It's more intertwined. But it did make me realise I love co-writing and being collaborative. I don't want to let Cat down."
"What's special about writing with Katherine is that writing with your best friend is really fun," says Doyle, for whom co-writing was something new. "Sometimes it feels like work, but sometimes it really doesn't."
They hope their readers enjoy the book as much as they enjoyed writing it and initial signs are all pointing that way: the manuscript "set the [literary] world on fire" when it went out, says Doyle, and publishers told them they had been waiting for fantasy that had both humour and romance.
The big sell
Farshore bought the book in a pre-empt in less than a week and understood the novel's "heart and soul", Doyle says. There are some "really exciting" marketing plans, including a travelling throne for bookshops, and Farshore said it wanted to make this book the star of UK YA fantasy, in the same way it made Holly Jackson a star of UK YA thrillers. Further afield, Balzer & Bray/HarperCollins is publishing in the US and in total 13 foreign rights deals have been signed, with auctions taking place in France and Germany. There is also "strong interest" in the film rights, their agent, Claire Wilson at RCW, confirms. "We recognise that is really special," says Webber. "Sometimes if you are a debut you think that's just what publishing is, but it's really not. We're so happy."
They have also had some lovely feedback from readers. Closer to home, Doyle's father, who isn't a big reader, tore through all 500 pages in 48 hours. "He called me and said he couldn't put it down. He was so shocked at himself," she says. "If we can reel in readers like him, we are on to something." "Cat and I love writing together and we hope the book resonates with the reader," says Webber. "We have signed up to do two books so far, but we would love to do more. We have a lot of ideas for the world."
Metadata
Imprint Electric Monkey
Publication 12.05.22
Format PB (8.99 [pounds sterling])
ISBN 9780755503643
Rights Sold into 13 territories, including the US (Balzer & Bray)
Editor Liz Bankes
Agent Claire Wilson
Doyle and Webber's top titles
45,406 units
Catherine Doyle
The Storm Keeper's Island
36,488 units
Kevin & Katie Tsang
Dragon Mountain
19,875 units
Kevin & Katie Tsang
Dragon Legend
13,717 units
Kevin & Katie Tsang
Dragon City
10,860 units
Catherine Doyle
The Lost Tide Warriors
Data: Nielsen UK
Charlotte Eyre @charlotteleyre
Caption: CATHERINE DOYLE LEFT AND KATHERINE WEBBER'S BOOK HAS SOLD IN 13 TERRITORIES
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 The Stage Media Limited
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Eyre, Charlotte. "Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber have teamed up for a fantastical tale with a romantic twist." The Bookseller, no. 5962, 18 Feb. 2022, pp. 48+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A697968839/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=11fc6ba4. Accessed 26 June 2025.
Twin Crowns. By Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber. May 2022. 480p. HarperCollins/Balzer+Bray, $17.99 (9780063116139). Gr. 7-10.
Wren Greenrock's parents were the king and queen of Eana before they were murdered. While infant Wren was spirited away by the very witches who were blamed for that murder, her twin, Rose Valhart, was brought up in the palace without any knowledge of her sister. As Rose's coronation approaches, Wren enacts a plan to kidnap and impersonate her, hoping to be crowned queen in her place and reclaim the kingdom for the witches. As Rose wakes to find herself headed toward the witches she's been taught to fear, Wren navigates palace intrigue, attempting to fool people who have known Rose all her life. But the man who really killed their parents is still pulling the strings, and he isn't going to let Eana slip through his fingers so easily. In alternating perspectives, Doyle and Webber switch between Rose and Wren's stories, keeping the momentum of both plots high. The breezy energy of this light fantasy romp will appeal to fans of My Lady Jane (2016), and the ending leaves plenty of room for future installments.--Maggie Reagan
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 American Library Association
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Reagan, Maggie. "Twin Crowns." Booklist, vol. 118, no. 18, 15 May 2022, p. 45. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A704943095/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=adfd42d5. Accessed 26 June 2025.
DOYLE, Catherine & Katherine Webber. Twin Crowns. 480p. (Twin Crowns: Bk. 1). HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray. May 2022. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9780063116139.
Gr 9 Up--A swap between twin princesses leads to the downfall of a corrupt regent. Magic-working Princess Wren of Eana has spent 17 years in hiding, plotting to kill Rathborne, the man who murdered her parents. Rathborne now rules in the name of Wren's twin sister, Rose, and oppresses indigenous witches. Wren steals Rose's place, planning to restore witchcraft to Eana, but she faces an arranged marriage to a foreign prince. Meanwhile, Rose is whisked to a secret colony of witches and grapples with her magical heritage. Familiar tropes abound. An oasis leads to chaste partial nudity; sidekick wolves assess dating compatibility; a sexy bandit discovers a stolen princess is unexpectedly "spirited." Rose is traditionally feminine and Wren is a "tomboy"; both their lovers are warriors. While the novel gains its greatest energy from the romantic plots, deviating from martial masculinity means death for Rose's domestic fiance. More happily, Eana has a multiracial population where individuals can marry along the gender spectrum. However, some anachronisms disrupt the believability of characters' motivations. Benignly, minstrels play waltzes and characters exclaim "wow" and "sheesh." Inexplicably, northern foreigners swap frock coats and gowns for fur bikinis. Also, should readers believe that Wren can easily erase the legacy of a colonial act occurring a thousand years ago? What is her plan for decolonization, beyond vowing that rivers will "run red with our enemies' blood"? VERDICT This anachronistic romp about self-discovery through sisterhood, sexy men, and magic is weakened by clunky prose and a lack of nuance. --Katherine Magyarody
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Magyarody, Katherine. "DOYLE, Catherine & Katherine Webber. Twin Crowns." School Library Journal, vol. 68, no. 6, June 2022, p. 80. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A705791298/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=ba442487. Accessed 26 June 2025.
The Revelry
Katherine Webber. Scholastic Press, $18.99 (240p) ISBN 978-1-338-82852-8
Every year in the small town of Ember Grove, high school seniors attend a party in the woods known as the Revelry. What transpires there is a closely guarded secret: "There are no photos, no official guest list, no proof of anything that happens." This year, 16-year-old best friends Bitsy and Amy sneak their way in, despite being two years out from their own invitations, and when they wake up the next day, they bear matching scars in place of theit friendship rings and only the faintest memories of the previous night. Bitsy quickly suspects something went dangerously wrong, especially when she finds that every time something good happens to Amy, Bitsy's scar burns and she experiences bad luck. The girls' friendship grows strained, so when Bitsy meets silver-haired newcomer Skyler, who seems privy to the Revelry's secrets, she endeavors to figure out what happened that night. Leisurely pacing winds down ro a rushed resolution, halting narrative impact. Still, Webber (Twin Crowns) weaves sinister ambiance by keeping the Revelry ambiguous and Ember Grove's surroundings liminal, all the better to craft this tense tale of betrayal, codependency, friendship, and longing. Major characters cue as white. Ages 14-up. Agent: Claire Wilson, RCW Literary. (Aug.)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 PWxyz, LLC
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"The Revelry." Publishers Weekly, vol. 270, no. 26, 26 June 2023, p. 109. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A757466763/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=5ed6da11. Accessed 26 June 2025.
Webber, Katherine THE REVELRY Scholastic (Teen None) $18.99 8, 1 ISBN: 9781338828528
Bitsy Clark knows how to show respect to her hometown of Ember Grove.
She drops coins in the Founder's Fountain and follows the local superstitions, like wearing rings of twisted strands of hair so you won't lose your companion. So when her best friend, Amy, suggests they sneak into the yearly Revelry, Bitsy knows they shouldn't; the Revelry at the end of summer is for graduating high school seniors, and the girls have only just finished their sophomore year. But Amy insists, and Bitsy always goes along with Amy. The party takes place in the woods, and no one ever reveals specifics, just saying that it's life-changing. The next morning, neither of the girls can remember what happened, but their costumes are singed, their hair is damp, and there are raised scars on the fingers where they wore their hair rings. Bitsy also starts seeing a mysterious girl from the Revelry with white-blond hair who invites her into the woods after dark. Can Bitsy unravel the mystery before her life is irrevocably changed? The atmospheric prose feels overwritten and is infused with old superstitions reminiscent of tales of European fae; in this world, magic exists but as a fickle, double-edged sword. The girls' friendship is at the heart of the narrative, but it's manipulated by events and overanalyzed to such an extent that readers may feel it is better off abandoned. Main characters seem to be white.
Excessively drawn out. (Speculative fiction. 13-17)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Webber, Katherine: THE REVELRY." Kirkus Reviews, 1 July 2023. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A754972025/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=9f024991. Accessed 26 June 2025.
Tsang, Katie INFINITY'S SECRET Simon & Schuster (Children's None) $18.99 3, 25 ISBN: 9781665962513
Lance Lo, a 12-year-old British boy living in New London, seeks his dream of forming a heart bond with a dragon.
Ever since the Great Collapse five years ago, "when the Dragon Realm fell into the Human Realm," dragons and people have coexisted in the New World. Lance, who's Chinese and white, has been invited to attend Camp Claw, a prestigious training center for Dragon Force, an elite unit of humans and dragons who keep the world safe. Surprisingly, his sister, Zoe, who's only 10, is invited, too. The Dragon Force dragons have heart-bonded with humans, awakening their special powers. Because Zoe already bonded with a dragon, whom she names Violet, before camp began, Lance is left feeling even more anxious about whether he'll find his own dragon. The siblings quickly make new friends, including Bea Garcia, who's from Argentina. On the other hand, campmate Arthur Royden, whose family owns a major technology company, is less friendly and appears to be hiding something. While Lance does eventually find a heart bond with a dragon, Infinity, the pair's special abilities are slow to surface. Threatening monster attacks are also on the rise, straining Dragon Force's resources and hinting at a larger evil force at play. While the worldbuilding is intriguing and the plot moves quickly, the writing is a bit flat, and the villain is revealed suddenly, undermining the chance to build suspense.
A solid dragon-filled series opener. (map)(Fantasy. 8-12)
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"Tsang, Katie: INFINITY'S SECRET." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Jan. 2025. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A823102320/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=eae82646. Accessed 26 June 2025.
Tsang, Katie DEVOURER'S ATTACK Simon & Schuster (Children's None) $18.99 6, 10 ISBN: 9781665962544
With the rest of Dragon Force held captive, four young riders and their dragons must mount a rescue before the arrival of the Devourer, a destroyer of worlds from another galaxy, in this sequel toInfinity's Secret (2025).
Distinctly gamelike in plot and language, this second series entry plunges riders and rides into a series of set piece challenges and quests--such as being swallowed by a giant shark-dragon. These challenges allow each of them to show off their "signature move" while learning to control their fears in order to fend off the Petrifiers, who wield terror as a weapon and have frozen some members of Dragon Force. Inspired by the celestial Starlight Dragon's encouragement ("Do not fear your destiny. Embrace it"), 12-year-old Lance Lo and his 10-year-old sister, Zoe, who have a white British mother and a Chinese British father, lead the multinational human and dragon cast into a climactic confrontation that diverts the transgalactic gourmand though only at the cost of a heartrending sacrifice. Typecast as the incidents and characters may be, they do represent appealing versions of their kind, and by way of development, the remaining humans do come away with cool new powers thanks to advanced, personalized super-suits.
Chock-full of awesome RPG-style action. (map)(Fantasy. 8-12)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2025 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Tsang, Katie: DEVOURER'S ATTACK." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Apr. 2025. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A832991829/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=795e8c1e. Accessed 26 June 2025.