The Flames of Soyombo is ‘a wonderful change from the young adult fiction norm’

A novel about a Chinese American teenage girl with superpowers has been praised by the San Francisco Book Review for its portrayal of multi-cultural America.

The Flames of Soyombo by .S. Jordan tells the story of Autumn Murphy – a teenager adopted from China – who discovers she is a direct descendent of Genghis Khan’s Golden Family with supernatural powers.

The cast of fictional characters from different backgrounds was lauded by the reviewers who said it was a ‘wonderful change’.

The review , written by 14-year-old Zarra for the Kids’ Book Reviews, stated: ‘One of the most compelling parts of the novel is the story of the community in which Autumn is in – the Asian-American community of her high school, in Vacaville, and how deep the support between them runs.

‘This is a wonderful change from the YA norm, where only about 2 per cent of characters in Young Adult fiction are Asian or Pacific Americans. I’d recommend the book to seventh or eighth graders.’

Heroine Autumn Murphy is a Chinese-American teen adopted from China, and her sphere of friends include a cast of multi-cultural characters from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds, ranging from a teen boy from a wealthy ranching family to recent immigrants to foster children.

‘As an adoptive mom, I really wanted to create a story about adoptees and foster kids dealing with every-day teenage challenges,’ Jordan said.

‘Every year, American families adopt thousands of children, both domestically and internationally, but their stories are rarely told. I wanted to create an interesting world, where adoptees and foster kids were important characters with meaningful contributions toward advancing the story.’

S.S. Jordan is an Asian-American author who readily admits that her personal interests lean toward the nerdist. The Flames of Soyombo is her first novel, and was self-published under the Portofino Press imprint. It is the first book in the Daughters of the Sky series.

‘I’d love for The Flames of Soyombo to be included on book lists for Chinese New Year later this month or for Asian American History Month in May,’ Jordan added.