Book Review: The Legendary Mo Seto by A.Y. Chan #TheWriteReads #BlogTour

My dear bookish friends!

If you’ve been following my blog for a while you will know that I love middle grade novels – they are usually so much deeper and much more powerful than people (often adult readers) are giving them credit for, and The Legendary Mo Seto was no exception.

I fell in love with it the minute I saw the cover, and the writing also really did not disappoint. If you are a martial arts fan you will love this, but even if not (I wasn’t!) I strongly urge you to give this book a go – I can guarantee you will not be disappointed! Please keep on reading to find out more about the story, and to check out my detailed review.

As always, a huge thank you to TheWriteReads, the publisher and the author for my ebook copy and spot on this blogtour - none of which influenced my rating or review in any way.

About the Book

Twelve-year-old Modesty “Mo” Seto dreams of being a taekwondo champion. Even though her mom disapproves, Mo can always count on her dad, who is her number one fan and biggest supporter. Lately, Mo has been on a losing streak, and it doesn’t help that she keeps losing to her archnemesis, Dax, who’s much bigger than her. If only she were faster, stronger, not so petite. Mo can’t even lean on her dad like usual with how distracted he’s been lately. When Mo learns about the chance to audition to star alongside her idol and legendary martial artist and movie star Cody Kwok, she knows this her chance to prove to her dad, to the world, and to herself that she can compete with anyone, no matter her size. Unfortunately, Dax is auditioning, too. As Mo and her nemesis progress to callbacks, someone attempts to sabotage the movie set and Mo’s dad disappears—and both events seem linked to a mysterious book, the Book of Joy. The book contains information on Xiaoxi Fu, a secret dance-like martial art developed by Mo’s ancestral grandmother. Armed with these secret moves and an unexpected ally, Mo embarks on a high-octane adventure to rescue her father, save the movie, and discover an unexpected joy in being small.

My Review

From the moment I laid eyes on this book (I mean, just look at the cover!) I knew I was going to love it, and I wasn’t wrong. The Legendary Mo Seto is such an empowering, deep, thoughtful and powerful book, I loved it so much from beginning to end.

It is Mo’s big dream to become a taekwondo champion, but there are several problems: she keeps losing fights against her biggest rival Dax, and she is also very short – not ideal when your opponent is so much taller than you, so that dream seems to be out of reach. When will she finally get her growth spurt like Dax?! That is, until Mo finds out about an audition for a movie with the martial artist and movie star Cody Kwok – Mo is determined to win the role. Only problem? Dax is auditioning too…

During another hopeless fight against Dax, Mo notices her father leaving the auditorium and follows him. There is a strange van outside, and her father seems to avoid her questions. And then he runs! Mo feels lost – what is going on? He had been less present in her life lately, and now he went missing. Her number one fan and biggest supporter!

Mo is a wonderful character. Looking at the cover, I was expecting her to be a tough and powerful martial arts girl, but then I was surprised. Modesty ‘Mo’ IS powerful, don’t get me wrong, but the story started off in a different tone. Mo is very short and is suffering under her self-doubts, but she is determined, and that makes up for her lack of height and fighting force. She also really wants to make her father proud, and she isn’t flawless – sometimes she does things that she really shouldn’t, and perhaps it is that lack of perfection that makes her even more believable – and likeable.

I really liked that the author didn’t follow the usual ‘talented kid on a winning streak’ or ‘unaware child finds hidden talent’ storyline. This was a refreshing change, and I really liked how Mo kept trying and didn’t let the circumstances beat her down (quite literally).

Something else I also really enjoyed was the writing style – it felt as if Mo is telling her own story to a good friend, with said friend being you! The chapter headings also spoke to me and added in to this – they represent Mo’s point of view very nicely and tell us a bit about what to expect (I really don’t like when chapters are just numbers, so this was really cool!).

I also really liked that there were some Korean and Chinese words (with translation) added in here and there. The cultural diversity we come across in this book was lovely to encounter, and I especially loved that it felt all natural and not forced at all.

I had no prior knowledge of taekwondo (or any other martial arts) before going in (other than having watched karate kid, lol), but I could tell immediately that the author does know a lot – or at least has done extensive research before writing. That was the only part I thought I might not enjoy very much or that could have the potential to bore me but I was convinced otherwise – I felt immersed in this story immediately and was rooting for Mo from the first page onwards.

I highly recommend The Legendary Mo Seto to readers big and small, young and old – whether you’re a fan of taekwondo or don’t know anything about it doesn’t matter at all, I’m sure you will want to follow Mo’s journey (and root for her!) either way!

4.5 stars from me for this captivating middle grade story!

Thank you all so much for reading, and do let me know if you pick up The Legendary Mo Seto!

xoxo