Bunny's Reviews: Hana Hsu and the Ghost Crab Nation Review Spotlight

Welcome to the tour for Hana Hsu and the Ghost Crab Nation by Sylvia Liu. Read on for more details and don't forget to enter the giveaway!

Hana Hsu and the Ghost Crab Nation by Sylvia Liu is a YA sci-fi novel that will grab your attention from the beginning and keep you coming back for more. Hana is 12 years-old and excited to finally reach the age of where she'll able to get enmeshed like the rest of her mother and older sister. But is it all that it's cracked up to be? Her grandmother warns her against doing so, but Hana wants to be reconnected with her family. However, strange things are happening. Students in her Start-Up classes are getting sick, and the tech seems to be glitchy. Is there something more insidious going on that the big companies don't want anyone knowing anything about?

Hana Hsu is an engaging young girl, and it's fascinating to see her talents and how much she loves her family. It really endears you to her as a character. You are going to feel quite a bit of empathy for her as you understand her desires for getting meshed. She feels like her family is leaving her behind and that tech is overruling their lives. One especially disappointing moment is when Hana gives her sister a gift that, while not complete, she worked really hard on it.

The tech in this book is really advanced, but not so advanced that it will leave you scratching your head and wondering what exactly the author has created. Of course, it's mind-boggling to read how technology made such leaps and bounds. The author's storyline has things happening in a not so distant future, but it's more than just technology that has advanced. There have been life changing shifts in the environment as well of where some areas have been forever changed.

The author keeps you engaged as Hana is approached and requested to do something that might have some danger attached to it. But will it be something that tears her family apart or brings them closer together? The author will keep you page-turning as you see things begin to come together and you can only hope for the best.

There were moments in this book of where I felt like this book could be turned into a series, but for now it's written as a standalone. It's a great novel for YA readers especially, but for sure for readers of all ages. If you love novels that blend cyberpunk tech, futuristic elements, and a main character fighting to be her best then you're going to enjoy this novel.

I'm rating this book 4.7 out of 5 stars.

Thank you to the author, Syliva Liu, and R&R Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review this book. I look forward to what comes next!

Hana Hsu and the Ghost Crab Nation

Genre: Middle Grade/ MG Sci-fi/ Techno Thriller ( 8 – 12 years)

Published: June 21, 2022

Publisher: Razorbill Books/ Penguin Random House

Perfect for fans of Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee, this thrilling, cinematic sci-fi novel follows Hana Hsu’s mission to save herself—and her friends—from a dangerous plot to control their minds.

Hana Hsu can’t wait to be meshed.

If she can beat out half her classmates at Start-Up, a tech school for the city’s most talented twelve-year-olds, she’ll be meshed to the multiweb through a neural implant like her mom and sister. But the competition is fierce, and when her passion for tinkering with bots gets her mixed up with dangerous junkyard rebels, she knows her future in the program is at risk.

Even scarier, she starts to notice that something’s not right at Start-Up—some of her friends are getting sick, and no matter what she does, her tech never seems to work right. With an ominous warning from her grandmother about being meshed, Hana begins to wonder if getting the implant early is really a good idea.

Desperate to figure out what’s going on, Hana and her friends find themselves spying on one of the most powerful corporations in the country—and the answers about the mystery at Start-Up could be closer to home than Hana’s willing to accept. Will she be able to save her friends—and herself— from a conspiracy that threatens everything she knows?

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About the Author

Sylvia Liu grew up with books and daydreams in Caracas, Venezuela. Once an environmental attorney protecting the oceans, she now spins stories inspired by high tech, cool science, and the intricacies of family and friendship. She’s the author of the middle grade books Hana Hsu and the Ghost Crab Nation (Razorbill 2022) and Manatee’s Best Friend (Scholastic 2021) and the picture book A Morning with Grandpa, illustrated by Christina Forshay (Lee & Low Books 2016). Sylvia lives in Virginia with her family and a very fluffy cat.

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