Daughter of Xanadu by Dori Jones Yang is the story of young Emmajin, the eldest grandchild of the Great Khan. Her closest friend is her cousin, Suren, the eldest grandson of the Khan. Strength and fighting skills are valued in their culture, and Emmajin desperately wants to be allowed to serve in her grandfather's military. She would be the first.
Her grandfather gives her an important assignment. She is to become the companion and guide to the young traveler Marco Polo, and his father and uncle, who are traveling with them. She is basically a spy — sent to extract secrets that will make it easier for her grandfather to conquer their lands, and fulfill the prophecy from the Gods that their empire would unite the world.
Predictably, as Emmajin gets to know Marco better, she stops thinking of him as a stranger, or enemy and begins to consider him a friend, and then — more.
Although I found several parts of this story to be fairly predictable, I still really enjoyed the book. I thought that Emmajin was a great character, and we see a lot of growth in her over the course of the story. She really comes into her own. In the beginning, she is enthralled by the stories told in the courts about the mighty battles their warriors fought, and the grand acts of heroism and valor in battle. She can't imagine anything more rewarding or wonderful than being involved in something like that. But, as the story progresses, and she begins to learn more about Marco Polo's European ideals, and his desire for peace, she starts to question her belief systems, and view their culture from the eyes of an outsider. Eventually, Emmajin learns the hard way that battle is not all glory. The enemies have faces, lives, and stories of their own.
I loved watching her learn about differing points of view, and realizing that there isn't only one way of doing things. I thought Emmajin was a very well drafted and carefully thought out character. Unfortunately, she was about the only character I thought was fully imagined. Suren is Emmajin's best friend. They've been inseparable since they were tiny, and continue to be close as they grow. But, Suren is only ever fleshed out in relation to Emmajin. It's almost like he is only fully a person when sitting next to Emmajin. I felt like that about most of the other characters, including Marco Polo. To toss in a bit of philosophy, it reminded me of Idealism, which is the idea that there is no real reality. Everything we know/see only exists in relation to us. Sort of like The Matrix, except we aren't really plugged into any machines.
I wished that there had been more character development outside of Emmajin, but my biggest problem with the story was the ending. I thought that the ending was unrealistic. I don't want to go into details, because that really ruins the story, but I didn't believe it at all. I stopped believing what was happening as soon as Emmajin was sitting around the fire at the camp with Marco Polo, her grandfather and other members of the court and hunting party. It just would not have happened like that, and I feel like the author just needed a quick and happy resolution.
I do think this is a book worth reading. I wish the author had stayed a little truer to her characters when writing the ending. I think it was a disservice to both the characters and the reader to end it as she did. That being said, overall, I still enjoyed Emmajin's character and her discoveries about her world, and I enjoyed following her interactions with people.
*Disclaimer: I received this book through Around the World Tours.