Publication date: August 2004

Pages: 280

The plot: Chinese Cinderella gets thrown out of her home after having a huge argument with her stepmother.

Luckily she bumps into a woman called Grandma Wu who trains children in martial arts and acrobatics.

She passes all the tests set by Grandma Wu and joins three of her friends on a dangerous mission, making the most of all of their new skills and strong friendships.

The characters: CC (Chinese Cinderella), David, Sam and Marat - the three secret agents, CC's Aunt, Grandma Wu, CC's Evil stepmother.

Highlights: Reading about the Chinese zodiac and finding out which type of animal character you are (it depends what year you were born in).

Any weak bits? Sometimes the background history about China and Japan isn't fully explained but this doesn't matter too much as the story of CC and her friends is more interesting anyway.

Unputdownable? This book is brilliant. It can be a bit dark and gloomy at points as CC's life is quite tough but it's well worth a read.

Have YOU read this book?

It is a great book - I've read Chinese Cinderella which is very sad, and I think you should read that too.
Madeleine, 12, Hildenborough