by Van Hoang
“What? No—he’s not a cat. He needs to be walked and stuff, and we don’t know how long we’ll be gone.” She looked out the kitchen window where a tall green hedge blocked her view of the house next door. “What about your grandparents?”
Kha stood when Mochi didn’t look like he was going to allow himself to be petted. “No way, they can’t take care of a dog. They’ll just want to keep him outside.”
Thom reached down for Mochi, who shied away from her at first, but then came closer as she coaxed him. “We can’t bring him with us.” She remembered the hungry looks on the demons’ faces, their brute strength and rough manners. Mochi wouldn’t stand a chance, not all five pounds of him.
“So what are we going to do?” Kha asked.
Mochi nudged Thom’s hand with a wet nose, then rubbed his forehead under her palm when he was sure she wouldn’t hurt him. She scratched the back of his ears gently, reveling in the fact that he was no longer terrified of her anymore. But then again, she was better at controlling her strength now. She didn’t have to be afraid of it anymore.
Then it came to her. “We can ask Kathy.” Thom rushed to Ma’s home office, a sparsely decorated room with bare walls, a black desk, and neatly alphabetized books.
“What?” Kha followed her. “Kathy? Why should she help you?”
Thom dug through Ma’s filing cabinet and found the one clearly labeled “Cứng’s Soccer.” She’d never been more grateful that her mom was so meticulously organized.
“She loves dogs,” Thom said. She had once caught Kathy scrolling through video after video of cute puppies sleeping. “And. I don’t know. We have a thing now.”
“A thing,” Kha repeated, holding Mochi in his arms and standing in the doorway.
“Shh.” Thom punched the number listed beside Kathy’s name on their soccer team’s player packet into her phone, hesitating as she thought of what to say. But she didn’t have much time, and the longer she hesitated, the further the Monkey King got. He could be at the Mountain of a Hundred Giants now. He could be breaking his true self free while she was too scared to send a text.
Her thumbs flew over her screen. Hey, it’s Thom. This is weird and random but I need a favor. She sent it before she could change her mind, then looked up at Kha with her fingers shaking.
“What kind of a thing?” he asked, petting Mochi’s fluffy fur. Thom’s dog licked Kha’s chin, and then grinned like it was the best thing that had happened to him.
“An understanding,” Thom said, just as her phone buzzed with a reply.
Sure, Kathy had written. What is it?
* * *
Kathy’s house wasn’t far, and with Kha flying them, they made it in a matter of minutes. He stopped in a park nearby, transforming back to his human form behind a copse of trees. Thom pulled Mochi out of his carrier bag before clipping on his leash and leading both of them down the street.
Kathy opened the door just as the bell stopped ringing. Her face went from its usual mask of indifference to open delight as she dropped down to pet Mochi.
“Oh my gosh, he’s adorable!” she squealed. Mochi wagged his tail, his body wiggling as he launched into Kathy’s lap and began licking her face.
Thom breathed a sigh of relief. Mochi liked Kathy. He’d be happy here, for now.
“Thanks for doing this, Kathy,” Thom said, setting Mochi’s dog carrier down on the porch and taking a small bag of dog food and treats out of her backpack.
Kathy finally looked up, her grin fading as she took in the sight of their packed bags, sneakers, jeans, and hoodies. “Where are you guys going, again?” she asked.
“There’s … something we need to take care of,” Thom said.
“Okay.” Kathy rose to her feet, holding Mochi to her chest. “Is your mom going?”
Thom thought of the cricket chirping from the mason jar in her backpack. “Yup, she’s coming.”
“Oh. All right.” Kathy petted Mochi’s back, still looking unsure. “Is everything okay? Does this have anything to do with your … you know … secret?” She whispered the last word.
Thom’s first instinct was to lie, but she was tired of keeping everything a secret. “Yeah, it does.”
Kathy’s eyes widened. “Will you be okay?”
Thom’s throat tightened. She couldn’t remember the last time someone asked that question. “Yeah.” She nodded, trying to convince herself more than anyone else. “I think I can handle it.”
Kathy looked between her and Kha. Then she nodded. “Okay. Good luck.”
“Thanks again.” Thom gave Mochi one last scratch behind his ears.
Kha waved, and together, they turned and walked away.
“Are you ready?” Kha asked as they went back to the park so he could transform.
Thom opened her backpack to make sure the cricket was okay. Her eyes blinked up at Thom, her whiskers twitching as if in a wave.
She turned to Kha. “Yes, I’m ready.” She pictured the Monkey King’s face when she caught up to him, pictured all the things she would say. All the ways she would make him pay for tricking her. “Let’s go get him.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I legitimately could not have done this without the encouragement, guidance, and resilience of my half-blood unicorn witch agent Mary C. Moore. Thank you, thank you for literally making my dreams come true, and for all the support texts and emails and phone calls, for pushing me to be a better writer, for championing this book, for finding it a home, and for giving Thom and me our strength.
Thank you to Mekisha Telfer and the team at Roaring Brook for believing in me and for all the hard work, care, and attention you put into making Thom’s adventures the best they can be; to Aurora Parlagreco, Taylor Pitts, Allyson Floridia, Celeste Cass, Connie Hsu, and Jennifer Besser, and to everyone who made this book what it is and went way above everything I ever dreamed—thank you! Thank you also to Phung Nguyen Quang and Huynh Kim Lien for the beautiful illustrations, the magical cover, and that expression on Thom’s face.
To my sister Vy Hoang, who made sure I practiced just enough Vietnamese to binge-watch all the Asian dramas (but thank God also for English subtitles), for instilling in toddler-me such a deep love of books that she probably regrets it to this day. To my other siblings, Cat-Anh, Mackhai, and Martin, for keeping my ego in check. And to my parents, Ms. Tan Nguyen and Mr. Lon Hoang, who remind me every day who I am, where I come from, and why I should still study to get good grades.
Thank you to Brandi Zeigler, Rachelle E. Morrison, Kylie Lee Baker, and Darren Watson for reading the early stages of this book and for vastly improving it. Special shout-out to our other agent-sisters for creating such a safe and supportive online space. Incredible heartfelt thanks to Diane Landolf for your insightful thoughts and for making this story so much stronger—I owe you so much.
Thank you to my soul mate, Susie Tae, for the encouragement, the hikes, and the self-care challenge, for going on adventures no one else is crazy enough to agree to, for supporting me every step of the way in every way possible, and for being the kind, compassionate, generous person who makes the world a better place. Thank you to the other members of Books and Tea for talking nerdy with me, especially Adrian Garza for our shared love of weird fantasy; Asia Evans for making us a cool book club, not a regular book club; Christar Wan for my favorite hanbok bookmark; and everyone else for keeping our reading interests … interesting.
Thank you to my closest friends for listening to me talk way too much about this book, especially Alex Lee for being the Kha in my life. To Christine Nguyen Truong for always asking when you can buy the book already. To Maribeth Arriola and Beverly Borromeo Silvas for virtually holding my hand that day I turned in the first draft—and for all the other days, too.
Thank you to all my work wives, especially Abby Tapia and Jessica Castro for the giggles; Laura Jenkins for the Monday-night talks; and Justin Pham, Marisa Mascorro, Sharon Watkins, Michele Guitierrez, Richard Crosthwaite, Cynthia Flores, Jessica F
ramson, Melissa Ronning, Steven Park, Christine Moore, Christany Edwards, April Lammers, and the many other librarians, clerks, pages, security guards, maintenance crew, and staff at Huntington Beach Public Library who make the world a more well-read, kinder, and better-researched place.
Most important, thank you, thank you to my bestest friend, alpha reader, creative partner, master of mischief, and supportive husband. For going with me to research that staff fighting class where we earned more bruises than we were emotionally or physically prepared for, for reading the cringey stage of this story, for watching a million movies on the Monkey King, for loving Thom almost as much as I do, and for all that you do. There are not enough words to express my gratitude. So I’ll just end with this. Kissy-winky face, kissy-winky face, heart, heart, kissy-winky face.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Van Hoang earned her bachelor’s degree in English at the University of New Mexico and her master’s in Library Information Science at San Jose State University. Girl Giant and the Monkey King was her debut novel. She was born in Vietnam, grew in up Orange County, California, and now resides in Los Angeles with her husband and two dogs. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Copyright
Text copyright © 2020 by Van Hoang
Illustrations copyright © 2020 by Nguyen Quang and Kim Lien
Published by Roaring Brook Press
Roaring Brook Press is a division of Holtzbrinck Publishing Holdings Limited Partnership
120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271
mackids.com
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Control Number: 2020908621
Our eBooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at (800) 221-7945 ext. 5442 or by email at [email protected].
eISBN 9781250240422
First hardcover edition, 2020
eBook edition, 2020
