the lost ryū

by Emi Watanabe Cohen

Kohei Fujiwara has never seen a big ryū in real life. Those dragons all disappeared from Japan after World War II, and twenty years later, they’ve become the stuff of legend. Their smaller cousins, who can fit in your palm, are all that remain. And Kohei loves his ryū, Yuharu, but…

…Kohei has a memory of the big ryū. He knows that’s impossible, but still, it’s there, in his mind. In it, he can see his grandpa — Ojiisan — gazing up at the big ryū with what looks to Kohei like total and absolute wonder. When Kohei was little, he dreamed he’d go on a grand quest to bring the big ryū back, to get Ojiisan to smile again.

But now, Ojiisan is really, really sick. And Kohei is running out of time.

Kohei needs to find the big ryū now, before it’s too late. With the help of Isolde, his new half-Jewish, half-Japanese neighbor; and Isolde’s Yiddish-speaking dragon, Cheshire; he thinks he can do it. Maybe. He doesn’t have a choice.

In The Lost Ryū, debut author Emi Watanabe Cohen gives us a story of multigenerational pain, magic, and the lengths to which we’ll go to protect the people we love.

Type: Middle Grade Novel
Pages: 208
Format: Hardcover
Publication: June 7, 2022
ISBN: 978-164614-132-6

PRAISE

★ “A thought-provoking, magical middle-grade journey that explores sacrifices, faith in allies and the resilient hopefulness of a child. A boy, his new friend and their dragons travel across Japan in search of a giant dragon they believe may heal his grandfather in this hopeful and stirring middle-grade debut.”

—Shelf-Awareness (starred)

“A spellbinding mix of fantasy and alternate history that explores themes of generational trauma, resilience, and family love. Recommended.”

—School Library Journal

“A beautiful—though complex—exploration of generational trauma.”

—Kirkus

“Cohen interweaves Japanese dragon imagery, history, and post-war culture in a story that muses on the legacies of emotion and family experiences in shaping identity after war. She blends her fantastical imagery with historical fact and realism, bringing readers commentary and questions on cultural identity, racism, friendship, and political activism.”

—Horn Book

“Kohei and Isolde are a dynamic pair, with contrasting skills and such different life experiences that they are constantly challenging and learning from each other. The thread of quiet agony that runs under the misery of Kohei’s mother and the anger of his grandfather hints at the war and its devastating ripples across generations.”

—BCCB

“Emi Watanabe Cohen does an admirable job of breathing life into this story of multicultural identity, family secrets, the effect of guilt on family relationships, forgiveness, and hope for the future.”

—School Library Connection

“Gentle, humorous, and touching. A fantasy novel whose full-blooded mythology helps to emphasize the humanity of its characters.”

—Foreword“

“A thought-provoking, magical middle-grade journey that explores sacrifices, faith in allies and the resilient hopefulness of a child.”

—Kit Ballenger, Help Your Shelf

“The Lost Ryū is magical and wise, rich and real. It reads like the best of Cornelia Funke, the best of T. H. White, and something better all its own. The dragons and the oceans and the mythology of the world are beautiful, but it's the gutting, grounded way the book deals with loss, grief, and pain that truly elevates the story into something unforgettable. The author’s keen observations of post-war Japan, generational trauma, and the churns of a mixed identity are sharp additions to a fundamentally gorgeous fable. I can't recommend The Lost Ryū enough!”

—Thulasi Seshan, 57 Street Books (Chicago, IL)

“Set 20 years after the bombs fell over Japan, Kohei, a young boy is determined to make his Ojiisan, his grandfather, happy again. With the help of new friends, he just may accomplish it. The Lost Ryū is a gentle novel in a world of dragons and loss, pain and healing, love and understanding. I was captivated by the story and rooting for Kohei the entire time.” 

—Jen Steele, Boswell Book Company (Milwaukee, WI)

About emi watanabe cohen

Emi Watanabe Cohen wrote her first novel when she was 12 years old — the most complete draft she can find clocks in at 234,780 words. That’s over 1,000 pages! Thankfully, her editing skills have improved since then. Her more recent work involves Jewish and/or Japanese folklore, complicated families, and a dash of improbable magic. She is a graduate of Brandeis University, where she studied Creative Writing. The Lost Ryū is her debut novel.