The Library of No Return brings back the main characters from Prophecy Of The Underworld in yet another hilarious and adventure-filled jaunt to the Underworld, where our young heroes have to seek out and brave the perils of a forbidden library to find an ancient parchment to save the world. The Library of No Return brings back Julian Kee, Mia Pendrago and Ryan Chowdhury in yet another hilarious and adventure-filled jaunt to the Underworld. Once again, their help is required to deal with a Tago the Ef-frock has announced that he is tired of his powers being constantly exploited. He has now gone rogue, and is threatening to unleash his magic to destroy all who oppose him if he is not given world dominance.
Low Ying Ping is the author of two middle grade fantasy series, Mount Emily and Prophecy of the Underworld. She has also written a three-volume English adaptation of the Chinese classic, Journey to the West, for younger children. Her books have won the Singapore Book Awards and were shortlisted for the Hedwig Anuar Children’s Book Award and the Popular Readers’ Choice Award. A short story has also won second prize in the British Fantasy Society’s short story competition. She will be making her U.S. debut with the middle grade novel, Song of the Yellow Dragon, in 2026.
In The Library of No Return - the sequel to The Prophecy of the Underworld by Low Ying Ping - Julian Kee and friends are off on another quest to help the Underworlders, this time to retrieve an ancient parchment from a library no one ever returns from.
The journey, while fraught with danger, is also filled with fun and humour as the group encounters suspicious magical creatures, writers and readers along the way. Will these characters help or sabotage the children? Will Julian's epic cluenessness make or break the quest? Can the group return from the library of no return? Find out in this witty and exciting middle-grade adventure available at leading Singapore bookstores!
Avid readers and writers will also appreciate and be tickled by the references to bookish habits and writing quirks. I read this book with my girls and quite a few times we lol-ed and went, 'OMG, that is so true!'
Ying Ping, we can't wait to see what you come up with in the third book of the series! ❤
Julian, the intrepid hero (who hasn’t a clue!) is back in The Library of No Return, a topsy-turvy quest with bookish jokes galore.
Three days after the events of book one, he is back in the Underworld with his sidekicks Mia and Ryan. As dense as ever and unwittingly awesome 🤣
This time, they are after a parchment in the elusive Library and have to battle pungent fruits that bombard them from trees (🤔) and vicious creatures.
Naturally, everything goes in the opposite direction of what you’d expect and nothing is to be taken seriously. Low Ying Ping takes the mickey out of aspiring writers, and digs at Shakespeare and the Brontes. I laughed so much my tummy hurt 😂
Bookish references: -unputdownable books -TBRs -DNF -turning down the corners of a page to mark a book -and here’s my favourite (and I swear Ying Ping directed this at me 🤪) — when wrapping a book in plastic, pasting the sticky tape on the BOOK ITSELF, ruining the inside of the covers! 🫣
The best line was reserved for Ryan, the brains of this outfit and bookish to boot.
“Never had being a bookworm felt so much like a superpower and he was relishing every moment of it. If only all adventures could be like this!”
Yes, indeed! This book is genius, and so groundbreaking in genre. While book one parodied the Chosen One trope, this one excels in breaking the fourth wall, making inside jokes with the reader. And might I add, seriously making us face palm as Julian continually loses the plot and blunders along 😂
So much fun! Upper primary readers will enjoy how clever this is, and so would 12+ and adult readers, I’m sure.
After reading the first book, my son (also named Julian) had become friends with the characters and wanted to know what would happen next to the gang of adventurers!
And so we continue the crazy and wild ride in this second book, the Library of No Return. Once again my kid gets to enjoy the light-hearted style, the energetic and witty dialogue, the creativity and humour. There are also literary references for those who get it, so there is more than one way to enjoy this book. We are looking forward to the third instalment!
The shenanigans continue and this time, Ying Ping takes a stab at the library-going book lovers in good fun, of course! Highly relatable as I'm one of them too.