Karen Bao on Pangu’s Shadow

In this post, we feature scientist and author Karen Bao, whose previous titles include The Dove Chronicles books. You can hear her speak about her new novel, Pangu’s Shadow, and try her “invitation to imagine” activity. You’ll also find other resources to explore. Thanks for joining us, and let us know what you think in the comments below!

---

Pangu’s Shadow

• Written by Karen Bao
• Published by Carolrhoda Lab, an imprint of Lerner Publishing Group
• Release date: February 6, 2024

There are no second chances in the Pangu Star System. Ver and Aryl, apprentices at the most prestigious biology lab among the system’s moons, know this better than anyone. They’ve left behind difficult pasts and pinned their hopes for the future on Cal, their brilliant but demanding boss. But one night while working late in the lab, they find Cal sprawled on the floor, dead. Murdered. And Ver and Aryl immediately become the prime suspects. Their motives seem obvious. Ver, who left her home moon to study the life-threatening disease wracking her body, had a hopeless attachment to Cal that could’ve become twisted by jealousy. Aryl, on the other hand, clashed with workaholic Cal because she valued more in her life than research. To clear their names, Ver and Aryl put aside their mutual suspicion and team up to investigate Cal’s death. As they search for the real murderer, they uncover secrets that have shaped all of Pangu’s moons and must decide what kind of future they really want. Queer romance and the experience of living with chronic illness add further depth to this compelling sci-fi murder mystery.

From Pangu’s Shadow, written by Karen Bao.

“Machines are only as scary as the people using them. “

Click here to view a longer preview of Pangu’s Shadow, written by Karen Bao.

---

Explore Pangu’s Shadow

Listen to Karen Bao talking with TeachingBooks about creating Pangu’s Shadow. You can click the player below or experience the recording on TeachingBooks, where you can read along as you listen, and also translate the text to another language.

• Listen to Karen Bao pronounce her name.
• Sample the ebook of Pangu’s Shadow on OverDrive.com.
• Explore TeachingBooks’ collection of activities and resources for Pangu’s Shadow.

---

Invitation to Imagine

Imagination Activity with Karen Bao

Create your own utopia: what would the perfect city or world look like for you? Where would people live, how would they get around, and who, if anyone, is running things? Next, change just one thing about your utopia to make it a dystopia – a society where there’s great suffering or injustice. What did you change, and why did it have such a profound effect?

---

Finish This Sentence . . . with Karen Bao

“You may not know that I can…”

You may not know that I can cook a variety of different foods, from handmade pasta to Pad Thai to dumplings. Mixing ingredients and applying heat according to a recipe, or following my mom’s instructions, is just like an experiment in the lab. Well, almost. You already know what the final answer should taste like! —Karen Bao

“I hope my book encourages readers to think about…”

I hope that my book may encourage teens to think about how scientists and their science are affected by our society’s values. Who gets the opportunity to do science, and do you think that biases about different types of people can lead to inaccurate results? Have you ever pictured yourself as a scientist? —Karen Bao

---

Thank you!

To wrap up this Virtual Book Tour, we thank Karen Bao for signing a book for all of us.

---

More Connections to Karen Bao and Pangu’s Shadow

• Discover books like Pangu’s Shadow on TeachingBooks.
• Lerner’s page about Pangu’s Shadow, written by Karen Bao.
• Buy Pangu’s Shadow, written by Karen Bao.

---

Explore all of the titles featured in the TeachingBooks Virtual Book Tour: one link with author interviews, lesson plans, activities, and more!

All text and images are courtesy of Karen Bao and Lerner Publishing Group and may not be used without expressed written consent.