Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

I thought I'd take a moment to address another of my quirks because one is looking at me right now. I've already mentioned that I don't read Juvenile Non-Fiction so I'll point out that Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose received Newbery Honors this year, but you will not be hearing about the book from me. But should you so desire ... Decatur Public Library owns it and the call number is J323.092/H. I'm relatively certain that the book will cry if I ignore it entirely. That takes care of the quirk staring me down. Now for #2.

I read books in alphabetical order by author's last name. That way I don't read all of the ones I'm excited about first and save what I think are dull ones for last. It also prevents me from reading a bunch of short ones quickly leaving the long ones to plow through later. And that is why today I am presenting Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin which proves to be every bit as gorgeous on the inside as on the outside!

I think perhaps my favorite part of this book is how it developed. Grace Lin is an Asian American who was raised in New York. Her mother chose NOT to force her Chinese background upon her, but instead kept chinese folktales and fairy tale books in the home knowing that Grace could not resist a new book. In the beginning, Grace was disappointed by the simplicity and sparseness of the tales, but her own imagination began to fill in the blanks. Grace created stories out of one line legends and mythic characters to form Where the Mountain Meets the Moon.

This is a story about a father who fills the head of his only daughter with fantastical stories much to the chagrin of his wife. They live at the foot of a famine-stricken mountain where such tales seem like nonsense next to the daily toil that helps the family eek out a meager existence. Inspired by the enchanted stories, the daughter, Minli, leaves home to bring back good fortune to her family. In her absence, her mother is awakened to the blessings they had, but are now gone. The happiness of their daughter and the joy of the stories that filled their evenings.

There is the story of the parents as they wait for Minli's return. There is the story of Minli and her journey to bring good fortune to her family. And interwoven are a multitude of folktales that direct her and lead the story forward. Or rather, lead the story home again, for it is a great circle where wrongs are righted and promises are kept and treasures are both given and returned. Throw in a handful of colorful dragons and goldfish that are dragons, and you have an enchanting, Asian inspired fantasy.