Book Review: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin.

 Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin.
Book Summary: In the Valley of Fruitless Mountain, a young girl named Minli spends her days working hard in the fields and her nights listening to her father spin fantastic tales about the Jade Dragon and the Old Man of the Moon. Minli’s mother, tired of their poor life, chides him for filling her head with nonsense. But Minli believes these enchanting stories and embarks on an extraordinary journey to find the Old Man of the Moon and ask him how her family can change their fortune. She encounters an assorted cast of characters and magical creatures along the way, including a dragon who accompanies her on her quest.

Liana's Summary: Minli is determined to change her family's fortune. So she decides to go find The Old Man of the Moon, who can answer any question in the world every 99 years. Minli is determined. Leaving her parents a single note of where she's going, she immediately sets out alone. With the help of a talking goldfish she was lucky enough to encounter, she finds out exactly where to find the man she's looking for. On the way, she encounters a dragon who can't fly-- who's wish is to learn how. Minli's story revolves around loyalty, friendship, and many other important morals in life. Grace Lin takes you on an enthralling journey through the topic of Chinese Mythology.

Rate(1-10): 8

This book was actually better than I would have ever anticipated. Being Chinese myself, I enjoyed reviewing my Chinese mythology and I actually learned some more, too.

Minli is the main character of this story, and her dad LOVES to tell stories. A handful of stories in this book are actually from her dad. Her mom is always complaining, "WHY YOU GOTTA TELL THEM STORIES. AIN'T GON' GIT US ANYTHING." But her dad tells stories anyway, and since Minli's mother is always complaining about how they're so poor, Minli goes off to chase a myth, believing her father's stories. But they actually turn out to be real. Yep, that's right. Real. Making this story more than Historical-Fiction. It's a blend of Fantasy and Mythology and history at the same time. Somehow, this sort of reminded me of The Chronicles of Narnia. They both taught morals and protagonists are faced with a decision that's really hard to make. This was a really, really moral-filled story. It was a fun and quick read. My eyes were tired from reading The Kill Order so I sort of cheated on TKO for this book. LOL. It only took 2 hours though, since the text was HUGE, and there were pictures as well (totally good for younger kids). And I really have nothing left to say. That's that. No quotes! I kind of sort of started this book in the middle of the night.. with a flashlight.. What did you think of this (really short) review? (;