Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin is a story about a young girl living in an impoverished village in China who runs away from home to find The Old Man of the Moon and ask him to bring fortune to her village. It is extremely heartfelt and beautiful and the characters are very realistic. The girl's adventure is thrilling and the plot ties together perfectly at the end with not a single detail forgotten. This is an amazing book.
AGE RANGE INTERMEDIATE
THEMES
Family
Chinese Mythology
Fortune
Dragons
Adventure
OVERALL RATING 9/10
This book is pretty awesome. There are so many little details that make the story heartwarming and beautiful. About a quarter of the chapters are written about the parents of the girl who runs away from home, which makes it more than just a kids’ adventure story. There are also wonderful illustrations for most of the chapters that will help immerse you into the story. This book is fun for kids at the same time as being deep and really meaningful. From talking dragons to moon rain, this book is sure to please.
PROS
Good child’s perspective
Funny
Heartfelt
Beautiful
Illustrations
Exciting
CONS
Grace Lin changed a lot of the mythology to fit the story, so it might be confusing if you are trying to learn about Chinese mythology, be warned!