Where The Mountain Meets The Moon by Grace Lin. Little, Brown. 288 pages.
Far away from here, following the Jade River, there was once a black mountain that cut into the sky like a jagged piece of rough metal. The villagers called it Fruitless Mountain because nothing grew on it and birds and animals did not rest there.
Have you discovered Grace Lin yet? Her newest, Where The Mountain Meets the Moon, won a Newbery Honor. It's the story of a young girl, Minli, who leaves home (on the advice of a talking goldfish) in search of the Old Man in the Moon. The fish has told her the way to Never-Ending Mountain. If she finds him--when she finds him because this is one spirited girl--she is going to ask him an important question--how to change the fortune of her family. Along the way, she'll make a few friends--in particular one dragon friend, who wants to ask a question of his own: why can't he fly?--and have quite the adventure. This fantasy novels weaves in some Chinese folklore and has quite a fairy tale feel about it.
This one is just a beautiful book. Beautiful writing, fascinating characters and stories, lovely illustrations. Definitely recommended.
© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
