Reviews

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

melissathemoodreader's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

rachelfreedman's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This was my latest reread from my childhood bedroom bookcase, and it more than held up. 

lilgrizzles's review against another edition

4.25

How much is "thankfulness" conflated with toxic positivity? Or used to oppress others?

Or, how necessary is thankfulness?

emee3's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

adalton's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

linneamo's review against another edition

3.0

genre: fantasy/folklore

summary: a girl leaves her home in hopes to change the families fortune. the book is full of Asian mythology/folklore and the girl becomes part of it herself

notes:

for kids who like: fairytales, adventure

age group: age 8+

my review: predictable but interesting and well written

research_department's review against another edition

hopeful informative reflective relaxing

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

Stats: middle grades fantasy inspired by Chinese folklore, multiple third person POV/past tense

I’ll preface my review by saying that I haven’t read any middle grade books in many, many years.  I am not the target audience for this book, which might account for some of my quibbles.

Minli, a plucky young girl, accompanied by a flightless dragon (named Dragon), is on a quest to ask The Old Man of the Moon how to change her family’s fortune.  We simultaneously see how her parents are coping with her absence.  Throughout, small stories, modeled on folktales,  are liberally interspersed in the framing story which also has the character of a folktale.  This structure made it difficult to really connect at first, and I really only started to enjoy this once I was a third of the way in.  On her journey, Minli meets several charming and wise characters, ranging from an orphan boy to a king.  Meanwhile, we also see her parents’ growth while she is gone.  Several moral messages are delivered, including the value of relationships and the evil of greed; I just wish the messaging had been a little bit more light handed.  Perhaps that’s an unfair criticism given the age of the intended audience.   Despite the criticisms, I found this book quietly lovely.  

hildamarie's review against another edition

4.0

As soon as my daughter finished this book, she passed it to me saying, "You have got to read this!" And I am so glad I did. This is the story of a girl who must go on a journey to change her family's fortunes. Like a Chinese Dorothy, she gets there with the help of some friends, and she learns a very important lesson about home. The short stories that connects the larger adventure together are a wonderful mix of folk tale
And imagination. A great read!

mahaliahp's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

This is a great upper-elementary/middle-grade fantasy read with a strong message of generosity, gratitude, and perseverance. Minli is a great protagonist. I love how the folk stories are woven in to give more context to events in the book. If you are a teacher, this would be a good read-aloud book or great for book clubs! 

lovesperry's review against another edition

4.5

Very sweet and heartwarming.