Drawing on Chinese folk tales, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon begins with a girl named Minli and her parents working hard in the poor soil all day, with only a little bit of rice to show for it. The adventure takes off when Minli decides to leave Fruitless Mountain in hopes of finding a way to bring good fortune back to her valley. 

The tale is told in a straightforward manner, and involves dragons, a magic book, an evil green tiger, and copious references to the moon and moonlight. I like how this story includes many other short stories told by different characters, to help fill in plot points. 

While I enjoyed the fantastical elements, the story was slow going for me at times, but by the end I began to appreciate how the different characters and events were gradually woven together into one big story, and I really liked the way the ending came together, with an emphasis on patience, contentment, and familial love.

Scrounged From: PaperbackSwap.com

Format: Paperback
Author: Grace Lin
Pages: 282
Content Advisory: Very little violence, but one scene involves the dragon getting wounded.

More Reviews at Amazon