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4.27 AVERAGE
4.27 AVERAGE
Love the writing and the way the author weaves so many stories into one. Beautiful.
4.5 stars
Surprisingly emotional ending, though really I don’t know why I should be surprised!
Surprisingly emotional ending, though really I don’t know why I should be surprised!
This is such a great reading experience, really rich and gorgeous. It reads aloud beautifully, and my 7 year old remarked several times about how much she loved the descriptive writing. I loved the folklore layered into the main story, and how it added hints, a little mystery, and enhanced the meaning of what was going on...just as in the other books in this series. It's been a while since I read the rest and I've forgotten details, I think I'd like to read this right after the others for a deeper understanding. There's references to the rest of the series and I only barely got them. But this was enjoyable even without fully remembering all the context. The themes of this were very timely, too - the pointless suffering caused by the emperor's greed and his wall, for example. I loved how this one leaned into the importance - and immortality - of story. So good!
I am infatuated by this collection of companion novels. Through them I get to visit a world and reality I've never entered before. This is a story that shows us that story tellers, just by telling stories, can have powerful influence over their worlds. Grace Lin masterfully weaves all the threads of the different stories into a satisfying conclusion. If you haven't read any of these books, you need to remedy this.
Enchanting and perfect for a read aloud chapter a night bed-time story book.
Beautiful story that showcases Chinese culture with Chinese fables and stories.
Pinmei is a young girl who loves listening to her grandmother's amazing stories, but one night the Emperor and his soliders have come to take the storyteller from the small village. Now, she and her friend Yishan must find what the Emperor is looking for in exchange for her grandmother and they will meet interesting characters along the way.
What does the Emperor want with Pinmei's grandmother? What is this Luminous stone and why does the Emperor want it?
Pinmei is a young girl who loves listening to her grandmother's amazing stories, but one night the Emperor and his soliders have come to take the storyteller from the small village. Now, she and her friend Yishan must find what the Emperor is looking for in exchange for her grandmother and they will meet interesting characters along the way.
What does the Emperor want with Pinmei's grandmother? What is this Luminous stone and why does the Emperor want it?
This book has one of my favorite themes running through it (how stories make us immortal) so obviously I loved it.
Lovely
This is s lovely story about the power of tales, finding your strength and courage, and its great to read aloud.
This is s lovely story about the power of tales, finding your strength and courage, and its great to read aloud.
I'm sad to say that I'm disappointed. I didn't love this as much as I loved the first two. And it's worse because I feel like I should have loved it more, because even more than the previous installments, this is really about the power of stories. But it didn't have the charm and adventure of the first two. Maybe I didn't like the main character as much? I felt really sad while reading this because I wasn't enjoying it. I still love Grace Lin, though!
An evil emperor with a secret past, a grandmother/storyteller who also has secrets, a granddaughter with more within her than she guesses, a friend who can't always remember his past, horses that are really dragons, gods walking among mortals, and beautiful stories within beautiful stories. Highly recommended.