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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
(3.5/5) the first chapters were good and i already thought to give it a minimum 4 stars rating, but as the story went on, it turned out to be flat. it didn't get better, nor did it get worse. it was a constant ride, without any memorable climax or exciting things happening. however, i personally think that the houyi-chang'e legend was portrayed uniquely as i have only read two retellings of them. it was uncommon yet enthralling to have the legend set in 1991 US, with the life of two high schoolers who were later in love. on the other side, another thing that bothered me was that the truth of the whole magical events was only revealed at the very end of the book, leaving me guessing in my entire reading journey (which should have been fun, but considering that the ending was so unsatisfying, it rather left me bewildered). it took me time to realize that emily x.r. pan is also the one who wrote the astonishing color of after (which i have read in 2021) and i reminisced how both beautiful and depressing her writing was in tacoa, and i could feel that she also put her best in aattm. this book might not be for me but i will always remember luna and hunter cute love story, they were so sweet and lovely i want to have them in my pocket.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Imagine Romeo and Juliette but with Taiwanese/Chinese immigrant families and mythology. There were a few patches of the story that I thought could’ve used some more depth but overall, I really liked it, especially the ending.
Even though it's not my favorite style of stories, it was an enjoyable read.
What kept me in this book?
– Mystery, intrigue and “a promise of supernatural” that lasts throughout the narrative and ended up exploding in the end.
Parts of the text I liked the most:
What kept me in this book?
– Mystery, intrigue and “a promise of supernatural” that lasts throughout the narrative and ended up exploding in the end.
Parts of the text I liked the most:
• Gold confetti •
(…) It snowed toward the end of January, and later on Luna would wonder if perhaps she should have taken those strangely gray snowflakes as a sign that everything was about to go to shit. The morning sky started out clear, but by second period all the students at Fairbridge High were staring out the windows at the dark clumps falling fast and thick. Luna glanced outside during AP Lit and thought she saw hints of her fireflies, gold confetti among the snowfall. (…)• Bus enchantment •
(…) “Sit down!” the bus driver was shouting at another student. “What do you think her deal is?” Luna nodded toward the front. He knew right away what she meant. “Ah, the driver. Her story is little known. She’s a talented enchantress who sacrificed everything. Just before an evil wizard was about to murder her lover, our brave driver cast a spell that turned her beloved into a yellow school bus.” “Ooh, ooh!” Luna jumped in. “Now she spends her days ferrying students to school—and in the hours between, she goes off to her cave and tries to figure out the spell that will undo the bus, so that she can have her lover back.” (…)
I found An Arrow to the Moon to be a very cute novel, and definitely agree with the similarities it has to Romeo and Juliet. Having no knowledge of Chinese Mythology I felt like I understood a little more. It was a very cute novel and I thoroughly enjoyed them
Ik vond dit boek erg schattig. Het is overduidelijk een liefdesverhaal, maar het heeft wel een goede opbouw. De twee hoofdpersonen zijn niet direct smoorverliefd op elkaar. Ze leren elkaar eerst rustig kennen en leren elkaar vertrouwen, waardoor hun romance heel natuurlijk voelt. Het einde vond ik erg mooi en voelde echt als het einde van een mooi sprookje. Toch had ik net wat meer spanning en een grotere confrontatie met de slechterik verwacht. Op het einde ging alles vrij makkelijk en snel, waardoor toch een soort anticlimax was. Ook had ik de paranormale/fantasy elementen van dit boek graag iets meer uitgediept gezien. De onverklaarbare dingen die personages in dit boek meemaken, spelen een belangrijke rol in het verhaal, maar misten toch net een beetje onderbouwing en diepte.
this did not work for me. if it wasn't written by EXRP, i would have DNF'd after the first 100 or so pages. absolutely no comparison to TACOA. sadly super disappointed.
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
**3.5 stars ** A cute entanglement of Romeo and Juliet with the Chinese story of Houyi, the archer, and Chang’e, the moon guardian. I know little to nothing about Chinese mythology so this was a cool storyline to read. I had no idea what was going to happen and loved the history of Chinese deities. I loved how it was all wrapped up into a story about two seemingly regular high school teens who fall in love, but find themselves surrounded by strange, supernatural events. It definitely reads like a YA book, but the simple writing and quick chapters can do the fast-pace of the book justice. I did feel like there were too many perspectives in the book and that it could’ve been better focusing just on Hunter and Luna’s POVs. Overall I liked it because I did like the easy cuteness of it all and the unique storyline, but rated it lower because I had high expectations for this book and I don’t necessarily feel like it hit all the points for me.