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A review by lottiezeb
When the Sea Turned to Silver by Grace Lin
“I will never forget, Yishan had said, and that is truly the only immortality that matters”
So What’s It About? (from Goodreads)
“Pinmei’s gentle, loving grandmother always has the most exciting tales for her granddaughter and the other villagers. However, the peace is shattered one night when soldiers of the Emperor arrive and kidnap the storyteller.
Everyone knows that the Emperor wants something called the Luminous Stone That Lights the Night. Determined to have her grandmother returned, Pinmei embarks on a journey to find the Luminous Stone alongside her friend Yishan, a mysterious boy who seems to have his own secrets to hide. Together, the two must face obstacles usually found only in legends to find the Luminous Stone and save Pinmei’s grandmother–before it’s too late.”
What I Thought
What an absolute delight! I’ve been utterly charmed by Grace Lin’s stories in the past, but I think When The Sea Turned To Silver is on a whole new level of inventiveness, beauty and clever story-telling. I absolutely loved the book’s structure and the stories-within-stories that feature so prominently. What I enjoyed most of all is that all of these seemingly-random folk tales actually intersect and come together at the ending of the story to impact Pinmei’s adventure in a truly brilliant, delightful and magical way.
I have to say that I also loved the callbacks to Lin’s previous works, and I was glad that I was correct in my prediction that Pinmei’s grandmother Amah is actually Minli from Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. Finally, I think this is ultimately one of those stories that is all about the magic of words and tales and their power to bring myths to life and change the world – and I’m always a sucker for that kind of meta story-about-stories.
When The Sea Turned To Silver tackles some heavy themes for its designated age range, I think – mainly the abuses that those in power may enact against those beneath them for the sake of greed and more power, and the way that the less-powerful may then become complicit in that cruelty:
“It’s interesting how all the magistrates and king’s fathers in your stories seem to have the same personality. It’s as if they could all be the same person.”
“it does seem that way, doesn’t it?” Amah agreed.
“Though I suppose the powerful all seem the same to us,” the stonecutter said, laughing.”
Pinmei’s arc as a character is about her learning how to stop being so passive and timid, and she ultimately becomes a much braver and decisive person. In addition, there is another really powerful female role model in the character Lady Meng, who refuses to marry the Emperor who covets her and, in one especially powerful moment, defies him and says that he can marry her corpse.
Last but perhaps most importantly, this is another shining example of a book that is entirely based in a non-Western culture and beautifully demonstrates its Chinese influences, myths and oral traditions through and through.
So What’s It About? (from Goodreads)
“Pinmei’s gentle, loving grandmother always has the most exciting tales for her granddaughter and the other villagers. However, the peace is shattered one night when soldiers of the Emperor arrive and kidnap the storyteller.
Everyone knows that the Emperor wants something called the Luminous Stone That Lights the Night. Determined to have her grandmother returned, Pinmei embarks on a journey to find the Luminous Stone alongside her friend Yishan, a mysterious boy who seems to have his own secrets to hide. Together, the two must face obstacles usually found only in legends to find the Luminous Stone and save Pinmei’s grandmother–before it’s too late.”
What I Thought
What an absolute delight! I’ve been utterly charmed by Grace Lin’s stories in the past, but I think When The Sea Turned To Silver is on a whole new level of inventiveness, beauty and clever story-telling. I absolutely loved the book’s structure and the stories-within-stories that feature so prominently. What I enjoyed most of all is that all of these seemingly-random folk tales actually intersect and come together at the ending of the story to impact Pinmei’s adventure in a truly brilliant, delightful and magical way.
I have to say that I also loved the callbacks to Lin’s previous works, and I was glad that I was correct in my prediction that Pinmei’s grandmother Amah is actually Minli from Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. Finally, I think this is ultimately one of those stories that is all about the magic of words and tales and their power to bring myths to life and change the world – and I’m always a sucker for that kind of meta story-about-stories.
When The Sea Turned To Silver tackles some heavy themes for its designated age range, I think – mainly the abuses that those in power may enact against those beneath them for the sake of greed and more power, and the way that the less-powerful may then become complicit in that cruelty:
“It’s interesting how all the magistrates and king’s fathers in your stories seem to have the same personality. It’s as if they could all be the same person.”
“it does seem that way, doesn’t it?” Amah agreed.
“Though I suppose the powerful all seem the same to us,” the stonecutter said, laughing.”
Pinmei’s arc as a character is about her learning how to stop being so passive and timid, and she ultimately becomes a much braver and decisive person. In addition, there is another really powerful female role model in the character Lady Meng, who refuses to marry the Emperor who covets her and, in one especially powerful moment, defies him and says that he can marry her corpse.
Last but perhaps most importantly, this is another shining example of a book that is entirely based in a non-Western culture and beautifully demonstrates its Chinese influences, myths and oral traditions through and through.