A review by kristineisreading
Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective

5.0

Wow. What a magical, imaginative book. I knew this was going to be my first 5-star read this year before I was halfway done. Reading Water Moon is like having the most whimsical dream of your life. There is so much creativity in this book, I don't even know where to start. The pond and puddle travel? The scroll? The Night Market? The trains? I could go on and on and on. Every page brings a new delight. There is darkness in this story too, and the stakes are continuously dangerously high, but the sense of wonder never goes away. This is masterful world building. Hana and Keishin are interesting characters, don't get me wrong. I was rooting for them every step of the way. But the real magic here is in the setting, and the plot that drags you through it, line by beautiful line. This one will stick with me for a long time, I think. I hope. And if not, I pledge to re-read it, because it is worth not forgetting.