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A review by divine529
Starry River of the Sky by Grace Lin
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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
This is the second book I've read by Grace Lin, and a companion novel to Where The Mountain Meets the Moon and I really enjoyed this one as well.
As I previously mentioned, this is a companion novel; set in the same world, but following different characters, and having similar themes and motifs as the previous book.
This follows our main character Rendi, a boy who ran away from home and ends up in a small village called the Village of Clear Sky, where he ends up working as a chore boy at the village inn. While he's there, he notices that the moon has gone missing, but seems to be the only one who has noticed. He ends up meeting a whole cast of interesting characters and goes on a bit of a self-discovery journey in the process.
I really enjoyed this book overall, but it didn't have quite the same grip on me as Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. This was still enchanting and tons of fun. I loved the stories that were interwoven throughout the book, and the fact that the characters were telling them. It's probably one of my favorite things about Grace Lin's books. The setting was lovely as well and learning about all kinds of different places and backgrounds through the stories was lovely as well. I loved the self-discovery and mystery of the plot of what happened to the moon and just learning about who all of these characters really were. And the characters were all fantastic. Rendi got on my nerves at times, and I felt like his arc was a bit slow moving, but I loved all of the side characters, particularly Peiyi, Madame Chang and MeiLan. They were all great.
I'm definitely looking forward to reading the final companion in the standalone series (I don't know what else to call it) soon and look forward to rereading them all in the future.
As I previously mentioned, this is a companion novel; set in the same world, but following different characters, and having similar themes and motifs as the previous book.
This follows our main character Rendi, a boy who ran away from home and ends up in a small village called the Village of Clear Sky, where he ends up working as a chore boy at the village inn. While he's there, he notices that the moon has gone missing, but seems to be the only one who has noticed. He ends up meeting a whole cast of interesting characters and goes on a bit of a self-discovery journey in the process.
I really enjoyed this book overall, but it didn't have quite the same grip on me as Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. This was still enchanting and tons of fun. I loved the stories that were interwoven throughout the book, and the fact that the characters were telling them. It's probably one of my favorite things about Grace Lin's books. The setting was lovely as well and learning about all kinds of different places and backgrounds through the stories was lovely as well. I loved the self-discovery and mystery of the plot of what happened to the moon and just learning about who all of these characters really were. And the characters were all fantastic. Rendi got on my nerves at times, and I felt like his arc was a bit slow moving, but I loved all of the side characters, particularly Peiyi, Madame Chang and MeiLan. They were all great.
I'm definitely looking forward to reading the final companion in the standalone series (I don't know what else to call it) soon and look forward to rereading them all in the future.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, and Grief
Additional CW: animal injury