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A review by the_enobee
Starry River of the Sky by Grace Lin
4.0
This was a fantastic book filled with legends and proverbs that include the secret to peace and the difference between misery and joy. The character growth and mysterious nature of things really draw the reader in; my son and I were very involved in the story throughout. It was a lot of fun to formulate theories while reading this book. I would recommend to readers of any age looking for a magical journey. The spoilers below are character notes for our OBOB team.
Places:
Village of Clear Sky - The village with the Inn that Rendi ends up working at. The village is called this because there was a huge mountain that was moved.
Village of Never-ending Mountain - The same village before and after the mountain is restored.
The Stone Pancake - The plain left behind after the mountain has moved. Rendi must journey across the pancake to find the moon, which was actually swallowed by Jiming.
Characters:
Rendi -
Rendi's Sister - Older and smarter than Rendi. She saves Rendi from drowning in the large gang their father was awarded for using their answers for questions asked by the Emperor.
Peiyi -
Master Chao -
Jiming -
Widow Yan -
Meilan -
Madame Chang -
Mr. Shan -
Duke Zhe -
Magistrate Wang (Magistrate Tiger) -
WangYi -
WangYi's Wife, The Lady of the Moon -
The Old Sage -
Tiwu -
Fang and Liu -
Stories told in this book:
1. The story of the man who moved a mountain - Great-grandfather of Master Chao wants to see the sky. He tells his people to move the mountain one stone at a time. The Spirit of the Mountain decides to move the mountain away because generations of the man's family can accomplish the movement of the mountain.
2. The story of the six suns - WangYi (he has an unusual scar on his head, which is thought to be the mark of power) must use his bow and arrow to shoot down the extra suns because it is too hot. His wife hides one arrow so he will not shoot down all the suns.
3. The story of the jade bracelet - how Mei-lan and Jiming met over a lost bracelet. The fall in love despite the family fued betwen Yan and Chao.
4. The story of the rooster's song - the last sun is terrified to come out, so Wang Yi must find a way to lure it out into the open for warmth. The song of the rooster is just right to do this.
5. The story of the old sage - this tells of Tiwu, the old sage's pupil. He is wants to read the book of good fortune that the old sage is always reading. Tiwu must first climb a tree and stay in the tree for 99 days and night. Then the old sage will let him read the book and thus Tiwu will find the secret to peace. Tiwu stays on the tree, and at one point composes what he thinks is a great poem. He thinks it proves his worthiness, so he sends it to the old sage. The sage reads the poem, turns it over, and writes Burp on the back. When Tiwu sees this, he bolts down the tree and goes to the sage. The Sage points out that Tiwu said the loudest noise and strongest wind would not bring him down from the tree, yet a burp did. Tiwu is not ready.
6. The story of the dancing fish - this story is a Rendi original. It tells how magistrate tiger tricks Duke Zhe into thinking his qin playing makes fish dance. He trains the fish with Rendi's help, but Rendi doesn't get any credit and the magistrate is a fraud.
7. The story of Wang Yi's wife - Wang Yi becomes emperor, but he is a selfish and ruthless ruler. He was gifted a pill of immortality by the Queen Mother of the Heavens. Wang Yi's wife does not want him to rule forever, so she eats the pill herself, but it is not ripe yet. It turns her into a giant toad, and she jumps up to swallow the moon too, only to land on it. The moon is her new home, and she has become the lady of the moon.
8. The story of the three questions - another Rendi original. His promises to Madame Change to tell stories give Rendi the perfect excuse to stay at the Inn of Clear Sky. This story tells of magistrate tiger's using his children to answer three questions from the Emperor to prove who is a wise man. The children answer the first two, but not the third. (The first two questions invlove sharing an almond among 99 people (use it to make tea) and determining which of two men is the thief (the faster is not the thief because he caught the other man)). Magistrate Tiger tells them they are not wise and are useless and sends them away. However, Rendi finds out later that Magistrate Tiger used their answers and because of his wisdom was given the gift of the large gang and the blue porcelain bowl. The third question that no on can answer is the question of the snails, which Madame Chang and Mr. Chan eventually answer later to resolve the conflict between Yan and Chao.
9. The story of the white tiger - a white tiger is terrorizing a village. The old sage says he can get rid of the tiger. He gives it a baby rabbit, and tells the villagers to give milk to the tiger every night. After 6 weeks, the tiger has turned into a man with the scar on his forehead.
10. The story of Wang Yi's dream - Wang Yi is very sad after his wife turns into a toad and jumps to the moon. Wang Yi would give anything to have her back. He has a dream about the difference between misery and joy. The same conditions exist in two places: tons of food but chopsticks that are too long. Misery is people trying only to feed themselves and not succeeding. Joy is people using the long stick to feed each other. He now realizes what a horrible ruler he had been and makes amends. Since he will do anything to see his wife again, he is made ruler of the sun. The sun and the moon are together, but the moon wanes because the lady of the moon becomes afraid that the sun will again become a bad ruler. She always comes back again though, just like the moon.
11. The story of Magistrate Tiger's son - Rendi's sister saves him from drowning in the precious gang by breaking it. Their father is very angry and loves the gang more then them. That is why Rendi runs away, and is his story revealed to his companions in the village of clear sky.
12. The story of Son Wine - how magistrate tiger was so disappointed in having a daughter as first born that he buried the celebration wine. After having a son, they dig it up and it is the best wine ever made.
13. The story of Jiming's transformation - Jiming travels across the stone pancake because he is angry that he cannot marry Mei-Lan because of the Chao/Yan fued. His anger is burning him up so, that he pauses at a lake and drinks it up. He accidentally consumes the moon (reflected in the water), which is basically a not-quite ripe pill of immortality, and he transforms into a toad. He is in a cave by the lake and moaning. That is the sound and reason for the missing moon that eventually draws Rendi across the Stone Pancake to resuce Jiming, restore the moon, and restore the Mountain (Madame Chang was basically the Lady of the Moon, and Mr Shan was basically the old sage, the spirit of the mountain, and possibly Wang Yi).
14. The true story of the mountain that moved - reveals the truth of why the mountain moved, and it was not fear of Master Chao's great-grandfather. The spirit of the mountain came down in human form to answer questions and provide wisdom to the villagers (the old sage). After some time, the villagers forgot about the spirit of the mountain and the lady of the moon. The spirit became angry, went back to his mountain, and moved away. Without the mountain, the moon can fall from the sky, and apparently falls into the lake. The spirit of the mountain and Rendi leave because of very similar feelings.
Spoiler
Places:
Village of Clear Sky - The village with the Inn that Rendi ends up working at. The village is called this because there was a huge mountain that was moved.
Village of Never-ending Mountain - The same village before and after the mountain is restored.
The Stone Pancake - The plain left behind after the mountain has moved. Rendi must journey across the pancake to find the moon, which was actually swallowed by Jiming.
Characters:
Rendi -
Rendi's Sister - Older and smarter than Rendi. She saves Rendi from drowning in the large gang their father was awarded for using their answers for questions asked by the Emperor.
Peiyi -
Master Chao -
Jiming -
Widow Yan -
Meilan -
Madame Chang -
Mr. Shan -
Duke Zhe -
Magistrate Wang (Magistrate Tiger) -
WangYi -
WangYi's Wife, The Lady of the Moon -
The Old Sage -
Tiwu -
Fang and Liu -
Stories told in this book:
1. The story of the man who moved a mountain - Great-grandfather of Master Chao wants to see the sky. He tells his people to move the mountain one stone at a time. The Spirit of the Mountain decides to move the mountain away because generations of the man's family can accomplish the movement of the mountain.
2. The story of the six suns - WangYi (he has an unusual scar on his head, which is thought to be the mark of power) must use his bow and arrow to shoot down the extra suns because it is too hot. His wife hides one arrow so he will not shoot down all the suns.
3. The story of the jade bracelet - how Mei-lan and Jiming met over a lost bracelet. The fall in love despite the family fued betwen Yan and Chao.
4. The story of the rooster's song - the last sun is terrified to come out, so Wang Yi must find a way to lure it out into the open for warmth. The song of the rooster is just right to do this.
5. The story of the old sage - this tells of Tiwu, the old sage's pupil. He is wants to read the book of good fortune that the old sage is always reading. Tiwu must first climb a tree and stay in the tree for 99 days and night. Then the old sage will let him read the book and thus Tiwu will find the secret to peace. Tiwu stays on the tree, and at one point composes what he thinks is a great poem. He thinks it proves his worthiness, so he sends it to the old sage. The sage reads the poem, turns it over, and writes Burp on the back. When Tiwu sees this, he bolts down the tree and goes to the sage. The Sage points out that Tiwu said the loudest noise and strongest wind would not bring him down from the tree, yet a burp did. Tiwu is not ready.
6. The story of the dancing fish - this story is a Rendi original. It tells how magistrate tiger tricks Duke Zhe into thinking his qin playing makes fish dance. He trains the fish with Rendi's help, but Rendi doesn't get any credit and the magistrate is a fraud.
7. The story of Wang Yi's wife - Wang Yi becomes emperor, but he is a selfish and ruthless ruler. He was gifted a pill of immortality by the Queen Mother of the Heavens. Wang Yi's wife does not want him to rule forever, so she eats the pill herself, but it is not ripe yet. It turns her into a giant toad, and she jumps up to swallow the moon too, only to land on it. The moon is her new home, and she has become the lady of the moon.
8. The story of the three questions - another Rendi original. His promises to Madame Change to tell stories give Rendi the perfect excuse to stay at the Inn of Clear Sky. This story tells of magistrate tiger's using his children to answer three questions from the Emperor to prove who is a wise man. The children answer the first two, but not the third. (The first two questions invlove sharing an almond among 99 people (use it to make tea) and determining which of two men is the thief (the faster is not the thief because he caught the other man)). Magistrate Tiger tells them they are not wise and are useless and sends them away. However, Rendi finds out later that Magistrate Tiger used their answers and because of his wisdom was given the gift of the large gang and the blue porcelain bowl. The third question that no on can answer is the question of the snails, which Madame Chang and Mr. Chan eventually answer later to resolve the conflict between Yan and Chao.
9. The story of the white tiger - a white tiger is terrorizing a village. The old sage says he can get rid of the tiger. He gives it a baby rabbit, and tells the villagers to give milk to the tiger every night. After 6 weeks, the tiger has turned into a man with the scar on his forehead.
10. The story of Wang Yi's dream - Wang Yi is very sad after his wife turns into a toad and jumps to the moon. Wang Yi would give anything to have her back. He has a dream about the difference between misery and joy. The same conditions exist in two places: tons of food but chopsticks that are too long. Misery is people trying only to feed themselves and not succeeding. Joy is people using the long stick to feed each other. He now realizes what a horrible ruler he had been and makes amends. Since he will do anything to see his wife again, he is made ruler of the sun. The sun and the moon are together, but the moon wanes because the lady of the moon becomes afraid that the sun will again become a bad ruler. She always comes back again though, just like the moon.
11. The story of Magistrate Tiger's son - Rendi's sister saves him from drowning in the precious gang by breaking it. Their father is very angry and loves the gang more then them. That is why Rendi runs away, and is his story revealed to his companions in the village of clear sky.
12. The story of Son Wine - how magistrate tiger was so disappointed in having a daughter as first born that he buried the celebration wine. After having a son, they dig it up and it is the best wine ever made.
13. The story of Jiming's transformation - Jiming travels across the stone pancake because he is angry that he cannot marry Mei-Lan because of the Chao/Yan fued. His anger is burning him up so, that he pauses at a lake and drinks it up. He accidentally consumes the moon (reflected in the water), which is basically a not-quite ripe pill of immortality, and he transforms into a toad. He is in a cave by the lake and moaning. That is the sound and reason for the missing moon that eventually draws Rendi across the Stone Pancake to resuce Jiming, restore the moon, and restore the Mountain (Madame Chang was basically the Lady of the Moon, and Mr Shan was basically the old sage, the spirit of the mountain, and possibly Wang Yi).
14. The true story of the mountain that moved - reveals the truth of why the mountain moved, and it was not fear of Master Chao's great-grandfather. The spirit of the mountain came down in human form to answer questions and provide wisdom to the villagers (the old sage). After some time, the villagers forgot about the spirit of the mountain and the lady of the moon. The spirit became angry, went back to his mountain, and moved away. Without the mountain, the moon can fall from the sky, and apparently falls into the lake. The spirit of the mountain and Rendi leave because of very similar feelings.