Christina Matula

I know its probably realistic that eleven and twelve year olds from wealthy families would be very interested in material things and appearances, but as truthful as that depiction may be its kind of disheartening to see so much of that superficiality in one story. I guess I would have liked to have at least one character offering a less priviledged perspective, and maybe see Holly Mei stick to her personal style (athletic clothes and unplucked eyebrows), just so the readers could have a few different options for relatability and ways of thinking and being.

For kid readers, the intended audience for this book, the adult behavior in this will probably for the most part escape their notice, but as an adult reading this, the changes in the mom’s view of things seemed too abrupt, it was like she was a different person the moment they touched down in Hong Kong, and I mean, I could see, under pressure with a big new job a change like that happening in a person, however, I’d just imagine it would be more gradual than it happens here. As for the dad, he’s pretty absent, which some parents are like that, true, but the narrative never address how absent and uninvolved this guy is, his wife takes this hard turn towards shaming their daughter and he seemingly has nothing to say on the subject, and it just seemed odd that Holly Mei, in her thoughts (if not out loud) didn’t even once go, it would be nice if dad would do more than offer to cook with me or cuddle (without even asking her what was wrong). I just didn’t understand the point of his character existing if he wasn’t going to be involved in the story or be called out for his lack of involvement or at least indicate why no one would call him out, it may as well have been written as a single parent household for how irrelevant he was to the story.

I did like how well Holly Mei rebounds whenever things go wrong her and I enjoyed her relationship with her grandmother though I wish that had featured more here. I also appreciated that Holly Mei and her sister genuinely care for each other and the arc between Holly Mei and her rival unfolded at a good pace with decent depth.

I don’t recall ever reading a book set in Hong Kong before so that was actually my primary reason for picking up this book and this did deliver a solid taste of the varied scenery from the city to the countryside as well as food, shopping/bartering in a marketplace, etc., I enjoyed all of that.… (meer)

A little girl celebrate the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival with her family in this lovely picture-book, and learns of the folklore behind the celebration when her Ah-ma (grandmother) shares the story of the archer Hou Yi and his wife, the gentle Chang'e. Saving the world, and restoring the balance between Heaven and Earth, Hou Yi shoots nine of the ten suns in the sky down, and is rewarded with a potion of immortality. Although he and Chang'e, well aware that such a potion could spell disaster in the wrong hands, hide it away, a thief comes when the archer is away, and threatens to make off with it. In desperation, Chang'e swallows it herself, and is transported to the moon, there to reside eternally. It is Hou Yi, missing his beloved wife, who starts the tradition of offering mooncakes, on the anniversary of the day she became the Spirit and Lady in the Moon...

A debut for author Christina Matula, The Shadow in the Moon: A Tale of the Mid-Autumn Festival is an engaging mixture of contemportary family story and traditional folkloric retelling. In that sense, it reminded me strongly of the last picture-book devoted to the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival that I read, Loretta Seto's Mooncakes, which also featured family members (parents, in that case) relating the story of Hou Yi and Chang'e. Of course, in the Seto book, the variant of the story is the one in which Hou Yi is a cruel and dangerous villain, and Chang'e drinks the potion to protect it from him, whereas here Hou Yi is a hero. Leaving this similarity to the Seto book aside, I enjoyed Christina Matula's story (both parts of it), and appreciated the brief afterword, which gives more details about the festival, and includes a recipe for mooncakes. Although I didn't particularly care for Pearl Law's artwork here - it was just a little too cartoon-like for my taste - it was certainly colorful, and will no doubt keep many young listeners' attention. Recommended to anyone looking for children's stories about the Mid-Autumn Festival.… (meer)