When the Sea Turned to Silver by Grace Lin

Abstract

Reviewed by: When the Sea Turned to Silver by Grace Lin Kate Quealy-Gainer, Assistant Editor Lin, Grace When the Sea Turned to Silver; written and illus. by Grace Lin. Little, 2016 [384p] Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-316-12592-5 $18.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-0-316-31769-6 $9.99 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 4-6 Stories serve as both comfort and currency in this companion to Lin’s Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (BCCB 9/09). When the Tiger Emperor’s soldiers kidnap Pinmei’s grandmother, the Storyteller, Pinmei travels from the top of the Never-Ending Mountain, to the City of Bright Moonlight, to the Crystal Palace at the bottom of the sea, and finally to Capital City where she hopes she can bargain for Amah’s life. Help is offered along the way but often in exchange for stories, so Pinmei must overcome her shyness to relate tales she learned from the Storyteller. Meanwhile, Amah offers succor to her companion in prison, an old stonecutter, with her stories of heroes and tricksters. The structure here is the same used in Where the Mountain Meets the Moon and Starry River of the Sky (BCCB 12/12) with a framing story interspersed with tales inspired by Chinese folklore, but this is the strongest book of the three. Pinmei’s journey has a compelling urgency that quickens the pace and enlivens the adventure, while the short stories are smoothly integrated and provide sly, subtle connections to plot events, making satisfying the climactic scene in which the elements converge. The parallel story of Amah as a prisoner and the small inserts describing a similar entrapment of a legendary creature are interesting additions and cast light on the fates of characters from the previous books. Lin’s characteristic elegant prose breaks free of its delicate cadence when the action picks up but nonetheless keeps its enchanting, luminous quality. Lin’s fans are an obvious audience here but so are readers of Kelly Barnhill (The Witch’s Boy, BCCB 1/15, The Girl Who Drank The Moon, BCCB 9/16). Final art unseen. [End Page 80] Copyright © 2016 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois