Goodreads Synopsis: A powerful tale of magic, love, and revenge set in fairy-tale Japan.Trained in the magical art of shadow-weaving, sixteen-year-old Suzume is able to re-create herself in any form - a fabulous gift for a girl desperate to escape her past. But who is she really? Is she a girl of noble birth living under the tyranny of her mother's new husband, Lord Terayama? Or a lowly drudge scraping a living in the ashes of Terayama's kitchens? Or is she Yue, the most beautiful courtesan in the Moonlit Lands? Whatever her true identity, Suzume is destined to use her skills to steal the heart of a prince in a revenge plot to destroy Terayama. And nothing will stop her, not even the one true aspect of her life- her love for a fellow shadow-weaver.
My Thoughts:
- This is the one of the most amazing and wonderful books ever!!! I LOVED LOVED LOVED it!!!
- The margins on the pages are pretty big. They couldn't fill the page with more text?
- There is a lot of Japanese culture in this story, and I loved it! It was like reading an anime!
- With any great Japanese story comes symbolism, and this book was fabulous with them. I especially loved the use of names and how each time our heroine changed her name, she changed her identity.
- The cover is beautiful!
- Everything I love in a good story was in this book: great characters that grow and develop, characters I can get emotionally attached too, wonderful plot, twists and surprises, romance I can cheer for, great supporting characters along the journey, a villain that you love to hate, things that make you wonder and think, and much more!
- I loved the emotions in this book. A lot of it is sad, but it is so beautiful that I just had to keep reading. The joy I felt at the end negated any sadness I felt. The journey and growth that Suzume takes is emotionally exhausting, but beautiful.
- This made me think of what drives people to action. Why do we do what we do? I have to admit that I do a lot things I do out of love. If I was driven by another emotion, what would I do? What sacrifices would I make? What would I dare to do while trying to accomplish my goals? It is a lot to think about.
- I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I will be contemplating it for a long time. I kind of want to just re-read right now! I'm sure that is a lot more to learn and notice from this story.
Thanks for bringing this book to my attention. I haven't heard of it before, but it sounds really interesting. I like that it has Japanese culture in it, along with the symbolism.
ReplyDeleteSo if I am not so familiar with Japanese culture, would I still enjoy it?
ReplyDeleteI think so. It is pretty culture heavy, but it just added to my love of the book more, I don't think it would detract from it at all.
DeleteI have read Marriott's The Swan Kingdom, which I loved, and I can't wait to pick Shadows on the Moon up next! Your enthusiastic review made me even more eager to read it.
ReplyDeletePica @ Pica Reads