Outrun The Moon by Stacey Lee

I don't believe in fate or destiny, but somehow, I will change ours for the better, even my inauspicious Ma's. I simply must catch the phoenix feather

I'll scream it from the rooftops. READ THIS BOOK. 

Sometimes you just find that book, that you feel like you should find something wrong with. You know it's probably not perfect, and you don't feel the need to curl up in a ball in a bout of reading slump depression, but somehow THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH THE BOOK.

And so then you just stare at that last page for way too long, then flip back to the first because "Noooo it's not over it's not it's too good to have an ending." 

That's this book. 

This book releases on May 24th, 2016

Genre:  Historical Fiction 

Feelings: .......I have a lot of rage

Cuteness: YES. There's barely any romance, but when there is, it's adorable, and also siblings.

Fast pacing: Slower style of pacing but it worked

Series: Nope

Read if you like: History, bro. San Francisco? 1900's. Fancy prep schools. Racial issues, Chinese culture in america. Friendships. It's got some vague A Little Princess vibes somehow, even though the stories couldn't be more different. 

Content: Nothing I really remember. Some b a r e l y suggestive things, but this book would be completely safe to hand to younger readers.

Trigger warning? Loss of family members for various characters 

In summary...Through much bargaining and some slight bribery, Mercy has gotten herself in one of the best most prestigious schools in San Francisco. Except, the school is for rich white girls, and she is a poor chinatown girl. It's gonna take a lot of sneaking to survive....but the earthquake could potentially get in the way.

Thoughts: Creaking floors, and crumbled bricks
Messages: Forgiveness, dedication, resilience.

Rating: 5/5 

-The Characters-

Once more I will reference that little fact about Me: I have a Insane amount of trouble relating to first person characters. It's a struggle.

Well, here comes Mercy. Mercy made me care. Why? I think it's because Mercy was a real person. And that stands out to me among the Females of Fantasy Badassary that I have become accustomed to. 

She kicked butt, but in her own way. She said things that she then regretted, she acted on impulse, but the entire time she tried. She was relate-able. Now, she's a Chinese born in america, treated cruelly by everyone. I'm biracial, so I can begin to relate, but unless you've been in a similar situation, it's challenging to get someone to connect to a character in such a different situation. 

Stacey Lee nailed it.

And the side characters. I could write long paragraphs on the side characters. They made me care even more. This whole cast, no matter how few pages some characters got, they came to life on the page. All the threads and characters just came together, weaving into something magnificent. 

ALSO A QUICK NOTE. Can I just say how pleased I am that Stacey had the cutest romance ever but she didn't even have a romance. They were a vague thing from page one, they skipped all the dumb angst, he wasn't even there for half the book, but somehow you still loved them.

-Plot and Writing-

I started Stacey's other book, Under a Painted Sky, but I never was able to finish it due to chaotic life things. That being said, I got far enough into it to be able to see the contrast of voices in these two books. This style of writing worked so well, but what I'm most impressed with was how unique Mercy's voice is. Everything fit together, like you were getting to know the way someone thought. And I loved it.

I'm a description lover, so I do wish there had been some more descriptions of certain places, but that being said there were so many good sensory details in everything that each scene I could place so well in my brain. I could feel everything that was happening to these characters and I loved it. 

This isn't a book with a Huge Overwhelming Villain of Death. This book starts out with the big Question of "Will Mercy make it in this school?" And then once the earthquake happens, it's more of a string of events. That style still worked really well for me though. That's because, that first chunk of the book where there wasn't and earthquake, and you were reading to find out if Mercy could survive a school, that was necessary. Because then in the latter half, you're already attached.

A+ plotting. Can I write like Stacey Lee please and thank? Can I MEET Stacey Lee please and thank?

-Messages and Other-

Alright. So. Stacey wrote this amazing authors note that I want to discuss further here, especially for those who tend not to read authors notes. This is something I think is important. 

In this note, Stacey points out some of the unrealistic things in her book, some of the things I was noticing. Things like the fact that a Chinese girl could probably not actually get into an american school, or that Chinese girl most likely would not have a boyfriend in a hot air balloon and so forth. But then she says this:

"However, history is a general overview, and overlooks the story, the possibility of the individual. If we are confined by the strict margins of what is "known" to be true, we would never explore the possibility of what could be true. We would deny our ability to create our own stories, to make our own magic."

This is a solid point in regards to historical fiction. I've had this discussion with my mom countless times. When it comes to historical non-fiction, or pieces like Downton Abbey which are made to accurately show lifestyles in a certain era, I think historical accuracy and realism are vital. But, I also do like that books like Outrun The Moon can exist, books where stories you wouldn't hear about in history books can happen. 

I think there should be some stretching of what is truly known in historical fiction. As long as those things are written with accuracy, then why not have a boy come save you in a hot air balloon. Stacey takes some unlikely events, but she makes the realistic enough that you're siting there thinking.. "Why Not?" 

And that, I think is the most important thing for writers and readers. Why not write the story you want to write?

Overall, this was a delightful book, and an author I will return to. And, at the end of it, I was left a bit starry-eyed, not quaking in my boots in the style of some books, but somehow...enchanted.