All Four Quarters of the Moon

June 13, 2022
An 11-year-old moving from Singapore to Australia finds normalcy in sisterhood within Marr’s (A Glasshouse of Stars) lyrical, Chinese-folktale-twined novel. Finding “the people and the atmosphere and the trees and the space” wildly different in her new home, and trying to fit in at school, Peijing Guo longs for the assurance of established friendships and celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival with homemade mooncakes, an enduring family custom. Her traditional family is having no easier time adjusting: Ma Ma seldom leaves the house, Ba Ba must take on solo parenting, Ah Ma’s failing memory causes concern, and five-year-old
Biju depends on her sister now more than ever. Amid these adjustments and others, Peijing and Biju’s Little World—a miniature crafted universe of paper animals, natural elements, and a red barn in an instant-noodle box—provides comfort and a physical opportunity for them to rebuild. Gentle, observational prose carries the novel’s intentionally paced events, folk tale references, organic character growth, and a heartening message of embracing change and impermanence. Ages 8–12. Agent: Gemma Cooper, Bent Agency.

June 15, 2022
Through tales both familiar and new, two sisters navigate growing up and an international relocation. It is Mid-Autumn Festival time in Singapore, and the Guo family's gathering feels poignant because grandmother Ah Ma, Ma Ma, Ba Ba, and sisters Peijing and Biju are moving to Australia the following day for Ba Ba's new job. As 11-year-old Peijing helps Ah Ma prepare moon cakes, the salted duck egg yolk center symbolizes the moon as the narrative theme interwoven throughout their family's journey during their first year in their new home, through reinterpreted lore and superstitions. When the contents of the sisters' secret Little World--paper-book crafted flora, fauna, landscapes, and a red barn, all housed in a cardboard box--vanish on the morning of their departure, only the paper jade rabbit (a legendary occupant of the moon) is salvaged and with it, the hope of rebuilding their private universe. Contrasting Peijing's anxiety as the eldest child bearing expectations of responsibility, 5-year-old Biju's exuberant, improvisational storytelling centers the sisters' interactions as their lives transform in a new and very different environment. While Peijing finds her voice and makes new friends and Biju shines in the school play, Ah Ma's declining health prompts them to capture memories in the moment. Biju's retold legends are a highlight, showcasing her irreverent humor and demonstrating a self-assured agency that reminds readers of the power of stories' evolution. Subtle contextual clues situate the story in the 1980s. Inventive, ironic retellings frame this folktale-centered family story. (Fiction. 8-12)

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Starred review from June 1, 2022
Grades 4-7 *Starred Review* Fans of sisterhood stories are in for a heartfelt treat with this gentle novel centered around family, resilience, and immigration. Two Chinese sisters, 11-year-old Peijing and 5-year-old Biju, find themselves trying to find a new normal after their family relocates from Singapore to Australia for Ba Ba's job. Peijing longs for the familiar, including moon cakes like the ones Ah-Ma would make during the Mid-Autumn Festival back home. But as time goes on, Ah-Ma's memory gets worse and worse, and the family faces a difficult decision. Furthermore, Ma Ma and Ba Ba grapple with adapting to their changing roles. Peijing and Biju also struggle to fit in at their new school and have difficulty with schoolwork due to language challenges. Biju increasingly leans on Peijing for support, who does her best to stay strong for her little sister. Together, they find comfort in Little World, a land made of hand-drawn animals, who are under constant threat of being wiped out by mass extinction. Between each chapter, Chinese mythology presented as a dialogue between the two sisters is beautifully and entertainingly interwoven. Taken from the author's own experiences, the touching characters and relationships in this story will linger with readers for a long time.

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