When the Sea Turned to Silver by Grace Lin

My name is Pinmei, and Amah, my grandmother, has been taken by the emperor. Everyone calls her the Storyteller, but I remember all of her stories too. The emperor is forcing all of the men in the kingdom to build a Vast Wall, but I don't know why he took Amah. Maybe he'll let her go, if we can find a Luminous Stone That Lights the Night. The emperor now seems to be invincible and impossibly strong, and I wonder if it has something to do with the missing Black Tortoise. Yishan has been helping me find my grandmother, but I think he's keeping secrets from me. There is magic in Amah's stories, but a story of my own creation may be the one to save the kingdom.

This book is a finalist for the 2016 Cybils Award in Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction. It is wonderfully written and tells a descriptive tale of adventure. Amah's stories tell of fantastic events that mirror reality. I wasn't sure how to handle them while I read the book, but they provided clues about what was actually happening in the kingdom. Pinmei's character was dependent on Amah, but she became much more confident along the way. She cared about others and even displayed compassion for the emperor, up to a point. I found the short stories disrupted the flow of the plot, but others may disagree. The philosophical tone of the plot may turn off less mature readers, but the book was very well written. Readers can expect an Asian setting with characters able to transform into amazing creatures and immortal beings. I recommend you give this book a shot!