Mulan: Before the Sword by Grace Lin

My name is Mulan, and my sister Xiu has been attacked by a nine-legged spider. The healer I found is actually the Jade Rabbit, and he says there's only one medicine that might save Xiu. However, the ingredients can only be found in the garden of the Queen Mother of the West, Queen of all Immortals, and we must have it before the night of the new moon. I know Black Wind can carry us there in time, but Rabbit thinks the Immortal White Fox named Daji will try to stop me. A prophecy has foretold that Xiu or I will one day save the Emperor. Rabbit and I were making good time on our quest, but Rabbit believes someone is now trying to slow us down. All of our supplies were stolen in the night, and we are so hungry. Maybe I should share the honey I received from the kind woman, but for some reason I can't tell the Rabbit. 

This book was a finalist for the 2020 Cybils Award in Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction. I must admit I have mixed thoughts on it. The main thing that bothered me as a reader were the Rabbit's numerous tales of folklore about other characters and events, and the chapters told from different points of view. The stories were related to the conflict, but for me, they interrupted the flow of the plot. With that being said, this was a great book! Mulan and the Rabbit were on an exciting quest to save Mulan's sister, while Daji did all she could to stop them. Daji was a wonderful antagonist, since she was tricky and took many different forms. Her presence challenged Mulan's faith and loyalty, which added to the story's conflict. Daji had an assistant (slave) who helped with the schemes, but her forced servitude created sympathy for readers. Her circumstances also mirrored those of Mulan, so her story offered potential foreshadowing for the main character. Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and I highly recommend you give it a shot. I've never seen the movie of Mulan, so I can't comment about how closely it might compare to the book.