Where The Mountain Meets The Moon

        The book “Where The Mountain Meets The Moon” by Grace Lin is about a young girl named Minli and her parents (Ma and Ba). Minli and her family live a very hard life. They live in poverty, and work all day. Minli doesn't want to see her family unhappy so she decides to go off on a journey to change their fortune. During her journey, Minli changed from feeling displeased about the poverty that she lives with to feeling grateful for what she has. 

At the beginning of the book Minli was very displeased that her family had very little money. Her parents are always working very hard. Minli could see that both of her parents were very sad about the way that they lived. She felt the same way, and it was not fun to live in poverty. “Ma is right, Minli thought. What a poor fortune we have. Every day Ma and Ba work and work and we still have nothing. I wish I could change our fortune.” This shows that Minli was very displeased and unhappy. She just wanted her family to be happy. Minli wants to live a happy and joyful life.

Minli started to realize that you don't need fortune in life. During her journey, Minli met two children A-Fu and Da-Fu, also known as Da-A-Fu. They were very generous and happy people. Being that Da-A-Fu were poor like like Minli, she was very confused why they would be so giddy.Minli always wondered why. “And Da-A-Fu, laughing with pure delight...” This is a example of the happiness  that Da-A-Fu have. Their whole family is always happy, and generous. They are not rich but they still enjoy life the way it is for them. When Minli saw this she started to wonder if you need great fortune in your life. They made Minli think about it a lot. 

      Near the end of her journey Minli went to the“The Old Man of the Moon” and could only ask one question and she didn't ask about her fortune. Instead she asked her friend  Dragon’s question. She realized in that moment that fortune is not an important thing in life. She had fortune all along at that was the two people at home waiting for her. 

At the end of the movie Minli understood the true meaning of fortune. When Minli arrived at her home she was embraced in her mother’s and father’s arms. “The joy! How it flowed and flooded over her! More golden than the king’s dragon bracelet...and more beautiful than a Goddess of Heaven! Minli smiled, treasuring her good fortune.” Minli figured out that love and family is the best fortune that you can have. She finally found the answer to her question. You could tell that the whole family learned the same lesson. This was a very touching and heartfelt moment to see how far Minli and her family has come.

In reality, many people live in poverty, and can barely afford to put food on the table. Sometimes people end up living on the streets. It is hard to live a life in poverty, and I can see why Minli wouldn't like it. Even though Minli lives a tough life she still stays strong. She 
realizes that she is rich, rich with love.