Sunlight Playing over a ­Mountain

Gr 9 Up–Chinese Filipino American teen Jasmine Cheng has grown up with her single mom. Her beautiful and intellectual, but erratic, mother has spun many ancient Asian fantasy and magical tales. Jasmine’s father is the god Pangu, creator of the heavens and earth. Jasmine and her mother are the Phoenix and Dragon. In addition to the mythological stories, her mother teaches classical literature, such as the Chinese I Ching and Japanese haiku. Jasmine’s mother habitually brings boyfriends home, but Jasmine always scares them away by the power of Pangu; that doesn’t stop her mother. Following the unexpected arrival of her mother’s old flame Cal, a social worker tailing Jasmine at home and school, and several other events, mother and daughter take a cross-country journey to the West Coast. There, surrounded by her mother’s old friends, Jasmine discovers her mother’s past. This book presents an extraordinary coming-of-age tale, occasionally mixing I Ching and haiku literacy elements to the stories. The unknown of Jasmine’s real father and the secret of her mother’s past life will keep readers turning the pages for answers.