This book is literally depressing and Emily X.R. Pan did not disappoint. Her sophomore novel was just as beautiful and devastating as The Astonishing Colors of After and I’m 99% sure I just died a little on the inside. Thank you 姐姐 (jiejie/older sister) for pre-ordering this book so that this bored potato could get her grubby little hands on it and be emo with you. And now I will shut up and actually start this review so I can word vomit some of my pain onto this post.

An Arrow to the Moon is a Romeo and Juliet retelling with the Chinese Mythology of Chang’e woven into it. The story introduces the two rivaling families of the Yee’s and the Changs who live completely different lives and yet their two eldest suddenly find themselves entangled in one anothers fates.

I think that while this book did have some flaws with the romance aspect, the overall theme of family was definitely the highlight of the book. The portrayal of disappointment projected onto Hunter and the pressure of perfection thrown at Luna were way too relatable and I feel attacked. Those are like the inescapable sides of a bridge with having Asian parents; either they’re disappointed in you and think you can’t do anything right or they’re shoving all this pressure and expectations for you to be perfect. There is basically no inbetween and that was absolutely portrayed perfectly.

The mythology portion on the other hand, geez where do I even start with this. To put it simply, it’s beautiful, depressing, and extremely confusing. I've heard the story of Chang'e so many times growing up that I didn't really know what to expect when I read this (except pain) and well, I definitely got what I expected. I did get so lost in the end when the mythology portion popped up so suddenly that I had to reread the couple parts and even then, the words did not compute in my dumb brain. The way mythology was woven (once you actually get it) is literally the most depressing thing in the world at that moment. I’d say that despite the mythology not making the most sense, it doesn’t stray far from the original story and introduces a whole new world of magic that most people didn’t pay much attention to.

And that’s the end of my depressing review! I am so sorry because I haven’t written a blog post in like basically 5 months mostly due to me forgetting this blog existed (sorry 姐姐) and school throwing state testing and finals our way on the last couple months of school. I promise to try to write more and update on my latest books and kdramas because oh boy, there’s a lot more and this review is extremely overdue. In all seriousness though, this book was definitely worth picking up and I would absolutely recommend it. Just a warning though? Might want to bring tissues, at least mentally.

FINAL RATING: