It’s 1906. In San Francisco. In Chinatown.
It isn’t easy being a poor, fifteen-year-old Chinese girl. But Mercy Wong is determined. Very determined!
She knows that the way to overcome her family’s poverty is to get an education and start her own business — one that pays better than working in her father’s laundry.
Through her cunning, Mercy is admitted to St. Clare’s School for Girls — an exclusive school for rich white girls. She doesn’t care that the girls look down on her. She knows she’s smart. She has grit and perseverance and is sure she will succeed.
Then tragedy strikes. A devastating earthquake hits San Francisco. Fires erupt everywhere. Businesses and homes collapse. Mercy’s home is destroyed and her mother and brother are killed.
The school is also demolished. Mercy and her classmates are forced to live in tents in a park. Her classmates’ families will soon come for them. But where is Mercy’s father? Is he still alive? Will he know where to find her?
Outrun the Moon by Stacey Lee is a well-written, engaging book. The characters are well-developed and believable. You cheer for Mercy and her tenacity and want her to succeed. You dislike some of the haughty girls at the school (and the school’s headmistress). Your heart aches as Mercy frantically looks for her father and you desperately want her to get together with Tom, her secret sweetheart.
In this book, you learn a lot about Chinese culture, customs, and superstitions. You see the immigration restrictions that the American government put on the Chinese. You see other hardships the Chinese had to endure because of city regulations. (Read that to mean the Chinese endured lots of racism and class inequality!)
Yet this is a heart-warming story. You love Mercy’s pluck, her impulsiveness, her desire help others during the tragic aftermath of the earthquake.
Want a book with beautiful descriptions and phrases? Read Outrun the Moon.
Want a great historical young adult novel? Read Outrun the Moon.
Want an engaging book with a heroine you won’t soon forget? Read Outrun the Moon.
I give this book 2 thumbs up!
Outrun the Moon by Stacey Lee is for grades 7-12. You can get a hardcover copy on Amazon for $5.
