Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
#414.30 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 3 books Status Complete 2009–2016 Reading commitment Medium Grace Lin Last reviewed 2026-10-21
Overview
Grace Lin's three companion novels are fantasies inspired by Chinese folklore, written and illustrated in full colour by the author, in which stories told within the story hold the key to the characters' quests. Minli, from a poor village beside Fruitless Mountain, sets out to find the Old Man of the Moon to change her family's fortune; Rendi, a runaway chore boy at an inn in the Village of Clear Sky, notices that the moon is missing; and Pinmei, a storyteller's granddaughter, must find the Luminous Stone that Lights the Night to rescue her grandmother from the Tiger Emperor. The first book was a Newbery Honor book and the third a National Book Award finalist.
Mythic fantasy, Fairy-tale retelling · For Middle grade
Core Canon: Reading Order (3 works) counts toward ranking
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon Grace Lin
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Where the Mountain Meets the Moon | 2009 | 1 | core | 4.32 (54,515 ratings) |
 | Starry River of the Sky | 2012 | 2 | core | 4.18 (10,144 ratings) |
 | When the Sea Turned to Silver | 2016 | 3 | core | 4.36 (6,712 ratings) |
Grace Lin's three companion fantasies inspired by Chinese folklore.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Where the Mountain Meets the Moon? Where the Mountain Meets the Moon's Core Canon is 3 books.
- What is the reading order for Where the Mountain Meets the Moon? Publication order, starting with Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Where the Mountain Meets the Moon finished? Complete (2009–2016).
- How much reading does Where the Mountain Meets the Moon take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 3 Core Canon books).
- How is Where the Mountain Meets the Moon ranked? #41 in this site's official ranking, based on 71,371 reader ratings across 3 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #41?
Ranked #41 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.30 across 3 core books.
- A smaller readership (71,371 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #40, The Codex Alera (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Top-tier rated · 3 books · Complete · 71k ratings · Ranks #41 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length mythic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (3 Core Canon books)
- Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (2009)
- Starry River of the Sky (2012)
- When the Sea Turned to Silver (2016)
Documented internal/story chronology is recorded for every Core Canon book here, and matches publication order exactly, with no divergence to show separately.
Awards (verified)
- Newbery Medal (Newbery Honor), 2010: nominated: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon; Newbery Honor book, per the publisher.
- National Book Award (Young People's Literature), 2016: finalist: When the Sea Turned to Silver
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Suggestions computed from what Where the Mountain Meets the Moon and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- The Pandava Quintet Mythic fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.24
- Hamster Princess Fairy-tale retelling / Comic fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.23
- Tristan Strong Mythic fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.21
- Chronicles of Ancient Darkness Mythic fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 4.30
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.30 across 71,371 ratings on 3 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Canon extension: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (Grace Lin) accepted 2026-10-21
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Reader list on the rating platform (ratings with titles) Tier 2
- Bookroo (series page) Tier 2
- Loveland Public Library catalogue (series descriptions) Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-10-21
Rule: Core Canon = Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (2009), Starry River of the Sky (2012) and When the Sea Turned to Silver (2016), companion novels in one world.