The Library of Legends by Janie Chang

  I ordered this one as my book of the month selection for April.  It just looked so appealing!   It is written in the genre of magical realism which means that there are real elements mixed in with magical creatures and such.

The story is about a very old set of books, called The Library of Legends, which contains much of China's cultural myths and legends.  The library was kept at a University in Nanking, but during World War 2, it became necessary to evacuate the University and move the books.   While their wasn't a "library of legends" per se, the evacuations of Chinese literary treasure during the war was very real.  This was the aspect of the book that I enjoyed the most.

I had no idea that young adults in China had undertaken such a thing to preserve their cultural heritage.  A massive undertaking under any circumstances.

The book also poses some great philosophical questions like what is relevant to a culture and why?  Also what is the role of legends and myths and why are they important? 

But in addition to the historical backdrop and, of course, the  magical aspects of supernatural beings, there is at the base of this story a rich and complex story about what it means to really love someone.  And what it means to live a purpose filled life - a life worthy of Ascension.   I really enjoyed reading this book and it was great to travel to a distant place and time and just experience it for a while.  I gave it four stars.  Oh, and this one is a pre-release.  It goes on sale May 12th.  Just one more thing I love about book of the month  early access.