SUNLIGHT PLAYING OVER A MOUNTAIN

A teen girl’s illusory world unravels as she discovers the truth of her origins.

Since childhood, Chinese Filipino American Jasmine Cheng has believed her mother’s stories: that her father is a god named Pangu, the creator of the world, and she and her mother are the heavenly Dragon and Phoenix, respectively. On Earth, Jasmine is responsible for maintaining order at home, taming her mercurial mother’s mood swings and warding off the social worker from Child Protective Services, who could send her to a foster home. When Cal, her mother’s ex-boyfriend, unexpectedly returns, rekindling their romance with the promise of stability, Jasmine refuses to get her hopes up. Her fears are realized when Cal fails to show up when he’s needed most, setting off a chain of events that results in her mother’s hospitalization and provokes Jasmine to seek her real father. Bi’s young adult debut presents original depictions of mental illness that are suffused with Chinese myth and Filipino folklore. Both Jasmine and her mother walk a fine line between fantasy and reality. Jasmine perceives those who threaten her and her mother’s world—like the social worker and her mother’s various boyfriends—as terrifying monsters. Readers may feel troubled, however, that her mother’s coping mechanisms, which have a tremendous negative impact on Jasmine’s safety, seem to be justified by the story’s end.

An intriguing framework for a coming-of-age story ultimately leads to a questionable resolution.