AN ARROW TO THE MOON
Romeo and Juliet meets Chinese mythology in this magical novel by the New York Times bestselling author of The Astonishing Color of After.
Hunter Yee has perfect aim with a bow and arrow, but all else in his life veers wrong. He’s sick of being haunted by his family’s past mistakes. The only things keeping him from running away are his little brother, a supernatural wind, and the bewitching girl at his new high school.
Luna Chang dreads the future. Graduation looms ahead, and her parents’ expectations are stifling. When she begins to break the rules,
Romeo and Juliet meets Chinese mythology in this magical novel by the New York Times bestselling author of The Astonishing Color of After.
Hunter Yee has perfect aim with a bow and arrow, but all else in his life veers wrong. He’s sick of being haunted by his family’s past mistakes. The only things keeping him from running away are his little brother, a supernatural wind, and the bewitching girl at his new high school.
Luna Chang dreads the future. Graduation looms ahead, and her parents’ expectations are stifling. When she begins to break the rules, she finds her life upended by the strange new boy in her class, the arrival of unearthly fireflies, and an ominous crack spreading across the town of Fairbridge.
As Hunter and Luna navigate their families’ enmity and secrets, everything around them begins to fall apart. All they can depend on is their love…but time is running out, and fate will have its way.
An Arrow to the Moon, Emily X.R. Pan’s brilliant and ethereal follow-up to The Astonishing Color of After, is a story about family, love, and the magic and mystery of the moon that connects us all.
- Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
- Hardcover
- April 2022
- 400 Pages
- 9780316464055
Buy the Book
$18.99
About Emily X.R. Pan
Emily X.R. Pan lives on Lenape land in Brooklyn, New York, but was originally born in the Midwestern United States to immigrant parents from Taiwan. Her debut novel, The Astonishing Color of After, was a New York Times bestseller, winner of the APALA Honor and Walter Honor awards, a finalist for the L.A. Times Book Prize, longlisted for the Carnegie Medal, and featured on over a dozen best-of-the-year lists. She received her MFA in fiction from the NYU Creative Writing Program, where she was a Goldwater Fellow and editor-in-chief of Washington Square. She was the founding editor-in-chief of Bodega Magazine, and went on to co-create the FORESHADOW platform and anthology. An Arrow to the Moon is her second novel. Find her on Twitter and Instagram: @exrpan.
Praise
“An effortless fusion of myth and realism, coming of age and fairy tale, this haunting love story rises on gossamer wings, but cuts bone deep.”―Melissa Albert, New York Times bestselling author of The Hazel Wood
“A beautifully crafted blend of mythology and modern love story, full of stunning prose, characters who feel achingly real, and magic lurking just behind the ordinary.”―Hannah Whitten, New York Times bestselling author of For The Wolf
“As anyone who read The Astonishing Color of After can tell you, Emily X.R. Pan’s writing is, well, astonishing, and this story, pitched as Romeo and Juliet meets Houyi and Chang’e, solidifies that fact.”—BuzzFeed
“A lyrical love story infused with Chinese mythology.”―TIME Magazine
“A brilliant story that will have you lingering on every moment. Hunter and Luna will capture your heart.”―B&N Reads
“A world full of mystery and magic.”―The Horn Book, starred review
“[An] intricately woven tapestry of first love, intergenerational struggles, and the joys and heartaches of growing up.”―BCCB, starred review
“This novel is a work of art.”―School Library Journal, starred review
Discussion Questions
1. An Arrow to the Moon is written from multiple perspectives. What did you learn from different characters’ chapters? Was there a character that you responded to most strongly?
2. College represents different things for Hunter and Luna. What factors play into their opposing views of higher education? Do you relate to either of their sentiments? Think about your own views on college and try to identify what aspects of your life have shaped it.
3. While discussing college, Hunter tells Luna that she is practically an “Asian sheep” and following the herd mentality (p. 170). What do you think he means by these words?
4. How do the relationships between parent and child vary between Luna’s family and Hunter’s family? What similarities and differences do you see?
5. Why do both families care so much about how the small Asian-identifying community of Fairbridge views them? How does their emphasis on “saving face” impact family dynamics and their own evaluation of themselves?
6. How does the Yee family’s fear of Rodney Wong manifest in their treatment of Hunter?
7. What is the significance of Hunter and Luna creating stories based on the lives of those around them? Why are they so opposed to fairy tales?
8. Why does Luna become so upset when Hunter claims that Taiwanese and Chinese are virtually the same identity? How do their parents’ thoughts and ideas inform their own beliefs? What does this argument make them realize, and how could they have discussed it differently?
9. What do different characters sacrifice? How do those sacrifices help others? How do they hurt?
10. The appearance of the crack in Fairbridge may have been literal, but can you ascribe any figurative meaning to its appearance in Luna and Hunter’s lives? How does it tie to the beginning of the story?