The Boy from Cloud Mountain

This captivating debut fantasy-adventure, drawn from Asian folklore and oral tradition, follows the perilous adventures of a boy in search of the truth about his origins. Perfect for fans of Tae Keller, Grace Lin, and Christina Soontornvat. “If you let me stay, I will tell you the greatest, most fantastic, most remarkable story you’ve ever heard… And better yet, it’s a true story; one that’s still unfolding as we speak.” So begins the traveler’s tale, one stormy night in a remote roadside teahouse… It’s the tale of Ren, who was abandoned as a baby outside a monastery atop mythical Cloud Mountain. There he has lived a simple, contented life, cut off from the World Below. But one day he learns of the letter left with him as an infant, bearing only three words: Protect this child. His curiosity about his true identity becomes increasingly impossible to ignore. Despite Monk Yuze’s warning that if he leaves, he must never return, Ren bids a painful farewell to his mentor Taro and descends the mountain in search of answers. But the World Below is nothing like he imagined. Guided by the half-remembered words of an ancient fortune teller and joined by a mysterious girl, Hana, and her wild goat, Ren crosses a land ravaged by the vicious Black Bandits, and is quickly swept into a series of perilous adventures and escalating revelations about his mysterious origins. Inspired by Asian folklore, oral storytelling, and the life of the Buddha, this dazzling, inventive debut heralds the arrival of a brilliant new talent in middle-grade fiction.