Sunlight Playing Over a Mountain by Selina Li Bi
Selina Li Bi has written an imaginative and poetic Young Adult debut novel, Sunlight Playing Over a Mountain, that will pull at readers’ heartstrings. There is injustice and unbalance in the world when a child is forced to grow up too fast, forced to assume the adult responsibilities of caring for their unstable parent.
Jasmine Cheng has just turned 15 and is the only child of Suchou, a single Filipina/Chinese mother who was a teenager when she gave birth. Her father’s identity remains a closely guarded secret.
The Phoenix and the Dragon
Jasmine has been fed a steady diet of Chinese Taoist-based mythology in lieu of answers to her recurring questions about her parentage. As a small child, she believed that “My mother and I came from the moon. My father, a mythical god named Pangu, created the world out of chaos.”
According to folklore, Pangu was the god or creation figure who separated earth and heaven, creating geographic features of rising mountains, deep valleys and flowing rivers. Her mom was Feng Huang, a brightly colored Phoenix blessing them with heaven-sent peace and prosperity. Jasmine was the Dragon, “strong and powerful”, representing prosperity, good luck and harmony.
Jasmine was often reminded she and her mother were like yin and yang, two sides of the same entity; darkness and light or “sunlight playing over a mountain and a valley” as they traveled together through space. They had yet to experience prosperity or much peace in their adversity-filled lives. For Jasmine, life has been filled with broken promises.
Failing to Fit the Midwestern Mold
Considering they are the only Asian unwed mother and daughter living in Briarplace, a small Midwestern town, it would have been a greater comfort to have a father to help provide comfortable housing, adequate food, and clothing that didn’t come from a thrift shop, instead of a mythical god hovering somewhere in space and time.
Suchou’s hair is a straight ribbon of jet black, thickly streaming down her slender back. Jasmine has wavy light brown hair and telltale freckles dancing across her nose, proclaiming her bi-racial heritage stemming from an unidentified Caucasian father.
She stood out from the mostly blond Midwestern faces; a constant target for school bullies who belittled her looks, attire, weird lunches brought from home, and also her mother’s unfortunate yet somewhat inaccurate reputation as a “party girl”.
Private School and a Troubling Home
Suchou was feminine, petite and strikingly beautiful, attracting constant attention from an endless parade of wannabe lovers or short-term boyfriends. She longed for a permanent relationship and protector, but no one displayed the interest or willingness to take on a petulant teenager intent on showing them the door.
They all departed eventually, some after only one date, always leaving Suchou temporarily bereft and nearly unhinged as she retreated into her bedroom, refusing food and neglecting Jasmine even more than usual until her optimism returned.
Minimum wage jobs, such as grocery store clerk or waitress in the town’s one Chinese restaurant, barely paid for basic essentials. Valuing a good education for her daughter, Suchou managed to scrape together the tuition, fees and uniforms for Sacred Sacraments, a private parochial school. The uniforms serve to disguise the vast divide between their impoverished existence and the majority upper upper-middle-class students with more stable home lives.
Jasmine is a gifted artist working in charcoal, pencil or color inks, who focuses on her creativity and retreats into a magical world for comfort. This helps her forget their living situation as well as shut out tormenters.
Life Takes an Unexpected Turn
Life improves when she makes a friend for the first time. Rani, a confident new girl and military dependent accustomed to moving frequently, comes to her defense on the school bus and later invites her to sit with her in the lunchroom.
Her teacher, Mrs. Carter, and school principal, Sister Ruth, were aware of Jasmine’s troubled home and grew more concerned when this bright teen began skipping school with an ever-increasing frequency.
They contacted the County’s Child Protective Services, who assigned a social worker to ensure Jasmine was living in a safe environment. Suchou was given 30 days to demonstrate she was a fit mother.
As if life couldn’t get worse, they literally bump into Cal at the grocery store. He is in his mid-40s with graying hair but fit and still handsome-looking, much like a Marlboro man with his suede jacket, jeans and cowboy boots. Sparks fly as Suchou recognizes him as a long-ago significant old flame, which they both wish to rekindle.
Hitting the Road and Finding Family
Without revealing the details of a series of disconcerting events that propelled the storyline forward, mother and daughter flee across the country in Suchou’s rattletrap car to a remote area on the Oregon coast. They incidentally rescue a small dog they name Basho along the way.
Mom’s fragile fantasy world is cracking as Jasmine insists she is old enough to know the truth about her father and her mother’s previous life. They have returned to a place, distantly familiar to her from early childhood, where Jasmine at last feels safe and loved.
Her surrogate family consists of a no-nonsense video game addict, an older woman called “Auntie Chong,” and Suchou’s friend and former employer, Chinese restaurant owner Mr. Jim, along with a newfound friend and his grandfather. Will this serene time be shattered for good by the reappearance of Cal the wanderer?
A Fresh and Wholly Original Coming-of-Age
Selina Li Bi has invited readers into her enchanted yet down-to-earth world in this fresh, original coming-of-age story.
Kudos to this vibrant new voice in the YA genre who is joining the ranks of established authors such as Angie Thomas, Betty Smith, Dorothy Allison, James Baldwin and Judy Blume who eloquently evoked the unique challenges of growing up. As there are so many fine authors in this field, you are invited to make your own comparisons.
About Selina Li Bi:
For many years, she practiced as an optometrist before writing books for children and young adults. She holds an MFA degree in Creative Writing from Minnesota State University Moorhead, and is also a certified Creativity Coach. Her work has appeared in Non-white and Woman: 131 Micro Essays on Being in the World, Riksha: Asian American Creative Arts in Action, Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, Cricket and Red Weather Literary Magazine. She is the author of the poetry chapbook Displaced and has written several books for the children’s educational market.
She currently lives in North Dakota with her family and two furry companions, Shakespeare and Mandi. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her running, practicing yoga or traveling to the closest ocean.Follow her on Instagram at @selina.libi.
