Tuesday 15 January 2019

Book Review: Miao shan, The Awakening by G.A.M. Morris

Book Review Image may contain: one or more people, people dancing and text

Basic Details:

Book Title: Miao Shan

Subtitle: The Awakening

Author: G.A.M. Morris

Genre: Fantasy/Mythology

Part of a series? Yes

Order in series: 1st

Best read after earlier books in series? N/A

Available: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18528892-the-awakening

Overall score:

I scored this book 5/5

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️

Short Summary of book:

This book tells the story of a ten-year-old girl who witnesses the murder of her parents from a washing basket she has been placed in by her mother for safe-keeping. She is found and raised by her grandmother and struggles with anger issues, wishing to bring those who killed her parents to justice. She is educated in Kung Fu at her insistence and later enrolled in a school to become a nun. Eventually she finds out what her destiny is but she encounters several trials before she does.

A great book to read.

What I liked about the book:

I particularly liked the love she shared with her grandma and with her friends. It was heart-warming to read. The pace of the book was good after the initial few chapters.

What I didn’t like about the book:

I liked the entire book. Although the pace in the first one or two chapters was a bit slow, it picked up after that and it was difficult to put the book down. I just wanted to know what was going to happen next.

My favourite bits in the book:

I loved where Miao Shan discovered who she was and where she found friendship and love.

My least favourite bits in the book:

There were some upsetting scenes in the book. But whenever Miao Shan was put in the face of adversity, she came out stronger.

Any further books in the series? Any more planned by this author?

I believe this author plans any further books to follow on where he left off. I could see the opening for a next in a series and I understand he plans several more.

What books could this be compared to and why?

This book reminded me of some other books about mythology, although this work of fiction did bring the mythology to live in a living person.

Recommendation:

In summary, I would recommend this book for the following readers:

Children	NO
Young Adult	Maybe
Adult	Yes

If you like fantasy with a bit of mythology, this book is the book for you.

I look forward to reading more books by this author.

Book Description by Author:

When ten year old Chow lei witnessed her parent’s brutal murder at the hands of Hong Kong Triad members she was emotionally scarred for life. Follow her journey to justice!

When ten year old Chow Lei witnessed her parent’s brutal murder at the hands of Hong Kong Triad members she was emotionally scarred for life. Her grandmother adopted her and attempted to help the child heal emotionally, but only when Chow Lei joined a Shaolin Kung Fu school did any emotional healing occur.

After a year of training her grandmother reticently agreed to sent her to the Shaolin Temple. Lei had continued to do prove at the Temple an aptitude for martial arts and a lack of compassion. At the Temple she was renamed Miao-Shan, from a legend about the Chinese Buddhist Goddess of compassion, Guan Yin.

Once she had reached enlightenment she returned home to her grandmother, only to discover that she too had been brutally murdered by the Triads.

In her search for Justice against the Triads she discovered that her soul was made of a shard of Guan Yin’s soul and a shard of Guan Yu’s, and that she was a new Bodhisattva (Living Godess), of Justice!