Review of Bright Moon Ridge

[Huini Hellen]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Bright Moon Ridge" by Linus Treefoot.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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"How would you know where you are heading to if you don't know where you come from?" Bright Moon Ridge by Linus Treefoot succinctly describes Johnny Bartooth's journey to China, in pursuit of his parents. Johnny (John) was raised by Belle, his aunt, while his father traveled back to China to help his lover, Huang Qing Mei (John's mother), travel with him to the United States. Securing a passport for her was quite a hurdle because the political climate at the time labeled any Chinese intending to emigrate as an enemy of the People's Republic of China. The revolutionaries humiliated anyone that was suspected to hold capitalist views, based on the literature they read and the language they spoke. However, Simon Bishop (later Bartooth), John's father, was determined to help Mei emigrate to the United States, even if it would involve using illegal means.

I am positive that this book merits the maximum rating of four out of four stars for its excellent production and professional editing. The book must have been thoroughly edited because it does not contain grammatical or typographical errors. Moreover, its organized presentation makes the book easy to read and quick to understand. Although it is classified in the genre of Historical Fiction, I recommend it to readers that enjoy romance novels. The author's underlying message revolves around love and subsequent actions that people would engage in, all for love. Readers that enjoy exploring different places through reading will also benefit from the cultural heritage of China's indigenous and minority tribes.

The author creatively manipulates both the first-person and second-person point of view in his narration. The former is told from John's perspective, which invited me to join John in his quest to trace his parents. I was able to empathize with him when he encountered uncooperative characters that impeded his efforts to obtain information on his father's return journey to China. Moreover, I sympathized with the language barrier that he had to contend with, even after making efforts to learn Mandarin. China's diversity meant that his basic knowledge of Mandarin was not enough as he met other Chinese Nationals, who spoke different languages that he was not well-versed with. Fluent speakers of Mandarin would sometimes have to repeat phrases so that Johnny could understand them.

I commend the author for including copies of Bartooth's journal in the text. This inter-textuality gave the book a sense of authenticity and enabled the author to chronologically narrate events in the order that they occurred. The overall use of flashbacks was truly instrumental in the plot development. Treefoot kept his storyline captivating from the exposition to the conclusion stage by allowing the characters to individually advance each scene. The realistic dialogues that various characters engage provided me with relief from the monotony of narration, especially because this book is founded on historical background.

I, however, did not like the lack of a numbering system on the pages of this book. I spent a lot of time trying to get back to previous pages each time I needed to verify the initial data provided by the author. I also had to use several online bookmarking systems to keep track of my reading experience. This is a minor omission and will not lead me to deduct a star from the overall rating of the book. A list of the chronological order of events has also been provided at the end of the book, which will help readers to actively follow the events as they unfold.

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Bright Moon Ridge
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[Steinkar]

I like books that use different points of view. I'm going to look this one up. Nice review!

[Ghuddie]

Bishop Simon seemed determined to help Mei get into the US. I'd really love to see how that turns out. Interesting storyline. Great review.

[Huini Hellen]

I like books that use different points of view. I'm going to look this one up. Nice review!

Thank you for passing by.

[Huini Hellen]

Bishop Simon seemed determined to help Mei get into the US. I'd really love to see how that turns out. Interesting storyline. Great review.

I'm truly grateful for your contribution.