Under a Painted Sky

I read Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee for a young adult book club I recently joined. (My mom started it, and everyone meets on Zoom.) Here is the book description:"Missouri, 1849: Samantha dreams of moving back to New York to be aprofessional musician--not an easy thing if you're a girl, and harder still if you're Chinese. But a tragic accident dashes any hopes of fulfilling her dream, and instead, leaves her fearing for her life. With the help of a runaway slave named Annamae, Samantha flees town for the unknown frontier. But life on the Oregon Trail is unsafe for two girls, so they disguise themselves as Sammy and Andy, two boys headed for the California gold rush. Sammy and Andy forge a powerful bond as they each search for a link to their past, and struggle to avoid any unwanted attention. But when they cross paths with a band of cowboys, the light-hearted troupe turn out to be unexpected allies. With the law closing in on them and new setbacks coming each day, the girls quickly learn that there are not many places to hide on the open trail."

This was a great read. One of my favorite things about book clubs is when I read books I would have never found or picked up on my own, and this is a perfect example of that. I started the book with only a week till book club, and I was worried I would have trouble finishing it in time--but it was no problem AT ALL. I sped through the book because the story was so engaging. The characters were amazing, the story was exciting and adventurous and tender, and there was a good balance of hard and happy. I really enjoyed this one and plan to look at other books written by the author.

Rating: * * * (3/3 = Loved it)