When romantic Tam plays his flute beneath her window, Lan feels "like a princess in the ancient ballads her father love[s]." If only Tam would get over the shyness that brings him to court her solely "in moonlit visits," Lan thinks her life would be perfect. Bao, "an orphan of no family," strives through hard work and relentless study to earn his place as apprentice to Tam's father, Master Huynh. Bao dreams of the person he cares for most, though she doesn't yet "know of his love." Although he has "no hope of winning her," he vows that the time has finally come for him to tell Lan the truth.
Bao confesses his deep feelings to Lan, explaining that he is actually the flute player, not the uninterested Tam; humiliated, Lan cruelly rejects the young "peasant" as unworthy. The deeply hurt Bao flees, hoping to find a legendary river witch who could "clear his mind" of Lan. When he finds the witch, she instead binds him to his flute with a curse that can be broken only if the person he loves declares she loves him in return before the next full moon. A now "desperately sorry" Lan insists on helping him break the curse before the spell becomes permanent and Bao loses his body forever.
Julie C. Dao weaves her Vietnamese-inspired folklore and imagery into a fresh, captivating fantasy that completes the duology begun with Forest of a Thousand Lanterns. Her heroes wrestle with family, class and uncontrolled power while finding ways to muster the strength it takes to do the right thing. At its heart, though, Song of the Crimson Flower is a magical love story. --Lynn Becker, blogger and host of Book Talk, a monthly online discussion of children's books for SCBWI