The Beautiful Story of Under a Painted Sky

Under a Painted Sky was written in 2015 by Stacy Lee. It is a moving tale set in 1849 that tells the story of a Chinese American girl named Samantha. With her father, she runs a dry goods store in Missouri and dreams of someday moving to New York to become a professional violinist. However, her vision is crushed after a tragic accident leaves her without family and in great danger. Samantha manages to escape to the Oregon Trail with a runaway slave named Annamae. Disguised as two young men headed for the California gold rush, the two girls face the unknown, but manage to find unexpected allies along the way. Under a Painted Sky is a tale about loss, perseverance, and the power of friendship. I found it to be a beautiful, moving story that had an engaging plot, interesting characters, and an excellent moral.

Stacy Lee does a great job of getting readers to sympathize with her characters, which leads to greater investment in the story. She provides meaningful backstory for all the main characters, which allows readers to understand their thinking and actions. Lee gives a lot of information about Samantha, such as her passions and beliefs. Samantha is shown to love playing violin, and it is clear that music has been a huge part of her life. Her passion for music influences her choices later on in the book, when she decides she wants to open up a music conservatory. Samantha also believes in Chinese lunar signs, which appear very often in the story. She constantly links events that occur to these symbols, showing readers how she views the world.

Lee also provides Annamae’s backstory, which, like Samantha’s, clues readers in on the reasons behind her actions. The runaway slave was taken from her family, including her two brothers, whom she cared about very much. This later explains a few of her actions, including a critical decision that affects the outcome of the story. Her love for her brothers clearly shows when she talks about them, something she does quite often. Because of the information Lee provided about Annamae, readers are able to empathize with her and understand how she is feeling.

Another way Lee gets readers to empathize with her characters is by creating a scene in which the main character is harmed. In the first chapter, Samantha’s dry goods store burns down, which ends up killing her father. He was the only family she had left, as her mother died while giving birth to her. The landlord then offers her a place to stay, but later tries to force her into becoming one of his prostitutes and attempts to rape her. Because readers witness these tragic events which Samantha was a victim of, they are on her side from chapter one.

Stacey Lee does a spectacular job of prompting readers to care about, sympathize, and empathize with her main characters. Lee provides the backstories of her characters and creates touching scenes that gets readers on their side. While her story is very moving and caused a few shed tears, there are moments when I could not stop laughing. This element of humor provides a break from the somber tone of the book and makes it a lot more fun to read. Under a Painted Sky is a beautiful story of friendship, perseverance, and loss that readers will be unable to put down.

-Emily Chen