Where The Mountain Meets The Moon

Analyze and explore the use of storytelling in Where the Mountain Meets the Moon: For what purposes are stories told, and to what effect? Are they helpful to the characters, or harmful, or both? And what is the function of stories-within-chapters as a narrative device?

There are several instances of magic in Minli’s journey to Never-Ending Mountain, including talking fish, seeds that rain down from the sky, and a peach tree that grows with the tap of a magic stick. Is Minli’s journey possible without a belief in magic? What would it look like without it?

Every hero’s journey has at least one big test where the hero must use her accumulated experience to win either an external or internal battle. What is Minli's test, and does she pass or fail?