That Night's Train by Ahmad Akbarpour

This curious little book tells the story of a young girl and the teacher she meets one fateful night on a train. The little girl is in search of a mother and the teacher, who is also a children's book author, is in search of a story. After their chance meeting, the teacher vows to contact the girl. When she fails to do so, the girl becomes sad and angry. Many stories are told, and many endings are imagined before fate, chance, and circumstance prevail. Fact, fiction, storytelling, and reality all blend together to create this one-of-a-kind tale.

I enjoyed the twisting, turning though elegantly simple story of this book. The writing is almost dream-like, and time moves fluidly as the parallel stories progress. The simplicity of the writing is such that this book could be for ages 9 and up, but I tend to agree with the Kirkus review that younger readers might be put off by the unconventional narrative. Either way, audiences who engage with this book will learn a great deal about writing, writers, and the nature of stories.

A more extensive review from the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center.