What should a poor boy do when his heart is rejected by the girl he loves? Why forget of course! But how? From there, Bao seeks the aid of a witch to start his life anew. However, everything goes awry when the angry witch turns him into a flute - the instrument in which he expresses his soul. Much to his alarm, he ends up back where he started - at the mercy of Lan....the maiden who rejected him. They propel themselves on a journey that takes from a peaceful to a place wrought with danger and intrigue. The book was an absolute delight from start to finish. There was no annoying tropes or red herrings. It was a simple tale and yet it was delicious complex. The reader learns that each main character is not what he or she seems. The journey forces Bao and Lan to confront one another. She, as a daughter from a noble house, learns that perhaps the treasure she seeks is not in the house of a rich suitor or a faraway land. Bao, an orphan, will have to answer a question of what makes a family? It was clean and a great coming of age story.