Saturday, November 12, 2011

Ash by Malinda Lo-Review



I just finished this book for my Young Adult Book Club I thought it was a good book but not great.  I also picked the UK book cover above because I LOVE it, and the US one is just OK... here it is in case you are curious. Also the goodreads description follows the cover:


In the wake of her father's death, Ash is left at the mercy of her cruel stepmother. Consumed with grief, her only joy comes by the light of the dying hearth fire, rereading the fairy tales her mother once told her. In her dreams, someday the fairies will steal her away, as they are said to do. When she meets the dark and dangerous fairy Sidhean, she believes that her wish may be granted. The day that Ash meets Kaisa, the King's Huntress, her heart begins to change. Instead of chasing fairies, Ash learns to hunt with Kaisa. Though their friendship is as delicate as a new bloom, it reawakens Ash's capacity for love-and her desire to live. But Sidhean has already claimed Ash for his own, and she must make a choice between fairy tale dreams and true love. Entrancing, empowering, and romantic, Ash is about the connection between life and love, and solitude and death, where transformation can come from even the deepest grief.

I am very excited to have read this because Malinda Lo is going to be stopping by the YA Book Club for a Q&A! So be sure to stop by if you want to throw in a question or just read what she has to say: Group Q&A. I just finished and I have to say I really liked the re-telling of Cinderella. This was my first LGBTQ book and loved it. I thought it was great. At first I wasn't sure what to expect I must admit. But I thought it was beautiful how Lo wrote about the love between two women. I really loved the fairy tales spun into the story! There was fairy tales within fairy tales! I like the addition in the story of the faeries in the forest. BUT I didn't like the ending, it ends to abruptly.  It's like the author was only allowed so many pages and just cut the ending out.

Have you ever read the original Cinderella story?  You will be QUITE surprised how it really is told!  Here it is, it is quite short so if you are curious check it out:  Aschenputtel (Cinderella) by the Brothers Grimm !

Again.. please feel free to stop by the group to ask Ms. Lo any questions. You have till November 28th, 2011 to do it!!

UPDATE!!  I won a copy of her book from Malinda Lo's Blog.. signed!! Go here to see it:

In My Mailbox-signed copy!

5 comments:

  1. firstly- that book sounds pretty neat! Thanks for sharing your review! And secondly, thank you so much for that link! I'd never read the real story myself before!

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  2. This was your first GLBTQ novel? I don't know how you've bypassed such a vast and interesting sort-of-genre until now. There are so many great YA books in that category.

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  3. I just read this book. I enjoyed it, but I do agree that it was unique. I also agree that the ending felt rushed. I didn't know it was a LGBTQ book going in so I was quite surprised, but I enjoyed that unique twist to the tale.

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  4. OH wow! Not knowing about the LGBTQ part probably added a big surprise for you. I always like to be surprised in a book.

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