Book #15: Ash, by Malinda Lo
Apr. 19th, 2011 08:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
grav_ity(So yeah, after all that I went with Lo. I did this for two reasons: 1. I wanted to read a book tonight, not just start a book tonight, and 2. I'll read Huntress tomorrow, which means I can take both "Trouble" and "Shadow Man" home with me, which is a good plan because I've trained my family to follow the "What are you reading?" question with "Do you know the author?" and, so help me, I freaking LOVE saying "Yes"!)
fairy tale with a spin (or possibly an entire hurricane), vaguely in Europe, girls are awesome, not your average fairy, wow I did not see that one coming, I'm glad I live in a time when books like this get published.
"Ash" takes place in a world that is losing its magic. People are starting to disbelieve the Old Ways. Those who still follow them are not persecuted, directly, but they are considered to be "rustic". It's been a long time, after all, since anyone has seen a fairy. Or so you think.
Because Ash knows better. And she spends most of her life actively trying to get herself taken by fairies, because her own life kind of sucks, and she's not the type to settle. So she chooses this beautiful risk, in the hope that she'll become one of those "Tragic" Girls she reads about...because honestly it doesn't sound so bad.
Ash is Cinderella. Her mother is dead. Her father remarries. Her father dies. Her stepmother shows her true colours. Interestingly, Ash's father is not a Sainted Character in this. He's left them with a lot of debts, and so Isobel, the wife, is understandably angry. It's still not cool that she takes it out on a twelve-year-old, and it's REALLY not cool that she hits her a lot, but you can sort of sympathize with her a bit (um, at the beginning, anyway).
I also thought it was sort of neat that Ana (the elder stepsister) had her moments of not-awfulness, and that Clara (the younger stepsister) was cast in "prisoner of her own family, but not really apologetic about it" role. I kind of loved her.
I also desperately, desperately loved Gwen, the maid at the house the family stays at when they go to the City for holidays. Because no one is ever nice to Ash, and Gwen is just so awesome that you can't help but love her. She reminds Ash that love isn't completely beyond her grasp, and she does it so simply and genuinely that I think I might actually want her to live happily ever after more than I want Ash to.
I'm getting ahead of myself.
Really, this is a story about stories. Ash can never tell you what her favourite fairy-tale is, because it keeps changing. She grows through all the stories, identifying with them, taking them to heart, learning from them, and every time she meets a new person, the story changes.
I love her relationship with Kaisa, the way she has NO IDEA what is happening, even though she can feel it, and the was Kaisa is equally tentative, because Ash is different. They are adorable.
Oh, and the fairy! The fairy is so amazing that I don't want to ruin a SINGLE THING for you. But I will say this: Ash does not so much have a fairy god mother as she has a fairy stalker, and the way she manipulates him made me so happy I very nearly cried at the end of the book.
I am leaving out about a billion things that I loved about this book. Mostly because every minute that I sit here typing is a minute that I am not curled up with Huntress. It was lyrical, beautiful, storyful and brilliantly written. And if I hadn't just read "Sisters Red", it would definitely be the best fairy-tale retelling of all time. ;)
Oh, and did I mention "Ash" was shelved in the normal teen section? Where any 14-year-old might pick it up because it looks pretty? And find themselves reading a story about true love where the heroine throws over not only the prince, but also [SPOILER!], because she is in love with the Huntress? AND IT'S NOT A THING! It's just...the story. No mending. *hearts and flowers*
Okay, I seriously can't give this a 10, because if I give everything a 10, then the 10 becomes meaningless, and not only will I likely read Huntress in its entirety tonight, but I've also flipped open the cover to remove the dust jacket and THERE WAS A MAP, so: 9/10 for being wonderful.
fairy tale with a spin (or possibly an entire hurricane), vaguely in Europe, girls are awesome, not your average fairy, wow I did not see that one coming, I'm glad I live in a time when books like this get published.
"Ash" takes place in a world that is losing its magic. People are starting to disbelieve the Old Ways. Those who still follow them are not persecuted, directly, but they are considered to be "rustic". It's been a long time, after all, since anyone has seen a fairy. Or so you think.
Because Ash knows better. And she spends most of her life actively trying to get herself taken by fairies, because her own life kind of sucks, and she's not the type to settle. So she chooses this beautiful risk, in the hope that she'll become one of those "Tragic" Girls she reads about...because honestly it doesn't sound so bad.
Ash is Cinderella. Her mother is dead. Her father remarries. Her father dies. Her stepmother shows her true colours. Interestingly, Ash's father is not a Sainted Character in this. He's left them with a lot of debts, and so Isobel, the wife, is understandably angry. It's still not cool that she takes it out on a twelve-year-old, and it's REALLY not cool that she hits her a lot, but you can sort of sympathize with her a bit (um, at the beginning, anyway).
I also thought it was sort of neat that Ana (the elder stepsister) had her moments of not-awfulness, and that Clara (the younger stepsister) was cast in "prisoner of her own family, but not really apologetic about it" role. I kind of loved her.
I also desperately, desperately loved Gwen, the maid at the house the family stays at when they go to the City for holidays. Because no one is ever nice to Ash, and Gwen is just so awesome that you can't help but love her. She reminds Ash that love isn't completely beyond her grasp, and she does it so simply and genuinely that I think I might actually want her to live happily ever after more than I want Ash to.
I'm getting ahead of myself.
Really, this is a story about stories. Ash can never tell you what her favourite fairy-tale is, because it keeps changing. She grows through all the stories, identifying with them, taking them to heart, learning from them, and every time she meets a new person, the story changes.
I love her relationship with Kaisa, the way she has NO IDEA what is happening, even though she can feel it, and the was Kaisa is equally tentative, because Ash is different. They are adorable.
Oh, and the fairy! The fairy is so amazing that I don't want to ruin a SINGLE THING for you. But I will say this: Ash does not so much have a fairy god mother as she has a fairy stalker, and the way she manipulates him made me so happy I very nearly cried at the end of the book.
I am leaving out about a billion things that I loved about this book. Mostly because every minute that I sit here typing is a minute that I am not curled up with Huntress. It was lyrical, beautiful, storyful and brilliantly written. And if I hadn't just read "Sisters Red", it would definitely be the best fairy-tale retelling of all time. ;)
Oh, and did I mention "Ash" was shelved in the normal teen section? Where any 14-year-old might pick it up because it looks pretty? And find themselves reading a story about true love where the heroine throws over not only the prince, but also [SPOILER!], because she is in love with the Huntress? AND IT'S NOT A THING! It's just...the story. No mending. *hearts and flowers*
Okay, I seriously can't give this a 10, because if I give everything a 10, then the 10 becomes meaningless, and not only will I likely read Huntress in its entirety tonight, but I've also flipped open the cover to remove the dust jacket and THERE WAS A MAP, so: 9/10 for being wonderful.
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Date: 2011-04-20 02:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-20 02:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-20 02:18 am (UTC)YES. ALL OF THESE THINGS, YES.
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Date: 2011-04-20 02:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-20 02:22 am (UTC)And sometimes: JUST KISS AGAIN ALREADY.
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Date: 2011-04-20 02:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-20 02:46 am (UTC)Nicely reviewed. :D
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Date: 2011-04-20 02:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-20 09:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-20 12:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-20 02:08 pm (UTC)That's so fantastic. *g*
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Date: 2011-04-20 02:11 pm (UTC)(When Cassie Clare published City of Bones, I promised that if someone on my flist published a book, I would buy it. With yesterday's mail, I think I own at least one of everyone's...that I know of, anyway.)