Ash

Ash

by Malinda Lo

2009

272 pages

Summary: In this Cinderella-like story, Ash loses both her mother and father and is forced to move away from her native land to the city with her horrid step mother. Ash misses her parents and she misses the place she came from. Rich with fairy tales and tradition, Ash longs for her home. Through trips into the forest in order to find her home, Ash meets a beautiful fairy named Sidhean. He is enchanting and because he is in love with her he offers a tempting escape to the fairy world. However, Ash also meets the King’s Huntress Kaisa who reminds Ash what it feels like to be alive and to love. She must choose between these two people she cares about and the two lives they offer.

Review: While I hardly ever enjoy fairytales and fantasy stories, I thought that Ash was a captivating story. For someone who doesn’t usually read this type of fiction, I found the writing very accessible; a perfect mixture of lyrical writing and every day language. There is a lot to this book, fairytales, magic, lush descriptions, danger, family and love. I think readers will enjoy the mixture of the original Cinderella with Malinda Lo’s much more diverse and complex story; especially the love story between Ash and Kaisa. I think Lo did an amazing job of creating a main character that was identifiable and sympathetic and a world that was beautiful and broken at the same time. I think this book has a wide appeal and I highly recommend it to be included in any library collection.

You might enjoy Ash if you like books with: fantasy, recognizable fairytales, characters that are rich and vibrant, a little bit of romance, beautiful descriptions and language.

This is Malinda Lo’s debut novel

If you liked Ash, you might also enjoy: Ice by Sarah Durst, If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where’s my Prince? By Melissa Kantor, Magic under the Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore

Additional Info: Malinda is currently working on another novel set in the same world as Ash. This one focuses on the first huntress of the kingdom (not one from the fairy tales) and is set to be published spring 2011

Author Website: http://www.malindalo.com/

Rating: W4/4 C4/4 P4/4 O4/4 PP2.5/4 CR3/4
Grade Level: a high J or S