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noyastan's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse
rocketships's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
it was beautiful and it made me cry. however, i feel like there was a bit of hand waving towards the end of the story.
that being said, if you ever want a lesbian cinderella story, this is the book for you. just don’t read the back blurb of the book, it’s very misleading.
that being said, if you ever want a lesbian cinderella story, this is the book for you. just don’t read the back blurb of the book, it’s very misleading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
morgiei's review
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death of parent, and Grief
Minor: Animal death and Religious bigotry
strange_little_ranger's review
adventurous
emotional
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death of parent, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, and Violence
ceallaighsbooks's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“Here the Wood was a secret place, and she knew she was trespassing. But she went on, because she could not go back.”
TITLE—Ash
AUTHOR—Malinda Lo
PUBLISHED—2009
GENRE—YA fantasy; fairytale retelling
SETTING—a fantasy kingdom
MAIN THEMES/SUBJECTS—the Fae (Sidhe/faerie folk), ff romance, classic queer lit
WRITING STYLE—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
CHARACTERS—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️—I wish the villains could have had a bit more depth, cliche villains are my number one bugaboo about YA fantasy...
PLOT—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
BONUS ELEMENT/S—the Fae!
PHILOSOPHY—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“When Ash came out, in 2009, there were no books like it in YA. There were very few books about lesbian teenagers being published (less than 1 percent), barely any with fantastical elements, and none set in high fantasy worlds with a lesbian protagonist.” — from Holly Black’s Introduction to the tenth anniversary edition
Cinderella has always been my least favorite fairy tale. I didn’t read the original one, which is much more pleasantly dark than the horrifying disney version, or see the interpretation of the tale in Into the Woods, which I loved, or realize Ever After was a Cinderella retelling (even though they make it kind of obvious in the film it just never really clicked in my brain 😂), until I was much older, so for the longest time it was just very triggering for me: this idea of a girl who was horribly abused by people who were supposed to be her family and were supposed to love her and her only out was magic and a rich prince who just happened to fall in love with her for literally no reason at all, it just terrified me and made me a little angry too. 😅😅
So this is why when Lo’s books came out in 2009, in spite of the fact it was one of the first FF fairy tale YA fantasy retellings ever, I gave it a pass, and then kept giving it a pass for twelve years... 😅 BUT I’ve read it now and yes. LOVED it. Loved loved loved the Fae fairy godfather and all the folklore and greenwitch elements! The second half of the book felt a little slow as it was mostly the MC’s rumination about her situation and internal character development and for YA fantasy I prefer for there to be a bit more action because the writing style doesn’t carry the story enough for me, but I am glad that I finally read a pioneering classic of queer lit!
“It may not be your dream, Stepsister, but do not scoff at those who do dream of it.”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
TW // death of parent/s, grief, abuse
Further Reading—
- Cinderella is Dead, by Kalynn Bayron
- Dark and Deepest Red, by Anna-Marie McLemore
- The Sisters Grimm, by Menna van Praag
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, and Grief
mothman19's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Grief
Moderate: Physical abuse
Minor: Animal death, Bullying, and Confinement
booksthatburn's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This a quiet and powerful Cinderella retelling with a focus on the MC's interior world rather than the exact details of the vaguely antiquated setting. It's a fairy tale steeped in fairy tales, discussing strange bargains of dubious origin as the MC first is connected to her departed mother then seeks escape from her abusive stepmother via fairy tales. It portrays the MC's two romantic options of a sort in a way that makes them obviously two different paths, two different ways the rest of her life could go, not just two people she cares for. Even the possible pairing which looks straight at a glance feels queer in the way that two bi people dating is unquestionably queer even if it looks straight to an outsider. The sapphic pairing made me want to scream for them to kiss already, I'm not kidding about this being a slow burn all around.
On its merits as a retelling, I enjoyed how a lot of what is usually the main story is kind of happening in the background (e.g. the prince's search). It stands on its own and doesn't require any familiarity with the original or some of the more famous adaptations. If you are familiar with the basic tale there are references to anchor it without feeling like its wholly retreading ground.
Overall it's a lovely mix of vibes, yearning, queerness, and fairy tales with undertones of grief, loss, mourning, and moving on.
On its merits as a retelling, I enjoyed how a lot of what is usually the main story is kind of happening in the background (e.g. the prince's search). It stands on its own and doesn't require any familiarity with the original or some of the more famous adaptations. If you are familiar with the basic tale there are references to anchor it without feeling like its wholly retreading ground.
Overall it's a lovely mix of vibes, yearning, queerness, and fairy tales with undertones of grief, loss, mourning, and moving on.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Blood, Violence, Animal death, and Death
Minor: Sexism
CW for sexism (minor), confinement, child abuse, domestic abuse, blood, violence, animal death, parental death, death.valereads's review
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I really like this book in theory. The concept is so cool; a lesbian retelling of Cinderella featuring traditional fae, what’s not to love? Unfortunately the execution wasn’t everything I wanted it to be.
For one the pacing is this novel is really poor. The book is divided into two parts. The first section of the book follows Ash through her childhood before she has any relationship with her love interest, Kaisa. This section gives us lots of worldbuilding and really develops the characters and I enjoyed it a lot. However the second section is where the book fails in my opinion. We spend so much time with Ash, Sidhean, and Ash’s step-family in the first part but the second part feels rushed and as a result the characters and their relationships aren’t built up as much as they could be so the ending of the book doesn’t feel earned.
I did enjoy how Lo spent time developing and giving depth to some of the side characters, particularly the step-sisters, Ana and Clara. However the main characters and their relationships aren’t nearly developed as I’d like. In contrast to her step-sisters, Ash felt shallow and lacked personality. I found myself comparing her to other “blank slate” type characters showing up in YA around the time this was released such as Bella Swan from the Twilight Saga. I also felt Kaisa was particularly underdeveloped. She’s meant to be Ash’s endgame love interest but she had barely any personality and I can remember perhaps one fact about her. In the case of Kaisa this is linked to the pacing issues as I think she is introduced to late in the story to really build her as a character.
Overall this book ended up being a bit of a disappointment. I didn’t dislike it but it had some significant issues which meant it didn’t live up to the fascinating concept.
Content Warnings: abuse, parental death, violence towards animals
For one the pacing is this novel is really poor. The book is divided into two parts. The first section of the book follows Ash through her childhood before she has any relationship with her love interest, Kaisa. This section gives us lots of worldbuilding and really develops the characters and I enjoyed it a lot. However the second section is where the book fails in my opinion. We spend so much time with Ash, Sidhean, and Ash’s step-family in the first part but the second part feels rushed and as a result the characters and their relationships aren’t built up as much as they could be so the ending of the book doesn’t feel earned.
I did enjoy how Lo spent time developing and giving depth to some of the side characters, particularly the step-sisters, Ana and Clara. However the main characters and their relationships aren’t nearly developed as I’d like. In contrast to her step-sisters, Ash felt shallow and lacked personality. I found myself comparing her to other “blank slate” type characters showing up in YA around the time this was released such as Bella Swan from the Twilight Saga. I also felt Kaisa was particularly underdeveloped. She’s meant to be Ash’s endgame love interest but she had barely any personality and I can remember perhaps one fact about her. In the case of Kaisa this is linked to the pacing issues as I think she is introduced to late in the story to really build her as a character.
Overall this book ended up being a bit of a disappointment. I didn’t dislike it but it had some significant issues which meant it didn’t live up to the fascinating concept.
Content Warnings: abuse, parental death, violence towards animals
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Terminal illness
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