Ash--"Not what I was hoping for"

Title: Ash

Author: Malinda Lo (I am doing an in-depth author study on Malinda Lo as a final paper for a class, and this is the first of her five fiction novels I am planning to review)


What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): Set in a magical, Asian-inspired fantasy world, Ash is re-telling of Cinderella, in which the title character is torn between a bargain she makes with a cruel, beautiful fairy and the king's huntress, Kaisa, with whom Ash has fallen in love. 


What I think (in 250 words or fewer): I had high expectations for Ash, which was billed as "a lesbian re-telling of Cinderella," nominated for several awards, and has appeared on lists of best YA books.  Cinder and Ella Enchanted, two re-tellings of Cinderella, are among my favorite books. I figured Ash would be a win-win, but it was not what I was hoping for.


There are some things I did enjoy.  The writing is beautiful and poetic; I felt like I was reading an old book of fairy tales I found in an antique mall, maybe with an old burgundy cover with gold lettering and brittle, yellowing pages. I enjoy all of the fairy tales told within the book.  I really like how Lo's fantasy world does not have any homophobia--"In Ash, label-free sexual fluidity is the norm."

The story was a traditional Cinderella for a while, and I was having a hard time keeping interest. Then Ash meets Kaisa, and I thought it would pick up, but instead was squicked out by the description of killing a stag. Sidhean, the male fairy who is in love with Ash, makes a bargain with her, and I got excited because there was finally a major conflict!  Unfortunately, the conflict was solved super quickly (basically Ash finds a "loophole" in the curse). 

Ash needs more fairy lore, more romance, more character development--more something.  I like Lo's other books, but this one falls flat.


This book appears on the 2010 Rainbow List.


My final takeaway: This book didn't work for me, but that doesn't mean it's not a good book--it's award-winning, best-selling, and other people love it. I read Huntress, which is a prequel set in the same world as Ash, and enjoyed that one much more.


My favorite quotes: 

• "The King's chief philosopher himself has said that greenwitches do nothing more than calm one's nerves--which is no small thing" (paperback edition, pg. 14).
• "Caught in the circle, Ash found herself whirled around the bonfire by strangers.  Through the flames she could see the huntress singing, her face glowing in the red-gold light" (pg. 105).
• "At the same time, your people often choose to ignore their mortality. They are fooled into thinking they can live forever, when in fact they are about to die" (pg. 230).
• "Ash felt her entire body move toward her, as if every aspect of her being was reorienting itself to this woman, and they could not be close enough" (pg. 251). 

Other reviews: Queer Books for Kids and Lambda Literary.


This book is available in the Greensboro Public Library.