Ash [Paperback]

Malinda Lo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 5, 2010

Cinderella retold

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.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up—Described as "Cinderella…with a twist," Ash is in many ways the familiar fairy tale about a girl's move from comfort to despair to true love (with a little help from fairies and magic). Standard Cinderella images set up the story: after losing her mother and later her father, Ash is treated as a servant in the home of an unkind stepmother and two unfriendly stepsisters. She has ties to the fairy world, attends the royal ball in an enchanted dress, catches the eye of the prince, and finds love by the end of the story. However, while structural similarities exist, ideologically Lo's beautiful and dark tale takes the story to a new place. It is not about Ash being found and saved by a charming prince; instead, it is about her courtship with Kaisa, the King's huntress, a relationship that burgeons over time and is based on more than just initial attraction. Despite Ash's grief, oppressive guardianship, and dangerous flirtation with the fairy Sidhean, who promises to steal her away from her sadness, the protagonist finds her own salvation and chooses to live and love in the real world and on her own terms. Ash will appeal to readers looking for GLBTQ titles, but fans of romance, fantasy, and strong female protagonists will also embrace this fine debut novel.—Jennifer Miskec, Longwood University, Farmville, VA END --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"A rich and darkly moving tale I couldn't put down. Malinda Lo is an exciting and welcome new voice in YA." (Meg Cabot, bestselling author of The Princess Diaries series )

"Cinderella, gorgeously reimagined, captivating and winsome. After you've fallen into the storytelling world of Malinda Lo, the truth of love will transcend the romantic ideal of fairy tales."
(Julie Anne Peters, author of Keeping You a Secret and National Book Award Finalist Luna )

" This lyrically retold Cinderella tale is not just a beautifully updated fable, but an ode to the transformative power of love." (Cassandra Clare, bestselling author of The Mortal Instruments series )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition (October 5, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9780316040105
• ISBN-13: 978-0316040105
• ASIN: 031604010X
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (150 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #282,833 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Malinda Lo's first novel, Ash, a retelling of Cinderella with a lesbian twist, was a finalist for the William C. Morris YA Debut Award, the Andre Norton Award for YA Fantasy and Science Fiction, and the Lambda Literary Award. Her second novel, Huntress, a companion novel to Ash, is an ALA Best Book for Young Adults. Her young adult science fiction duology, beginning with Adaptation, will be published in fall 2012. She lives in Northern California with her partner and their dog. Visit her online at www.malindalo.com.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous fairy tale July 29, 2009

By Shala Kerrigan TOP 50 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

I really love re-tellings of classic fairy tales if they are done well, and this is my favorite since Pamela Dean's Tam Lin.
Ash is the Cinderella in the story, and all the elements are there. Magic, fairies, a wicked selfish stepmother, and a Prince who only figures into the story for a moment.
It's a coming of age story, as Ash, who is alone and orphaned makes friends with a fairy who is fascinated with her for reasons she can't understand and with the Royal Huntress. Her step-mother makes her life miserable and she has her moments of escape and love with her friends until she can finally stand for herself and make the choices to make her life better.
The descriptions are lush, and the dialogue is easy and comfortable. The romance in the story is something that builds naturally out of friendship instead of the big crush/fall in love that's entirely too common in YA romance type novels.
I'm highly recommending it to my daughter to read now that I've finished devouring it in less than an evening. It did grab me that hard, that I didn't want to put it down until I was done reading it.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Young Adult (Girl-Girl) Romance August 23, 2009

By J. Kaye Oldner VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Aisling, who goes by Ash in this book, loses her mother at a young age. If her mother had lived, Ash would have learned of fairies and the ways of the greenwitch. Her father didn't believe in such things and neither did her step-mother, closing the door on that path.

After her father's death, Ash lost her place as daughter and was moved into the servant's quarters to pay off his debt. Her only solace was the woods, but she wasn't really alone. Sidhean, opened up a new world, that of the fairies. She also met Kaisa, the King's Huntress, who opened her heart to love.

Told in a Cinderella theme, this isn't your boy/girl young adult love story, but a love that develops between Aisling and Kaisa. In my opinion, ASH is a book long overdue.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A Rather Different Love Triangle October 19, 2009

By Patrick Shepherd VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

As rapidly becomes obvious when you read this, this is a re-telling of the Cinderella story. But it's not quite the one you remember from Disney.

Aisling (Ash) is our Cinderella, losing her mother at the age of 13, and her father not long thereafter. There is the traditional step-mother of the original tale, but as depicted here she's not quite an absolutely mean-spirited ogre, but rather truly has a reason for treating Ash as she does. Her step-sisters are still pretty addle-pated, obsessed with their looks and catching a man of means as their ticket to the good life, but here again there's a little more meat placed on the bare bones of this story, as it's not just the prince of the realm that they set their eyes on, but includes the possibility of catching a much older man, considering him to be acceptable merely because he has money, regardless of his character or age, and as such provides some commentary on arranged marriages and the self-imposed bind of people trying to maintain their image and rich lifestyle regardless of the cost.

But beyond these minor revisions, there are two major points of departure from the original. The first is the introduction of the fairy elves, a complete culture in their own right, that used to have a fair amount of regular contact with the 'normal' people, and second is the introduction of the King's Huntress, a nice change from the traditional all-male dominated society of most fantasies. These two items provide the focus for Ash's development, first with her attraction to Sidhean of the elves, and second her attraction to the Kaisa, the current Huntress, which is barely acknowledged by Ash at first, but eventually becomes an overriding force in driving the story to its conclusion.

Sidhean is only lightly drawn, remaining pretty much a dark mysterious character, but there are intimations given that fairy-human affairs, while not impossible, are very rare for good reasons, and are not simple in complexion. Sidhean is this story's replacement for the fairy godmother of the Disney tale, and provides a much darker feel to the overall story. Kaisa is also drawn with only light brush-strokes, and this I felt was something of problem with this book, as I felt the developing attraction between her and Ash needed a deeper exposition to be truly believable. While the acceptance of same-gender relationships is admirably portrayed as just a normal part of this society, not worthy of comment, the feelings Ash has towards Kaisa remain too vague, with inadequate development. Rather oddly, I felt that this story needed a little more romantic treatment, some better hooks into Ash's development from a pre-adolescent to a woman, to make it a fully engaging story.

An interesting twist on the original Cinderella, which some good social commentary nicely folded into the story, but not quite as robust as it could have been with some deeper delving into Ash's development.

---Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)