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grassangel 's review for:
The Bone Shard Daughter
by Andrea Stewart
Spoiler recommendation:
Am I easily won over by East Asian themed stories because of the sweet, sweet representation? Yes.
But that's mostly window dressing and a small smidge of what makes this book good. (Though there is a very 'only Asian kids will understand' radicality to Lin's journey as she disobeys her father's rules and grows into her own person, defying her father's manipulation of the woman he wants her to be.)
There's magic - the bone shards of the title - that works a little bit like computer code written with Chinese characters and can be used to animate biological constructions. Constructs that come across as a mix between Chinese mythological creatures and Frankenstein's animal experiments - slightly horrific but absolutely fascinating.
There's a dragon, though it isn't obviously one from the start, which seems tied to the land, which moves according to years long seasons, and the magic of this world that allows bone shard magic to work.
There's politics, a growing discontent and rebellion brewing against the Emperor which Lin will have to tackle in the sequel. There is also a very frank discussion about class and privilege - blunt (and confronting) enough to be both exasperating and uncomfortable.
Lastly, thanks to one of the secondary perspectives, there's a clear general acceptance of same-sex couples and full rights given to adopted kids.
Overall a very layered story with depth and a promise to explore those depths in the sequel.
Spoiler
Like Murderbot finding out what it likes and becoming a person through developing a unique identity? You might enjoy The Bone Shard Daughter for Lin, who also develops her own personality independent of what her 'father' programmed, no need to have been an Asian kid to understand how radical that is.Am I easily won over by East Asian themed stories because of the sweet, sweet representation? Yes.
But that's mostly window dressing and a small smidge of what makes this book good. (Though there is a very 'only Asian kids will understand' radicality to Lin's journey as she disobeys her father's rules and grows into her own person, defying her father's manipulation of the woman he wants her to be.)
There's magic - the bone shards of the title - that works a little bit like computer code written with Chinese characters and can be used to animate biological constructions. Constructs that come across as a mix between Chinese mythological creatures and Frankenstein's animal experiments - slightly horrific but absolutely fascinating.
There's a dragon, though it isn't obviously one from the start, which seems tied to the land, which moves according to years long seasons, and the magic of this world that allows bone shard magic to work.
There's politics, a growing discontent and rebellion brewing against the Emperor which Lin will have to tackle in the sequel. There is also a very frank discussion about class and privilege - blunt (and confronting) enough to be both exasperating and uncomfortable.
Lastly, thanks to one of the secondary perspectives, there's a clear general acceptance of same-sex couples and full rights given to adopted kids.
Overall a very layered story with depth and a promise to explore those depths in the sequel.