A review by ceallaighsbooks
Ash by Malinda Lo

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

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