2. look at you t'il my eyes go blind

[harborshore]

New default, many other new icons. Yes, as of last night I have a paid account, I caved and used the waiver from modillian because I wanted Barbara Gordon (and Martha Jones) and couldn't figure out what to delete. ♥

ETA: I see today has officially been declared to be International Weekend of Friending The People You've Been Too Shy To Friend. I will probably do some of that later, so, um, hi? And on the off-chance that anyone decides to friend me, hello and welcome. *grins*

In other news, I'm spending my time working on my literature review, breathing, skiing, writing political poetry, mentally composing irate monologues about John Mayer and his utter, utter, (racist) douchetasticness, and reading YA novels.


Ash by Malinda Lo.



I found this book on 50books_poc. It was recced as an "Asian lesbian Cinderella story." I'd be lying if I didn't tell you that was part of why I wanted to read it--but it ended up being even better, because it was so much more than that. It's a book about why magic is dangerous, why dreams are dangerous when they're only about running away, why the here-and-now can be the best thing on earth, and how real magic and stories and fairy tales become even more real when, you know, love is something you can actually believe in.

It's hot as hell:

Kaisa's dark brown boots were comfortably worn and scuffed, the leather lined and aged. In the silence between them the buzz of insects in the hot summer air seemed to crescendo: thousands of tiny wings beating. At last she looked up at the huntress, who was watching her with a curious expression on her face; when Ash met her gaze she thought she saw Kaisa color slightly, but perhaps it was only the heat, for the air was sticky with it. Ash twisted up all the courage inside herself and said, "I was waiting for you." When the words came out of her they seemed to hang in the air in a cloud of desire, and the texture of them surprised even Ash.

Yeah, no, it's not about Cinderella falling in love with a princess, it's not that kind of story. It's about Ash and the King's Huntress, and about a fairy prince who has been cursed. It's also about class, somewhat, and about the choices of women, and the world Lo builds is remarkably solid, despite the magic and the fairies and the dreams, and the unfamiliarity of it all. Or rather, there are some familiar stories, but there are also new ones, and you forget the fact that you're reading a Cinderella story after a while, only to remember when you come across the moments that are taken from the fairy tale.

Ultimately, love wins, but in a way that feels entirely new. I love this book.



Previous reviews: The Changeover by Margaret Mahy