Ash

Malinda Lo

Sep 2009 · Sold by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

About this ebook

The haunting, romantic lesbian retelling of Cinderella and modern queer classic by award-winning author Malinda Lo--now with an introduction by Holly Black, a letter from the author, a Q&A, and more!

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. 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. Their friendship, as delicate as a new bloom, 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 and empowering, Ash beautifully unfolds the connections between life and love, and solitude and death, where transformation can come from even the deepest grief.

Ratings and reviews

Reading this book when it was 1st released gave me a new take on Cinderella in a way that literaly reflected how i was when i grew up! So i've been able 2 relate to Aisling's (Ash) feelings & some of her life events! Especially having a wicked stepmother & 2 stepsisters! & being the youngest, i found comfort in supernatural beings from stories & sometimes made contact (most were verbal, mental or visual... Not many were physical)! Basically i've lived my own version of Cinderella's life, only both my parents r still living @ the moment & i haven't gotten my "happy ending" yet....

This is worth reading. Most lesbian fiction is horrible, and this is not. It's a quick little read. I give it five stars mainly because it includes two women in love. It's not a literary masterpiece, but I don't think it's meant to be. It's a fairytale within a fairytale, and it reads like one. A story told, not seen. Very different. We could use more "different" stories where ladies fall in love with ladies. I liked the acknowledgements at the end...It gave a little personal touch about the author.

When I started to read this book, it wouldn't let me put it down after the first chapter. Ash is an incredible story of a girl not looking for love but finding it anyway. If you ahven't read this book, you NEED to read it.

About the author

Malinda Lo is the author of several young adult novels, including Ash, a retelling of the Cinderella story with a lesbian twist, which 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. Before she became a novelist, she was an economics major, an editorial assistant, a graduate student, and an entertainment reporter. She lives in Northern California with her partner and their dog. Malinda invites you to visit her at www.malindalo.com.