Mini-Review: Ash by Malinda Lo

Synopsis:
In the world of ASH, fairies are an older race of people who walk the line between life and death, reality and magic. As orphaned Ash grows up, a servant in her stepmother's home, she begins to realise that her beloved mother, Elinor was very much in tune with these underworld folk, and that she herself has the power to see them too. Against the sheer misery of her stepmother's cruelty, greed and ambition in preparing her two charmless daughters for presentation at court, and hopefully Royal or aristocratic marriage, Ash befriends one of these fairies--a mysterious, handsome man--who grants her wishes and restores hope to Ash's existence, even though she knows there will be a price to pay. But most important of all, she also meets Kaisa, a huntress employed by the king, and it is Kaisa who truly awakens Ash's desires for both love and self-respect...Ash escapes a life with her grim and self-serving stepmother and finds her beloved one...ASH is a fairy tale about possibility and recognizing the opportunities for change. From the deepest grief comes the chance for transformation.


Review:
An imaginative reworking of a classic fairytale. A fairytale with real fairies, a male fairy protector rather than the fairy godmothers of old.

Wonderful ethereal imagery. Fabulously sensory descriptions. As a bibliophile I adored the description of a book left to Ash by her mother.

A truly enchanting tale. However, I did find the homosexuality to be glamorised. The book makes it sound like an easy choice to make, I do not believe this is the case. I have a few homosexual friends and know from their experience that it is a very difficult admission and can cause rifts with family and friends.

On the whole a beautiful modern fairytale but I don't think I will be giving it to my children to read until they are old enough to understand the full implications of such choices.