Ash by Malinda Lo

The internet is buzzing with the newest fairy tale novel for young adults released this week, Ash by Malinda Lo. I haven't had the opportunity to read it yet and probably won't for a while since this past week's illness has put me way behind on my own deadlines.

Ash is somewhat different since it is to my knowledge the first novel length fairy tale redaction marketed to young adults in which the heroine enters a lesbian relationship. There will be controversy which this blog doesn't intend to enter. Keep it nice in the comments, folks. I will delete incendiary stuff because in the end, I am queen of this little domain which I intend to keep neutral. (Between this and Margo Lanagan's Tender Morsels, it's been a busy year for controversial envelope pushing in YA fairy tale novels.) Of course, Kissing the Witch by Emma Donoghue already visited this territory several years ago in 1997 with a collection of short stories, but once again, this is the first mainstream full length YA novel.

Publisher's Weekly had a brief review of the book on their site which will eventually appear on Amazon, too, I imagine. Here it is since you have to page down to find it on the brief reviews page:

This debut, a retelling of Cinderella in which the heroine falls in love with a beautiful huntress rather than a prince, should establish Lo as a gifted storyteller. Aisling, aka Ash, is newly orphaned, her beloved mother dead and her father soon to follow. But not before he marries the woman who plays the part of Ash's wicked stepmother and provides her with equally unkind stepsisters. Only Ash's periodic trips into a fairy-filled wood at night and time spent with the beguiling huntress Kaisa—who enthralls Ash more and more—save her from her oppressive new existence. Lo's prose is beautiful, her descriptions lush; the novel's one flaw is that the third-person narrative keeps readers at arm's length. The dialogue is sparse, with Lo spending most of her time on narration, making it difficult to connect emotionally with Ash. This aside, Lo offers an important twist on a classic story that will appeal to a wide readership, especially those looking for a girl romance. Ages 15–up.

Once Upon a Blog has already posted about this book earlier this week and provided great links to a sample chapter and Lo's blog.

That said, I think the cover is one of the best ever for a Cinderella book and I doubt it's an accident since it resembles the cover of the first book of another bestselling series...at first glance it does which is all that is needed for a second glance.