Girls of Paper and Fire

by Natasha Ngan

Paperback, 2019

Status

Available

Call number

PZ7 .N48845 Gir 2019

Publication

Jimmy Patterson (2019), Edition: Reprint, 416 pages

Description

Fantasy. Romance. Young Adult Fiction. LGBTQIA+ (Fiction.) HTML:Uncover a riveting story of palace intrigue set in a sumptuous Asian-inspired fantasy world in the breakout YA novel that Publisher's Weekly calls "elegant and adrenaline-soaked." In this richly developed fantasy, Lei is a member of the Paper caste, the lowest and most persecuted class of people in Ikhara. She lives in a remote village with her father, where the decade-old trauma of watching her mother snatched by royal guards for an unknown fate still haunts her. Now, the guards are back and this time it's Lei they're after â?? the girl with the golden eyes whose rumored beauty has piqued the king's interest. Over weeks of training in the opulent but oppressive palace, Lei and eight other girls learns the skills and charm that befit a king's consort. There, she does the unthinkable: she falls in love. Her forbidden romance becomes enmeshed with an explosive plot that threatens her world's entire way of life. Lei, still the wide-eyed country girl at heart, must decide how far she's willing to go for justice and reven… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member Codonnelly
Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan is the captivating first novel in a new diverse YA fantasy series. Seventeen-year-old Lei lives in the land of Ikhara, loosely based off of Malaysia, where the author spent most of her childhood. Don’t be fooled by the familiar though, as the fantastical
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makes an early appearance in the form of the society’s three castes: paper, steel, and moon. Lei and her family are part of the paper caste, the lowest of the three. All paper caste members are fully human with no special abilities. Members of the steel caste possess demon-like qualities which manifest in animal-human hybrid physical features, some of which present special abilities. The rarest and most revered caste is moon. The moon caste is fully demon with complete animal capabilities. Moon is also the most powerful caste, and Ikhara is ruled by a Demon King. When Lei is abducted by a steel general and given to the Demon King in tribute as one of his “paper girls,” her future seems set in stone, but Lei is not one to submit to tyranny.

In order to encourage peace following a civil war, every year one paper caste girl is selected from each of the eight provinces and presented to the Demon King. The families of the chosen girls are showered in gifts and riches, while each paper girl is brought to the palace to live in luxury, with one immense caveat. For one year, they must give themselves fully to the king. The Demon King has a notoriously insatiable appetite for young virgins, and his ferocity is known throughout the land. Ngan does not shy away from depicting dark subjects. Sexual assault and rape is prevalent, but she writes these scenes carefully. It also helps that while she depicts plenty of unhealthy relationships, there are healthy ones to retreat to when things get too depressing.

Speaking of relationships, Ngan writes them beautifully. From the very beginning of the novel, Lei’s relationship with her father, Baba, and her dog, Bao, is incredibly endearing. When she is cruelly ripped away from them, the devastation is palpable. When Lei is stolen away to the Hidden Palace to be a paper girl, she never expects to make friends, but as time goes by, her relationship with each of the girls blossoms in different ways. While she doesn’t get along well with everyone, even the conflicts that arise come across as realistic and intimate. When Lei does find love, and a forbidden one at that, it is so natural and affecting that the pair seem to not only enhance each other strengths, but complete each other fully.

While the overarching plot is fascinating on its own, the sub-plots add more intrigue. If you enjoy reading about family tragedies, political machinations, and/or revenge, there’s a lot here to whet the appetite. Ngan is also quite talented at weaving together slower passages full of character development with fast-paced action sequences. If you like martial arts, you’ll be pleased.

There’s a lot to love in Natasha Ngan’s Girls of Paper and Fire, but most of all, it’s refreshing to follow an empowered young female protagonist. Her refusal to submit to the horrors thrust upon her is inspiring, and we need more of that in life and literature. The novel ends on a cliff-hanger, which I could have done without, as I will be picking up the next installation in the series regardless, but I understand the reasoning behind it. I often hesitate to recommend incomplete series, but I can confidently say that this is one I expect will continue to be satisfying until its eventual conclusion.
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LibraryThing member Cherylk
I just love when a book turns out to be really good. This is the case with this book. I had seen it pop up a few times and wished listed it. So, when I got the chance to pick up a copy of this book to read, I did so.

First off; I loved the world that Ms. Ngan built for this book. Instantly, I was
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transported into this world. Although, I will say that this book is more for the mature reading audience. There is a scene that depicts rape but it is a brief scene. Yet, all the same, this might be a lot for the younger audience. Also, there is violence feature in this book as well.

Lei may start out as an innocent but by the end of the story, she is a leader. The rest of the girls become leaders as well. The king is heartless and evil. He is not someone that could be liked. Can I talk about the ending. What an ending. That is all I can say. If you want to know more you will have to pick up a copy of this book for yourself. Girls of Paper and Fire is not to be missed. Ms. Ngan builds a lush world of fantasy with great characters.
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LibraryThing member krau0098
I got this book in an Owlcrate. This is the first book in the Girls of Paper and Fire series. I didn't really enjoy this book all that much. I felt like not much happened and it was very slow.

The fantasy world presented was interesting, but the story was lacking. Mostly the book was just boring.
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For the first 80% of the book you spend a ton of time with a bunch of the King's new concubines, following them around throughout the day and dealing with the competition between them. Eventually, some rebellion is thrown in but it comes in play pretty late in the book.

I also had trouble engaging with the characters; they just seemed so one-dimensional and shallow and were over characterized. I nearly stopped reading it a couple of times and won't be continuing the series.

Overall this was another book that was okay but lacking. I really didn’t enjoy it that much. I feel like I’ve been reading a run of rather disappointing YA fantasies here. Not recommended, there are much better YA fantasy books out there.
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LibraryThing member SBoren
I purchased this book from Half Priced Books to read with my bestie @mycornerforbooksand. All opinions are my own. 🌟🌟🌟🌟Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan. It took me a few chapters to get completely invested in this one, but once it hooks you then you have to finish it. An
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obsessive King uses his power to get everything he wants from his subjects and if you defy him it only angers him more and death is the final decision. Lei is stolen from her village and forced to be one of the Kings concubines. Her rebellion grows and blossoms but she forms bonds and friendships with the other girls at the palace that may be her saving grace. Until one day it all slowly begins to fall apart and choices that will effect the future of everyone involved must be made and they must be made quickly. Review also posted on Instagram @borenbooks, Library Thing, Amazon, Twitter @jason_stacie, Goodreads/StacieBoren and my blog at readsbystacie.com
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LibraryThing member Shahnareads
oh boy.
That end. Oh deary dear.

My reaction to the epilogue: awhh shit
LibraryThing member stevealtier
the story line was great, and I enjoyed the authors writing style.
LibraryThing member hexenlibrarian
WHAT THE HELL IS THAT ENDING WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME I HAVEN'T BEEN THIS UPSET AT THE END OF A BOOK IN A LONG TIME
LibraryThing member yvonnekins
DNF. I probably should give it more of a chance but I'm already skimming like 50% of each page and what I'm actually reading is so poorly written that I'm not gonna force myself to do that for another 320 pages. I've also read through some other reviews and I think I'll just like it less and less
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as it keeps going so I'm cutting my losses. Definitely a situation where the concept is great, the execution.... not so much.
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LibraryThing member m_mozeleski
Rebellious against the traditions of the Paper Girls, Lei just cannot let small things go. She is often hesitant to speak out, but she just has too much fire inside of her to become small, or to be anything but defiant in the face of tradition, even though the weight of her mother's death hangs
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heavy on her and her family's life might hang in the balance of her submission.

Beautiful imagery, worldbuilding and amazing are the beats of this book,.

10/10
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LibraryThing member RachDani
This book is not easy. It's beautiful, compelling, and overwhelming, but not easy.

Please know, there is a warning at the beginning of the book that should definitely be heeded:
"Please be aware this book contains scenes of violence and sexual assault."

I didn't want to like this book, it was too
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honest and too wrenching. I didn't want to invest in it knowing there are at least two others to follow and that odds are the happy ever after was going to come with a cost. But in the end, my biggest complaint was that there wasn't enough.

The world in Girls of Paper and Fire is similar to other books I've read, there is a caste system, and the lowest caste is exploited and, well in a lot of cases brutalized, but the upper caste. But Ngan takes that basic outline and creates a beautiful and horrible world. On the surface, this book is wonderful, but if you look at the larger implications, the ways the book touches on so many topics that are relevant, especially right now, it becomes magnificent. The story and the characters are so vivid that I think everyone can relate to them on some level.

I honestly just loved this book, but again, it is not an easy read. It is an emotional journey.
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LibraryThing member Linyarai
More of a 3.5, it was good and I read it in a single day, but it wasn't amazing. Plot was fairly generic and predictable, but enjoyable.
LibraryThing member Completely_Melanie
Trigger warnings for rape.

This was really good and I can't wait to read the next in the series.
LibraryThing member mutantpudding
I was thinking 2 stars for this book but by the time I dragged my way to the end I had changed my mind to 1 star...I just did not like it. There's some cool stuff in there with the idea of humans and demons but mostly I focused on how boring I found everything else. The plot dragged on and on, I
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didn't get enough from any of the characters to actually like them, and I grew to hate the main character because of how randomly foolish she was. Yes, she's a teenager, but she would jump from learning about how to survive a delicate political situation to outbursts where she told random people her secrets and put multiple lives in jeopardy. She felt so inconsistent but not in a relatable way just infuriating. Hade me yelling at the book multiple times as she accidentally confessed to treason to people she had met like 3 times!?!

In regards to the way sexual assault was handled...I felt like the situation was taken seriously which was good, but the book also acted like the protagonist was special and admirable for fighting back against her attacker in contrast to the other girls who went along with the situation in order to survive. Her reaction can tell the reader about her character yes, but I felt like the narrative held up her reaction as the correct one and looked down on the other girls as weak because they didn't fight back, and because they followed the status qou. There's no "correct" way to handle an assault, especially in the extreme situation depicted in this book where physically resisting will literally get someone killed. Your mileage may vary on this but it made me very uncomfortable and grossed out.
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Awards

Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

2018-11-06

Physical description

9.05 inches

ISBN

0316561355 / 9780316561358
Page: 0.6494 seconds