Review: Adaptation by Malinda Lo

Adaptation, Book 1

Tags: YA, sci-fi, aliens, LGBT, love triangle

Summary

Reese and her debate partner David are about to fly home from a national debate tournament when shocking bird strikes make planes fall out of the sky and ground all North American air travel. In trying to get home to San Francisco via rental car, Reese and David get into a terrible accident and receive medical treatment that heals them, but requires them to sign a strict nondisclosure agreement.

Returned to San Francisco and forced to act as if nothing out of the ordinary happened to them, Reese and David nevertheless discover that they are not quite the same as they used to be. Any injuries they sustain heal impossibly quickly, and there are other, stranger qualities they’ve developed that they find difficult to talk about. In the meantime, Reese struggles to understand herself as her romantic feelings are pulled in two unexpectedly different directions. But for whatever reason, the government refuses to let her and David go, and they race against the infinitely superior resources of the government to figure out what’s happened to them, and what will happen to them next

Review

Malinda Lo takes her readers way outside her previous fantasy genre with her third novel, ADAPTATION, which I suppose I would describe as “sci-fi lite.” While the events of ADAPTATION were at times hard for me to immerse myself in, Lo adds a refreshing LGBTQ element to her story that may encourage readers typically reluctant to pick up sci-fi to give this a try.

Part 1 was mind-blowingly awesome. Scary events—bird strikes downing planes, people forgetting their humanity in the face of their impending mortality, Reese and David struggling to make it home as transportation unravels around them—unfolded in an ominously quick fashion reminiscent of apocalyptic movies. I hardly breathed as I followed Reese and David through a “road trip” fraught with danger, one that led them right up to the accident that changed their lives forever.

…And then the rest of the book becomes…weird, and awkwardly paced. Obviously there’s a speculative element to the story, as the story hints of weird things occurring to Reese and David’s bodies and minds—though nothing is confirmed until the end of the book, in a manner that seemed rather far-fetched despite all the hints that were dropped throughout. In Part 2 and beyond, ADAPTATION loses the steam it had been so excellently accumulating, and becomes a plodding and seemingly endless period of rising action where little happens and the characters run into more and more questions but don’t get any answers. Why is this so often a symptom of YA novels, for which I thought good pacing was key? Little (with the exception of one thing, which I will discuss next) happens in the middle third or so of this book, and the effect of cramming all the information-revealing actions into the last few chapters of the book was that I was left unpleasantly disoriented and unprepared for the shocking curves the story threw us at the end.

I have mixed feelings about Reese’s romantic conflicts in ADAPTATION. On the one hand, what Lo always does well in her stories is give lesbian interactions and relationships the full consideration and respect they deserve. This is especially significant in a current publishing world where heterosexual romances often seem written into a story for the sake of having a romance, not because the MC actually learns anything through the experience of a romantic relationship. It adds some well-appreciated novelty to the typical YA love triangle trope. On the other hand, the balance between ADAPTATION’s romantic and sci-fi plotlines felt uneven—most especially in the nothing-happens-sci-fi-wise section of Part 2—and the two seemed to come too easily together in the end for me to believe that these characters and their predicaments could exist outside the realm of fiction.

And that, I think, is my ultimate feeling toward ADAPTATION. It’s a technically precise YA thriller with LGBTQ aspects, but its uneven pacing never let me forget that I was reading a YA novel that would probably better enthrall a younger audience that may not yet appreciate the shockingly possible dystopian worlds of books like 1984 or The Hunger Games. It fits the current trend of YA sci-fi-ish thrillers with more-or-less plausible premises that nevertheless rely on their assumption of your investment in the book’s “mystery” to keep reading.

Similar Authors
R. J. Anderson (Ultraviolet)
Robin Brande (Into the Parallel)

Cover discussion: I'm not sure how much it has to do with the actual story, but it looks pretty cool nevertheless.

Little, Brown / Sept. 18, 2012 / Hardcover / 400pp. / $17.99

e-galley received from publisher and NetGalley.

Review & Interview: Huntress by Malinda Lo

Tags: YA, fantasy, fey, romance, LGBT

Summary

Taisin’s vision leads her and her classmate, Kaede, to accompany their kingdom’s prince, Con, on a journey to visit the Fairy Queen in her faraway city of Taninli. A strange winter has settled over the kingdom, people are starving, and unrest is brewing. They believe that the Queen may have answers to their kingdom’s perils.

But the journey to Taninli and beyond is a dangerous one. As they encounter mysterious magical creatures, Taisin and Kaede also attempt to fight their attraction to one another. Love has no place, either on this journey or in their lives: Taisin must take a vow of celibacy if she is to achieve her lifelong dream of being a Sage, and Kaede’s father wants to arrange a political marriage for her. But the connection they fight may be just the thing that might save them when they finally learn what they are facing.

Review

Malinda Lo’s beautifully written debut novel, Ash, was one of my favorite books of 2009, and I awaited the release of HUNTRESS with trembling anticipation. HUNTRESS turned out a little differently than I had hoped, but it was still a book that had me reading with bated breath and tearing up at the end.

The strongest part of HUNTRESS is, in my opinion, the romance between Taisin and Kaede. Their romance starts out hesitatingly: both girls are scared to acknowledge their growing feelings for each other. As the story progresses, however, their romance blossoms into an innocent and utterly beautiful thing, what they aptly describe as a warm gift in the middle of all their danger and worry. Taisin and Kaede’s relationship really makes you believe in the power of love without taking it over the edge and into unbelievability.

HUNTRESS is told in a sort of old-fashioned fairy tale narrative style, which employs omniscient third-person narration. The constant shift in point of view may be a bit jarring, but it’s not wrong, especially considering the fact that books written in the nineteenth century used this literary technique all the time. However, I think it did contribute to my feeling of distance from most of the characters. I wanted more from all the characters: the constant switches in POV made it so that there didn’t seem to be a particular main character, and as a result everyone felt like a supporting character, with the potential for but not the actuality of depth.

Overall, however, HUNTRESS was a wonder-inducing fantasy read that spans time and distance. Don’t miss it particularly if you were a fan of Ash.

Cover discussion: Um, LOVE, obviously. Asian girl on a YA cover? So badass.

Little, Brown / April 5, 2011 / Hardcover / 384pp. / $17.99

Received from publisher for review.

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Interview with Malinda Lo

1. What was your favorite (non-spoilery) scene in HUNTRESS?

Hmm, how will I answer this? I'm afraid that all my favorite scenes are super spoilery! They're turning points in the plot, which is probably why they are my favorite. Those scenes have to be filled with a lot of emotion and there has to be a major realization or bang at the end of them.

So, I'll list some page numbers if anybody has a copy of the book and wants to flip through it to find out. I especially enjoyed working on the scenes on pages 134-139, 250-255, 296-300, and 359-362.

2. What are some of your favorite fictional lesbian romances?

I love the romance between Nan and [name redacted due to spoiler!] in Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters. I know that doesn't really say much, but Nan has a number of romances, and I'll just say that my favorite of hers is not the first one she experiences. I also really enjoyed the romance between Loup and Pilar in Santa Olivia by Jacqueline Carey, which is a sexy dystopian about a genetically modified teen girl who grows up to be a boxer.

Neither of these books is YA, although Tipping begins when Nan is 18, and Santa Olivia ends when Loup is 18, so they're both about young women and coming of age.

3. What is the most difficult part of the writing process for you?

Every stage of writing has its difficult aspects, each unique to the stage, and honestly the most difficult part varies with each book. With Huntress, the middle of the second (or was it third?) draft was the most difficult for me; it felt like slogging through mud at times.

Here are some other parts of the writing process that have been difficult for me:

* The outline, because I just hate writing outlines, but my publisher requires them.
* The first draft, because I don't know exactly who the characters are yet.
* The second draft, because I'm now working with revision notes from my editor, and I'm trying to make the book *mean* something.
* The third draft, because now my editor is doing line-editing and asking me a bunch of specific questions that I have to actually answer.
* The final draft, because OMG it's the FINAL DRAFT and after this it will be FINISHED, so what if it totally sucks?! (panic)

The part that I love the most? Copyediting. It satisfies some deep-seated need in me to make sure all the punctuation is correct, and have extremely nitpicky discussions with the copyeditor in the margins over proper word usage.

4. What is your favorite meal of the day, and what would it ideally consist of?

I love EVERY meal of the day, but if I had to pick only one meal, I would choose brunch because it basically incorporates all the meals (ha!) and allows you have a beautiful array of beverages, too.

Here is a brunch menu I would die for:

Strong Irish breakfast tea made in the proper way with fresh boiling water!
Southern-style biscuits with sausage gravy
Fresh, in-season fruit and Greek yogurt
A side of buttermilk pancakes with maple syrup (why not?)
A spicy bloody mary

Then I'd need to go take a nap for about 3 hours.

5. Do you have any particular writing superstitions or quirky writing habits?

Yes. To begin with, every morning that I'm drafting or revising fiction, I set Mac Freedom until noon. That program disables the internet on my computer. :) (I use it again in the afternoon.)

Then I usually meditate for about 15 minutes. I have a meditation cushion in my office and I time myself with my ipod touch timer (bells ring at the end of the 15 minutes). I usually do vipassana meditation, which essentially is "just sitting." If I'm too antsy to just sit, I might count my breaths from 1 to 10 and then repeat that cyclically to keep myself focused on the breath. Sometimes I will do a loving-kindness meditation or a body scan.

After meditation, I get to work. I've noticed that if I don't meditate, it can be a lot harder for me to concentrate at first. Sometimes I just don't want to meditate (who knows why), but I try to make myself do it anyway, because it really helps.

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Thank you for answering my questions, Malinda! Isn't she fantastic? You should definitely check out ASH and HUNTRESS if you haven't yet. Check out the rest of Malinda's blog tour below (organized by Ames--thank you!):

Monday, 4/18 – The Naughty Book Kitties

Tuesday, 4/19 – Manga Maniac Cafe

Wednesday, 4/20 – Mundie Moms

Thursday, 4/21 – Ellz Readz

Friday, 4/22 – Steph Su Reads

Monday, 4/25 – Bibliophilic Book Blog

Tuesday, 4/26 – Reading in Color

Waiting on Wednesday (87)

Huntress by Malinda Lo

Nature is out of balance in the human world. The sun hasn’t shone in years, and crops are failing. Worse yet, strange and hostile creatures have begun to appear. The people’s survival hangs in the balance.

To solve the crisis, the oracle stones are cast, and Kaede and Taisin, two seventeen-year-old girls, are picked to go on a dangerous and unheard-of journey to Taninli, the city of the Fairy Queen. Taisin is a sage, thrumming with magic, and Kaede is of the earth, without a speck of the otherworldly. And yet the two girls’ destinies are drawn together during the mission. As members of their party succumb to unearthly attacks and fairy tricks, the two come to rely on each other and even begin to fall in love. But the Kingdom needs only one huntress to save it, and what it takes could tear Kaede and Taisin apart forever.

The exciting adventure prequel to Malinda Lo’s highly acclaimed novel Ash is overflowing with lush Chinese influences and details inspired by the I Ching, and is filled with action and romance. [summary from Malinda's website]

The cover to Huntress, Malinda's second novel, which I have been eagerly waiting for ever since I read and fell in love with Ash, was just revealed earlier this week. Can I just say that I got tears in my eyes when I saw this? She is so very clearly badassedly Asian, and you all know by now how I feel about publishers' representation of minorities on YA book covers. Add to that the incredible synopsis, and the fact that encountering Malinda's writing is like reading the open face of beauty itself, and this has stolen my heart.

Huntress will be published in hardcover by Little, Brown on April 5, 2011.

ASH Celebration: Interview with Malinda Lo!

(The excitement for this is self-explanatory, but in lieu of fears of redundancy let me just say this: I AM SO EXCITED TO BE SHARING THIS INTERVIEW WITH YOU ALL!) :) Welcome, Malinda Lo to Steph Su Reads!

1. ASH contains many magical elements, including fairies and an enchanted wood. From where did you draw your magical inspirations?

A lot of it came from the fairy folklore I read -- British and Irish folklore collected by Katherine Briggs was a major influence on the fairies in Ash. A lot of the magical quality of the Wood was based on my own experiences of the woods in Northern California. They really are beautiful, magical places.

2. Describe your writing process for us. Do you have a particular time and location where you like to do most of your writing? Do you plot carefully, or let the words come as they will?

I have always been an organizer, but I've discovered that even though I like having lots of notes and reference material, when I sit down to write I usually pay no attention to it. In an ideal world, I'd like to have time to do research beforehand, to take a lot of notes, and yes, to outline the book and write up character backgrounds, stuff like that. I look at the outline as a basic map to where I'm going, and I start writing at the beginning. But I usually discover that the story takes me in directions the outline did not anticipate, so I don't really force myself to stick to the outline. In fact, after I've written the outline I pretty much never look at it again!

If I'm deeply into the writing, the words do come quickly. But the words rarely, if ever, stay in the first form they came out in. I go over every word in many drafts, and the finished product is a lot more focused than the first draft, which is often all about getting the emotion or action onto the page, willy-nilly. That stuff needs to be honed.

3. You do a monthly feature on your blog showcasing covers for debut authors' books. What are some of your favorite covers of all time?

Well, in terms of YA, I absolutely adore the U.K. cover to Graceling by Kristin Cashore. The silhouette is so strong and yet so graceful -- I think it perfectly captures the character of Katsa.

Of all time, though ... One of the most memorable covers for me has been from an adult novel. The Blue Place by Nicola Griffith is a very powerful book, and the cover is, in my opinion, equally powerful. The main character is a strong, self-aware woman, and I think the ease and self-confidence of the woman on the cover fits her perfectly. The first time I saw that cover, I walked right over to it and picked up the book -- it was like a magnet! Note: It is NOT a young adult novel.

I think there is a theme in what I like on a cover. :)

4. What is your favorite contemporary fairy tale retelling? How about a favorite retelling of Cinderella?

You know, I wrote Ash because I hadn't read any retellings of Cinderella that satisfied me, so I don't have a favorite. My favorite fairy tale retelling is probably Deerskin by Robin McKinley. I love her other fairy tale retellings, too, but Deerskin is so incredible. It's dark and complicated, and not exactly for younger readers, but it is amazing.

5. Readers of your blog will know that you like to take pictures of food (a lot!). Do you have a favorite dish?

Oh my God I LOVE ALL FOOD. OK, of course I have a favorite dish! My mother's beef stew -- it's her version of hongshao rou, which is translated as "red-cooked pork." It is fabulous. I don't know how she does it. She makes it every time I come home! I even wrote an essay about it.

6. If you could retell another fairy tale, which one would it be and why?

Bluebeard. It was brilliantly retold by Angela Carter in The Bloody Chamber (also not YA). I'm drawn to the horror in this story, and the possibilities for it. OK, so actually I do have plans to retell this story, but it would not be a YA novel simply because of the content of the tale.

7. What do you like to do when you're not writing?

Read! And eat. And cook. And watch Top Chef, which often leads to cooking and eating. I am a total Top Chef fan. I'm so excited that the new season has begun! I'm also a big fan of Mad Men and I cannot wait for 30 Rock to return. And Lost -- so bummed I have to wait till January! So, I love to watch TV, too. :)

8. Can you tell us what's next for you in terms of writing?

My next book, which I'm currently revising, is a companion novel to Ash. It's set in the same world, but several hundreds of years earlier. It's about the first huntress in that Kingdom, and it's an adventure.

9. If you could ask yourself any interview question, what would it be and how would you answer?

I'm not sure how I would frame this in terms of a question, but I truly hope that teen readers who are not LGBT will still give Ash a chance. I've read countless books with heterosexual romances in them, and even though I'm not straight, I can still relate to the straight characters and their love interests. We're all human, and we all experience love as a big, life-changing event, no matter the gender of who we fall in love with.

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Thank you SO much for providing fascinating answers to my questions, Malinda! If you're like me and can't get enough of her writing, you should make sure to check out her regularly updated blog, where Malinda likes to write about Ash, food, pictures, queer stuff, and more!

For more information and links to the ASH Celebration Givaway, click HERE.

For one entry: Comment on what most interested you about this interview and/or leave another question you'd be curious to know Malinda's answer to.

ASH Celebration: Review: Ash by Malinda Lo

Tags: YA, fantasy, fairy tale, retelling, Cinderella, lyrical, love, GLBTQ

Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary

Aisling was just a young girl when she lost first her mother, then her father, to death. Now she lives with her cruel stepmother and irritating stepsisters, forced to tend to their every whim and demand. The only times Ash feels remotely happy is when she can escape into the magical wood and be with her fairy friend Sidhean.

But Ash’s world changes yet again when she befriends Kaisa, the King’s Huntress. Kaisa doesn’t see Ash’s servant clothes, and instead keeps her company and teaches her how to hunt. Torn between an cold eternity with Sidhean and a life with Kaisa, Ash must find the strength to be true to herself.

Review

ASH is one of those books that I read slowly, savoring each beautifully crafted line, running the words and imagery through my head until they became poetry in action. Malinda’s sensuous writing brings Ash’s world and the characters within to blazing, ethereal life: you can fully tell that you are immersed in a fairy tale world, one that doesn’t just satisfy, but leaves you wanting more.

I’ve often heard ASH described as a lesbian retelling of Cinderella; in fact, I think that I have used that comparison myself. However, this book is so much more than that. As the story went along, and Ash suffered under her stepmother’s rule, then triumphed in her own little ways of grasping happiness, I came to see the novel as a moving tribute to the triumph of human spirit and desire to live in the face of adversity. ASH is a story that anyone can relate to, a story that can get to anyone.

The closer I got to the ending, the slower I read, so badly did I not want the story to end. When the end inevitably came, I was devastated, so moved was I by Ash’s development from scared and petulant girl to a young woman capable of living and loving again. What else can I say that would do this novel justice? It has a bit of everything for everyone: a magical world for fantasy lovers, incredible writing for aspiring authors, a moving love story for romantics, and a je ne sais quoi (edited: thanks, Tynga! my years of high school French all those years ago got rusty) that makes it stand out from other books. Enough of this now; read it and experience the magic of ASH and Malinda Lo for yourself.

Similar Authors

Shannon Hale

Lisa Mantchev

Maggie Stiefvater

Beth Kephart

Writing: 5/5

Characters: 5/5

Plot: 5/5

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5

Cover discussion: 5 out of 5 - A beautiful book deserves a beautiful cover, and that's exactly what ASH gets. The girl in the middle seems delicate, otherworldly, and irresistible, and there's just an incredible amount of visual texture from the rest of the image. A+ for Little, Brown.

Little, Brown / Sept. 1, 2009)

Thank you, Malinda, for offering me an ARC!

For more information about and links to the ASH Celebration, click HERE.

For one entry to the ASH Celebration Giveaway, answer the following question: What draws you to love certain books? The characters? The romance? The writing? Anything else?

ASH Celebration Week - Giveaways!!

So I've been waiting for this day for a while... It's September 1, which means that it's the official release day for a TON of highly anticipated, totally awesome, and money-worthy books! I won't even begin to mention all of them, except that this week, I'll be doing something special on my blog, to celebrate the release of one book in particular that was so fantastic, so memorable, so unique, that I wanted to share it with you all.

I was first attracted to Malinda Lo's ASH because of its simple yet stunning cover. Then, I featured it as one of my Waiting on Wednesday picks, which led me to Malinda's blog, one I now follow avidly. Malinda writes interesting and intelligent blog posts concerning a variety of things--and interspersed between are extremely tempting pictures of food!

Malinda was generous enough to send me an ARC for review, and this was one of those rare cases where the actual product exceeded all my highest expectations. I really wanted to help spread the word about this amazing debut novel, and how do bloggers promote books they love than with...

***A CELEBRATION AND GIVEAWAY!***

Over the course of a week or so, you'll see ASH-related posts on my blog such as:

• my review (duh)
• an interview with Malinda
• guest posts from fellow bloggers about related subjects
• blurbs from awesome authors about why they loved ASH

These posts will be marked with "ASH Celebration" in the post's title.

As for the giveaway, here are the prizes you could win:

Ash (HB) by Malinda Lo

Graceling (PB) by Kristin Cashore

Fire (ARC) by Kristin Cashore

Candor (ARC) by Pam Bachorz

Purple Heart (ARC) by Patricia McCormick

The Sweetheart of Prosper County (ARC) by Jill S. Alexander

any 2009 debut novel of YOUR CHOICE!

(More may be added as the week goes along. These are all books I've read and loved--you can click on links to my reviews of them if applicable.)

There will be TWO winners. First winner will receive a copy of Ash, their choice of any 2009 debut novel, and three of the other books. Second winner will get the remaining books.

How to enter:

This is NOT a typical giveaway. To gain entries, you must read the relevant posts marked with "ASH Celebration" and answer the question or prompt at the end of the post. One entry for each post you make a relevant comment on.

Extra entries are giving for each person who lists you as their referrer to this week-long celebration and giveaway. (This is good incentive to retweet often, link shamelessly, and spread the word endlessly!)

You do NOT have to be a follower to enter; no extra entries will be given for being a follower (though it does help with keeping up with all the posts!).

Open: INTERNATIONALLY

Ends: Tuesday, September 15

"ASH Celebration" post links will be updated here:

Sept. 1 - review of Ash

Sept. 3 - guest blog on fairy tales and retellings by Heather Zundel

Sept. 4 - interview with Malinda

Sept. 5 - other authors on Ash

For ONE entry, leave your email address and comment with the answer to the following question: What interests you in participating in this giveaway?

I'm super excited for this celebration week, and I hope you will be too!

Waiting on Wednesday (11)

Ash by Malinda Lo

Pushed into indentured servitude for her stepmother in the City to pay off her father’s debts, Ash is consumed with grief. She misses her family and her happy life at the edge of the Wood where old magic used to linger in the air like fairy breath. Her only joy comes from the brief, stolen walks in the woods with the dark and dangerous fairy Sidhean. Ash’s single, unspoken hope is that someday he might steal her away, as fairies are said to do.

But on the day that Ash meets Kaisa, the King’s Huntress, her heart begins to change. Instead of chasing fairies, from Kaisa she learns the art of the hunt, how to ride and track. Their friendship is as delicate as a new bloom, but it grows and changes, and with it, Ash reawakens her capacity for love—and her desire to live.

Entrancing and romantic, Ash is an empowering retelling of Cinderella about choosing life and love over solitude and death, where transformation can come from even the deepest grief.

I first saw the cover of this book on Michelle Zink's blog and was immediately attracted. Ash is a lesbian retelling of the classic Cinderella story by an Asian American female author. And right in that sentence are a TON of reasons why I look forward to reading this book. It's familiar yet strange at the same time, with the simultaneous comfort of new romance and the daring and not-enough-publicized GLBTQ perspective. (And oh dear, looking at that last sentence you'd think that I had already read the book and was in charge of writing the blurb for the back of the book. But I haven't read it, and I'm not that person, I swear! I'm not that lucky, haha.) Oh, and it's written by an Asian American woman. Strike one more for the growing AA writing community! :)

Malinda is also an established columnist for AfterEllen, and if you're interested (during your wait for Ash) you might want to check out her article about bisexuality. It's well-written and poignant.

Ash will be published by Little, Brown on September 1, 2009.