Ash malinda lo discussion questions plus#
Ash malinda lo discussion questions series#

But her stepfamily and Sidhean stand in the way of any paths she might choose for herself.ДЄsh is a beautifully-written, slow-moving book.

Ash malinda lo discussion questions series#

At first it is merely a series of coincidental encounters, but as Ash gets to know the woman, Kaisa, she finds herself less interested in a permanent escape from the world she knows. The first few times they meet, she asks him if he is going to kill her, and though Ash is never directly suicidal, her attraction to Sidhean seems to arise in part from a lack of attachment to her own life - the stories of strange things happening to humans taken by fairies hold more interest for Ash than the world she lives in.Д«ut then she meets the kingвЂ™s huntress - women traditionally lead hunts in AshвЂ™s country, and the best huntress leads the Royal Hunt. Her relationship with Sidhean is odd and distant. She finds a fairy path that leads to her motherвЂ™s grave, and with it she finds Sidhean, a fairy man who has taken in interest in Ash.ДЄshвЂ™s life is hard, and she finds little pleasure in it, so the prospect of giving herself up to a fairy is enticing. They leave her alone that night, but years later, after AshвЂ™s father remarried a selfish social climber and then died himself, leaving his new family with debts they demand Ash work to repay, Ash escapes again in the Forest. But Ash is just a little girl who misses her mother terribly, who spends lonely nights by her motherвЂ™s grave in the Forest, until one night sheвЂ™s found by a group of fairies. Their philosophy is never really explained, but there are hints throughout the story that the culture of AshвЂ™s nameless country is in a period of transition. Belief in fairies and other magical creatures is slowly being replaced by the teachings of foreign philosophers. Her mother was one of a decreasing number of women who believe in the old stories of fairies and magic, and the local greenwitch argues with AshвЂ™s father about teaching Ash the old ways. The book begins with the death of 12-year-old AislingвЂ™s mother. Important elements of the story are there: AshвЂ™s mother is dead, her stepmother is horrible to her and her stepsisters (mostly) follow suit, she dances in disguise with a prince at a ball, thereвЂ™s midnight and disappearing ball gowns and fairy intervention, but AshвЂ™s story is definitely not about being rescued by a prince. Because Cinderella is basically a story about how, if youвЂ™re nice enough and dutiful enough and obey abusive jerks without ever complaining, someday a prince will notice how beautiful you are and rescue you through the best thing that can happen to a beautiful girl: marriage! And you know, thatвЂ™s kind of an annoying story to those of us who donвЂ™t think obedience and beauty are the most important virtues a woman can have, or that marriage to a prince is the only satisfactory life plan.ДЇortunately for us modern ladies, Malinda Lo doesnвЂ™t seem to care much for the traditional Cinderella virtues either. Maybe you need some convincing! Allow me to convince you.ДЇirst, the thing about Cinderella retellings is that they have the potential to be really annoying.

Ash malinda lo discussion questions plus#

Ash is, in the authorвЂ™s own words, вЂњa lesbian retelling of Cinderella.вЂќ Now, if youвЂ™re me, that plus a quick peek at the star rating on Amazon (average is 4) is enough to send you straight to the library to place a hold, but maybe you are not me, and are not so inherently excited about fairy tale retellings, or ladies falling in love with each other. I am pretty excited to have more great young adult fantasy to read. Ash is her first novel, but her second, Huntress, came out earlier this month. Malinda Lo was born in China and grew up in Colorado.