Malinda Lo
The story of Cinderella is one beloved by millions of young children. Versions of the classic fairy tale can be found in cultures around the world. As a little girl Malinda Lo was especially fond of the Disney movie. Growing up she was a voracious reader and writer--when she was twelve she had a poem about her cat Fluffy published in Cats magazine. In high school her writing skewed towards fantasy, writing several stories including one she described as a knock-off of a favorite book, Robin McKinley's The Blue Sword. So it is not that surprising that Malinda is now the author of two young adult fantasy novels published by Little, Brown, and that her debut novel, Ash, is a retelling of Cinderella. When I heard Malinda speak at an ALAN workshop she recounted how the novel came about.
Though Malinda loved creative writing growing up, it was neglected it after high school. She graduated from Wellesley College and later received master's degrees from Harvard and Stanford Universities. She spent some time as an editorial assistant at Ballantine Books, an imprint of Random House, was the managing editor at AfterEllen.com, and also worked as a journalist. When she made the decision to face her fears and try to write a novel, she decided that she wanted to write the book she had always wanted to read as a young person: a retelling of Cinderella. Malinda shared that she had loved reading Robin McKinley's fairy tale retellings, and had read and reread Beauty (a retelling of Beauty and the Beast) but had always wanted a retelling of Cinderella. As part of her research, she began by reading, and often rereading from her childhood, the many versions of Cinderella in hopes of understanding the core of the tale. What struck her the most was that grief was the central theme. The loss of parents drastically affects the protagonist.
The plot and characters in Malinda's tale of Cinderella does differ from other versions. The fairy-godmother is not at all Disney-esque. Malinda still wanted a magical element in her novel, so she turned instead to Irish folklore and the idea that gifts come with a price. The difference that may have received the most attention was that of the love story. In her first draft her protagonist, Aisling--or Ash--marries Prince Aidan and has only a friendship with his huntress, Kaisa. But when a close friend read the draft she bluntly noted that the relationship felt boring. She pointed out to Malinda that Ash had more chemistry with Kaisa than Aidan.
Malinda felt she was faced with two options: make the prince more charming or write a lesbian Cinderella. As a reader of LBGT fiction, and from her experience in publishing, Malinda knew the market and felt this second option was crazy and unsellable. So she tried to write a more charming prince. It didn't work. In all, Malinda spent eight years writing drafts of Ash. The end result is a young adult novel that was a finalist for the William C. Morris YA Debut Award, the Andre Norton Award for YA Science Fiction and Fantasy, and the Lambda Literary Award for Children's/Young Adult, and was a Kirkus 2009 Best Book for Children and Teens pick. Though Ash has her first gay relationship with Kaisa, Malinda shared that she feels her novel is not a coming out story because in the world she created being gay was not anything weird. The main core of the story is still about love and grief.
Malinda's newest novel, Huntress, was published in April 2011, and is a prequel to Ash. Set in the same world, but in a time long before Ash, Aidan, and Kaisa, this new novel follows two teen girls from the Academy of Sages on a quest to rescue the Fairy Queen. Again, it is a fantasy adventure that is filled with strong and diverse female characters sure to please her fans. Malinda is working on her third novel, which she often shares updates about on her blog.
For more information about Malinda Lo, visit her site http://www.malindalo.com.
Contributor: Emily Griffin
Reviews
Ash
Malinda Lo
A fresh, inventive twist on the Cinderella tale plays with gender roles and romantic pairings. After her mother dies, Ash's father remarries only to die himself, leaving Ash with a stepmother who forces her into a life of servitude. Ash first glimpses the fairies while sitting by her mother's grave. They are dangerous—to seek them out can mean surrendering to their power and giving up human existence. But their world is also appealing, especially after Ash meets Sidhean, a male fairy who is both protective and alarmingly alluring. Ash longs for Sidhean to take her away from her miserable life, but the real romance in the story turns out to be with neither Sidhean nor the prince who is looking for a wife. From the moment Ash meets Kaisa, the King's Huntress, she is attracted, although at first she doesn't fully comprehend her own desire. As life with her stepmother becomes more restrictive, Ash must call on Sidhean's magic to spend time with Kaisa, but Sidhean's own longing for Ash forces her to strike a bargain that could take her away from Kaisa forever. Malinda Lo's debut novel features a vividly drawn setting, complex characters, and a plot in which the emotional tension and intrigue build, making for incredibly rich and satisfying storytelling. CCBC Category: Fiction for Young Adults. 2009, Little, Brown, 264 pages, $16.99. Age 13 and older. Reviewer: CCBC (Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices, 2010).
Awards, Honors, Prizes:
Andre Norton Award, 2009 Nominee United States
Lambda Literary Award, 2009 Finalist United States
Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature, 2010 Finalist Children's Literature United States
Northern California Book Award, 2010 Nominee Children's Literature United States
William C. Morrris Award, 2010 Finalist United States
ISBN: 9780316040099
Huntress
Malinda Lo
For centuries, the border between the Kingdom and the land of the Fairy Queen has been closed, keeping the magical race of the Xi folk on one side and mortals on the other. Now, however, strange creatures have been spotted in the Kingdom and the land has been locked in a perpetual winter for years, leaving many to believe the treaty has been broken. As apprentice sages at the insular Academy, Taisin and Kaede know little of this struggle, but when the Council sends them to accompany the Prince on his journey to Tanlili, the Fairy Queen's home, the two girls are thrown into an adventure that will have them risking their lives for the security of their people. Traveling across a barren landscape fraught with danger and magic, Taisin is forced to reconcile her feelings for Kaede with her ultimate goal of becoming a sage while Kaede must learn to move beyond her physical self if she is to save the Kingdom. Lo expands from the lush, foreboding backdrop of the Wood found in her debut Ash (BCCB 10/09) to the rest of the Kingdom while offering up a compelling history and two cleverly conceived new heroines. Taisin's pious, astute demeanor provides a perfect foil to Kaede's almost reckless physicality, and as the third-person narration shifts focus between the two, readers become aware that the girls are essentially each other's perfect complement. Subplots occasionally feel extraneous, paling in comparison to the heartbreaking sensuality that blossoms between the female leads. Beyond romance, however, stunning action sequences abound, including one literal cliffhanger and a breathtaking confrontation with the villain. Fans who found themselves entranced by Lo's previous work will be pleased to know that the magic has returned to the Wood. Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2006, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2011, Little, 372p.; Reviewed from galleys, $17.99. Grades 9-12. Reviewer: Kate Quealy-Gainer (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, April 2011 (Vol. 64, No. 8)).
ISBN: 9780316040075
Updated 9/23/11
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