Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, by Lisa See (Book Review)

Title: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
Author: Lisa See
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Format: Library Binding
Pages: 254
Publication Date: 6/28/2004
Publisher: Random House

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★★★★☆

Lily is haunted by memories–of who she once was, and of a person, long gone, who defined her existence. She has nothing but time now, as she recounts the tale of Snow Flower, and asks the gods for forgiveness.

In nineteenth-century China, when wives and daughters were foot-bound and lived in almost total seclusion, the women in one remote Hunan county developed their own secret code for communication: nu shu (“women’s writing”). Some girls were paired with laotongs, “old sames,” in emotional matches that lasted throughout their lives. They painted letters on fans, embroidered messages on handkerchiefs, and composed stories, thereby reaching out of their isolation to share their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments.

With the arrival of a silk fan on which Snow Flower has composed for Lily a poem of introduction in nu shu, their friendship is sealed and they become “old sames” at the tender age of seven. As the years pass, through famine and rebellion, they reflect upon their arranged marriages, loneliness, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood. The two find solace, developing a bond that keeps their spirits alive. But when a misunderstanding arises, their lifelong friendship suddenly threatens to tear apart.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is a brilliantly realistic journey back to an era of Chinese history that is as deeply moving as it is sorrowful. With the period detail and deep resonance of Memoirs of a Geisha, this lyrical and emotionally charged novel delves into one of the most mysterious of human relationships: female friendship.

My friend and I saw the trailer for the movie version of this book, and I instantly said to myself "I want to read that" while she said at the same time "I want to see that." 

Ironically, she read the book first, after checking it out from the library, and I borrowed it from her to read once she was finished. We still haven't watched the movie yet.

The book did not, for me, live up to the promise of the movie trailer. I have the sense, after having skimmed some reviews of the movie, that this could be because the movie itself doesn't live up to the promise of the book, or even of its own trailer.

I wanted to love this book. In the end, I think that I did love this book. It's just that it took me a long time to get to that point. I'm not a fan of books that take me a long time to finish them. 

My experience with this book was unusual. When I was reading it, I didn't want to put it down. I was entirely immersed in the world of nineteenth-century China. When I wasn't reading it, I wasn't compelled to pick it up. There just wasn't enough movement in the story to make me interested.

I admit that this could be a side effect of reading a lot of young adult fiction for a long time. This is precisely the sort of book I ought to love.

The Bone Witch, by Rin Chupeco (Book Review)

Title: The Bone Witch
Author: Rin Chupeco
Genres: Young Adult, Horror, Amish
Format: Protected PDF via Netgalley
Pages: 432 (in print)
Publication Date: 03/7/2017
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

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★★☆☆☆

In the captivating start to a new, darkly lyrical fantasy series for readers of Leigh Bardugo and Sabaa Tahir, Tea can raise the dead, but resurrection comes at a price...

Let me be clear: I never intended to raise my brother from his grave, though he may claim otherwise. If there's anything I've learned from him in the years since, it's that the dead hide truths as well as the living.

When Tea accidentally resurrects her brother from the dead, she learns she is different from the other witches in her family. Her gift for necromancy means that she's a bone witch, a title that makes her feared and ostracized by her community. But Tea finds solace and guidance with an older, wiser bone witch, who takes Tea and her brother to another land for training.

In her new home, Tea puts all her energy into becoming an asha―one who can wield elemental magic. But dark forces are approaching quickly, and in the face of danger, Tea will have to overcome her obstacles...and make a powerful choice.

Memoirs of a Geisha meets The Name of the Wind in this brilliant new fantasy series by Rin Chupeco!

Well. Where do I start? 

This is going to be a tough review, in a number of ways.

I want to start out by being as fair as I possibly can about this review, so I'll start out with telling you the most important thing: I didn't like this book. You need to know that going forward, because it's important to me to be as constructive as possible and to provide my readers with information about the reasons that I did and did not enjoy a novel.

So out of fairness to the author, I want to say this: I have not been a fan of fantasy novels for quite a number of years, and this book might actually have changed that. 

Surprising, considering that I didn't like the book.

Let me give you a few other positives about this book (for me, anyway). The leading character (a witch-come-geisha known [called an asha] known as Tea) is a woman of color. Excellent representation in a fantasy novel. One of her friends, who works in one of the shops, is a cross-dressing adolescent whose story I won't spoil for you.

So in terms of representation, this book has done an excellent job of providing adequate representation of these marginalized groups. I like that. It felt good, and it wasn't forced. I like it even more that it was noticeable without being forced.

These are good things that I think might appeal to a young adult audience. 

Unfortunately, for me there were just too many things I hated about this book.