Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

Book one in the series

Publisher : Jimmy Patterson Books

Publication Date : November 6th, 2018

Source : Hardcover in Fairy Loot

Rating : 5 hearts

Synopsis

Each year, eight beautiful girls are chosen as Paper Girls to serve the king. It’s the highest honor they could hope for…and the most cruel.

But this year, there’s a ninth girl. And instead of paper, she’s made of fire.

In this lush fantasy, Lei is a member of the Paper caste, the lowest and most oppressed class in Ikhara. She lives in a remote village with her father, where the decade-old trauma of watching her mother snatched by royal guards still haunts her. Now, the guards are back, and this time it’s Lei they’re after–the girl whose golden eyes have piqued the king’s interest.

Over weeks of training in the opulent but stifling palace, Lei and eight other girls learn the skills and charm that befit being a king’s consort. But Lei isn’t content to watch her fate consume her. Instead, she does the unthinkable–she falls in love. Her forbidden romance becomes enmeshed with an explosive plot that threatens the very foundation of Ikhara, and Lei, still the wide-eyed country girl at heart, must decide just how far she’s willing to go for justice and revenge.

TW: violence and sexual abuse.

Review

Each year, 8 girls are chosen to become Paper Girls and serve the king, mainly sexually. This year Lei is kidnapped to serve the king because of her particularity. She will live with the other 7 girls and she will have to serve the king, but she is not at all motivated and will do everything she can to escape it. The characters are divided into three castes, Moon, the reigning caste that is entirely demon, humans appearance with animal’s attributes, Paper, the downtrodden caste that is wholly human and Steel, who are endowed with both demon and human elements and Humans at the very bottom of the chain and treated miserably by everyone.

I liked this book, there is a warning about violence and sexual abuse which is good, these scenes are more subjective than really described in the book but with imagination we can do anything.

Lei is a brave girl, she didn’t try to run away because the general threatened to kill her father. So she will learn to be a Paper Girl while trying to find her mother and not get killed. She will become friends with Aoki but at some point their ideas will fade away. She will also get closer to Wren and discover her secrets while falling in love for the first time.

I really liked the story even if it is true that the characters are treated in a horrible way, despite everything they manage to keep hope and they fight for their convictions. I was outraged at times by the actions or words of some of them. Some girls do not understand that the king does not love them, all this is just a matter of power and he does not like that his authority is undermined.

Natasha Ngan has succeeded in creating a climate of conflict and jealousy between all the girls, she has also succeeded in integrating into history a forbidden romance between two girls. To create this world she had to show imagination and can sometimes laugh when she created these demons.

Quick word: An absolute must read book that will overwhelm you in every sense of the word.

Chronique

Chaque années, 8 filles sont choisies pour devenir des Paper Girls et servir le roi, principalement sexuellement. Cette année c’est Lei qui est enlevée pour servir le roi à cause de sa particularité. Elle va vivre avec les 7 autres filles et elle va devoir servir le roi, mais elle n’est pas du tout motivée et fera tout ce qu’elle peut pour y échapper. Les personnages sont divisées en trois castes, la première est la Lune, ce sont des démons, ils ont une apparence humaine mais avec des attributs d’animaux, les seconds sont les Paper, ils sont humains mais avec une force ou des attributs non physique de démons et les derniers sont les humains, tout en bas la chaine et traités misérablement par tout le monde.

J’ai aimé ce livre, il y a un warning concernant la violence et les abus sexuels ce qui est bien, ces scènes sont plus subjectives que vraiment décrites dans le livre mais avec de l’imagination on peut tout faire.

Lei est une fille courageuse, elle n’a pas essayé de s’enfuir parce que le général à menacer de tuer son père. Elle va donc apprendre à être une Paper Girl tout en essayant de retrouver sa mère et de ne pas se faire tuer. Elle va devenir amie avec Aoki mais à un moment leurs idées vont s’éloigner. Elle va aussi se rapprocher de Wren et découvrir ses secrets tout en tombant amoureuse pour la première fois.

J’ai beaucoup aimé l’histoire même si il est vrai que les personnages sont traités d’une manière horrible, malgré tout elles arrivent à garder espoir et elles se battent pour leurs convictions. J’ai été outrée à certains moments par les actions ou les paroles de certaines d’entre elles. Quelques filles ne comprennent pas que le roi ne le aiment pas, tout cela est juste une question de pouvoir et il n’aime pas que l’on sape sont autorité.

Natasha Ngan a réussi à créer un climat de conflit et de jalousie entre toutes les filles, elle a aussi réussi à intégrer dans l’histoire une romance interdite entre deux filles. Pour créer ce monde elle a du faire preuve d’imagination et peut être parfois bien rire en créant ces démons.

En bref : Un livre à lire absolument qui vous bouleversera dans tous les sens du terme.

About the author

Natasha Ngan is a writer and yoga teacher. She grew up between Malaysia, where the Chinese side of her family is from, and the UK. This multicultural upbringing continues to influence her writing, and she is passionate about bringing diverse stories to teens. Natasha studied Geography at the University of Cambridge before working as a social media consultant and fashion blogger.

She recently moved to Paris, where she likes to imagine she drifts stylishly from brasserie to brasserie, notepad in one hand, wineglass in the other. In reality, she spends most of her time getting lost on the metro and confusing locals with her French.

She is represented by Taylor Haggerty at Root Literary. Her YA novels THE ELITES and THE MEMORY KEEPERS are out now from Hot Key Books, and GIRLS OF PAPER AND FIRE will be published in November 2018 by Little Brown.

Follow Natasha at: http://natashangan.com or on Twitter: @girlinthelens

Links

Goodreads : https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34433755-girls-of-paper-and-fire?from_search=true

Amazon : https://www.amazon.com/Girls-Paper-Fire-Natasha-Ngan/dp/0316561363/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1544703169&sr=8-2&keywords=girls+of+paper+and+fire