Marriott has, to date, not let me down as far as the enjoyment level, attention to detail and kick-ass heroines are concerned. The fact her books tend to feature non-Caucasian centric story lines just adds to the wonderfulness.

In this re-imagining of the Cinderella Fairy Tale (its not really a retelling, Suzume's journey is much darker than Cinderella's I think, and emotionally more painful) Suzume finds herself at the center of a decades long cat-and-mouse game. Unable to let go of the past, but also unable to forgive those who directly (or indirectly) had a hand in her misfortune, Suzume's path of vengeance treads a dark and dangerous road.

Marriott doesn't mince words in her books; her heroines suffer and suffer terribly. They're almost reborn like the Phoenix by the time the novel is over in fact. Suzume is no different. She begins the book as a cheerful, curious child and ends the novel experienced, sophisticated and with a clear idea of who (and what) she is...but only after so much hardship that I was truly fretful that she would recoup.


I liked the parallels to the Cinderella fairy tale--Suzume has not one fairy godmother, but several throughout the story as what she needs and wants changes. People who see the girl beneath everything and the potential therein.

Otieno...Otieno, I wasn't sure what to make of him at first. I liked his persistence, the way he insisted he knew his mind and that Suzume's society's preconceptions mean little to his people. Each time he appeared I was as surprised as Suzume and probably just as delighted.

I want to touch upon the darker aspects for a moment. Not just the betrayal and vengeance she seeks, but the more personal dark moments. After her father and cousin's deaths, Suzume is...empty. Suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, as well as a healthy dose of survivor's guilt, in a society that demands you forget pain and live as if it doesn't exist, she can't find an outlet.

Her mother grows ever more distant leaving Suzume literally with no one to speak with. Until one day she accidentally finds a release. A simple prick of her finger, the smallest of pains, and the emptiness seems to go away. But then the small pain isn't enough and more is needed to make the screaming inside her stop.

I almost didn't see what was going on. Marriott doesn't make a big deal of Suzume's growing need to harm herself, its a piece of the puzzle just like when Suzume learns to dance or how to work in the kitchen. Its handled well and with care. ( )

The lead is continuously learning about life and herself. She's been wronged by people close to her and lost people she loved in unnatural ways. She has to cope with her feelings of anger at herself and others throughout. She also has to learn to control newfound powers. I wasn't crazy about the story right from the start, but I continued to get more into it as it went along. ( )

This is the second book I have read by Zoe Marriot and while I want to love them I just don't. So I don't think I'll try again. I am constantly looking for authors similar to "Juliet Marillier" who I love and ZM is a common suggestion. But I root for and care about JM's characters and I just don't get that response in this book. I like that it does some unusual things particularly with the main character and the self harm but I just didn't care about her as a character. Ah well - keep looking. ( )

Audio book from the free young person summer audio book program. Story is a coming of age story of a young girl in Japan who has the ability to shapeshift and heal. The reader is good and the story was entertaining, I had some faults with it. It is a series and I do not plan to read any more in this series.
Rating: 3.25

I'm SO mixed on this. It's a truly beautiful story with awesome characters and a great new take on the Cinderella innocent persecuted-heroine story-type.

That being said, it's very problematic for me to have a white British woman creating a fairy-tale based on Japanese culture and tradition, creating literary commentary on transgenderism and blacks on the silk road. It feels so wrong on so many levels. ( )