Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha NganMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Trigger warnings for this book: rape, sex trafficking, homophobia.
I've heard a lot of positive buzz for Natasha Ngan's latest in the last few months, and after trading for this ARC, I can tell you that she and her book earn it all. It's a read that's often dark and dangerous and scary, with the aforementioned triggers. But then there's also the deep dives into royal-court intrigue, the sweet and incredibly loving f/f relationship that comes to anchor this story over time, and of course Ngan's knack for worldbuilding.
She gives us a world with a three-level caste system, where we focus more on the uppermost and lowermost castes - the Moon and Paper castes, respectively, with somewhat less focus on the mid-level Steel caste. It says a lot that the Moon caste, members of which look a lot like really humanoid animals, come off as fearsome instead of the children's cartoons they would've been in a lesser writer's hands. Hell, even the King, I admit I found myself snickering at his initial description, because he reminded me a lot of Disney's live-action Beast. But unlike Disney's Beast, this guy doesn't have much of a nice side. He's all around quite despicable, privileged as hell and prone to fits of paranoia and rage - and, worse, quite adept at putting on a gentle veneer when he wants to.
Ngan also does a great job with the culture of her world of Ikhara. As stated in her author's note at the end of the book, her childhood in Malaysia, surrounded by people of many nationalities, helped inform the creation of this fictional land. It's very pan-Asian, not specifically inspired by any one country. Some Paper Girls have Chinese names and some have Japanese; cheongsam and saris are featured fashions; sake is consumed. Ngan also shines a critical spotlight on male privilege - tellingly, in the court, men can sleep with other men and nobody really bats an eye, but women are expected to lie with men and men only. Especially when they're Paper Girls, making the blossoming love between Lei and Wren as forbidden as it is true.
Without spoilers, let's also just say that perhaps Ngan's greatest game is the cliffhanger game. A tad predictable, maybe, but very welcome if only because it promises a sequel. And dammit, this book deserves a sequel.
When Girls of Paper and Fire hits shelves this fall, I'll be sure to give it prime real estate on my work's displays. And with that special note from James Patterson himself in mind, I can hope that if my own books get published, they can be James Patterson Presents titles as well. After all, Patterson's made it pretty clear that he's committed to diverse authors and #ownvoices stories, and on that front, Natasha Ngan absolutely delivers.
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