Book Review :: Girls of Paper and Fire, by Natasha Ngan

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan
ISBN: 1473692199
Series: Girls of Paper and Fire #1
Published by Hachette NZ
on 2018-11-06
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Pages: 384
Source: Hachette Publishing NZ
Find at Hachette NZ
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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.

Last updated on 14 October 2023

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My thoughts on Girls of Paper and Fire

This was a tough book to read, and so, therefore, has been a tough book to write about. It was tough because of the cruelty of men, of the King, of the sheer lack of saying that women had in their families their days, and their lives. Lei is forced to become the ninth Paper Girl (there are usually only eight chosen per year), and essentially be paraded about in great ponce for the abusive King, to be called upon at any moment to join him in his bedroom. He’s abusive and cruel, and the story follows Lei as she tries to settle into life in the Palace, in this place that isn’t safe from physical, mental or emotional harm.

“I don’t want an easy life. I want a meaningful one.”

Yet she finds solace with the other girls, making friends, finding love, and eventually, the tides turn, even just a little. While it was a tough book to read, and you just wanted to get in there and do some damage to the corrupt system, Ngan writes in a way that is respectful and full of love and care. It is a book that contains sexual abuse, however, it’s not explicit or too descriptive. Don’t let that put you off too much; there’s a lot of great stuff in this book, including beautiful friendships, girls plotting and scheming, mentors who are helpful and ones who are not so much.

There are many important messages in this book, and I’m sure they will continue throughout the rest of the series (it’s set to be a trilogy). Thank you to Hachette NZ for this review copy.

Have you read Girls of Paper and Fire?

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I received this book for free from Hachette Publishing NZ in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.