Young Adult Literature without Apology

Amy's assessment of contemporary young adult literature, organized by author and title, censored by noone.

Realistic | Romance | Science Fiction | Historical Fiction | Fantasy | Horror | Mystery

Napoli, Donna Jo (2004). Bound. NY: Atheneum (Simon and Schuster). ISBN: 0689861753. 186 pages.

Every time I read a Donna Jo Napoli book, I wonder why I haven't taken the time to read her entire oeuvre. Bound, like many of Napoli's other novels, is a retelling of a fairy tale (in this case, the Cinderella story), well set in an historical locale that belies much research. This short and plainly told novel is set in Ming China, during which many young girls suffered foot binding for fashion. Narrator Xing Xing has not had her feet bound; however, her stepsister Wei Ping is undergoing the painful treatment at a late age as Xing Xing's stepmother conspires to marry off her daughter. The Cinderella connection is not evident until the near end and is certainly not the only element that might draw or attract readers; Napoli paints a picture of Ming China the likes of which we've probably never seen nor thought about and colors her narration with simple poetry. This is a beautiful and sometimes harsh story that moves quickly and would be a good historical fiction recommendation.