Bound: Review

Synopsis: In a novel based on Chinese Cinderella tales, fourteen-year-old stepchild Xing-Xing endures a life of neglect and servitude, as her stepmother cruelly mutilates her own child's feet so that she alone might marry well.

Details: "Bound" by Donna Jo Napoli, 184 pages, 3.5 stars on Amazon

My Thoughts: Pretty cover! I'd like to see something incorporating the whole thing with being bound, but it's very nice regardless.

I had mixed feelings on this one. I'm generally not the biggest fan of books based on fairy tales, especially those that try to make them modern fairy tales. Although this one took place in the past, it was rather predictable. I understand that might be the point of basing a book on a fairy tale in the first place, but I didn't find any places whatsoever where there was a plot twist I didn't see coming.

I also feel that the characters could stand to be a little more multi-dimensional. For instance, Xing Xing was relatively flat. All we really know about her is that she loved her father and mother, and she quietly rebels with her love for calligraphy and poetry. Her stepmother was rather lacking as well. Unless I missed something, there isn't really an explanation for her actions more than that she was just mean-spirited or something. Xing Xing's stepsister was interesting, but I didn't get much of a sense for her either.

The story was very simple and makes for a light read. I guess it's pretty good for older elementary students and younger middle school students, but I like more weight in what I read.

On the flip side, the one thing I thought was really quite well done in this book was the whole thing with the bound feet. The horrifying old custom was portrayed excellently; I remember stories in my family of my great-great-grandparents having to go through this, but it never really clicked with me how painful it has to be until I read this book. The scene with the cleaver made me cringe, not so much because I was squeamish (which I am, but that's beside the point), but how unhesitating the stepmother was and the mentions of it being common practice.

All in all, it was okay, but not something I would really recommend. Three smilies out of five.

Racism on Book Covers

If you follow a lot of agent and writer blogs, you've probably heard of this controversy, but if not, I'll reiterate. Cindy Pon wrote a novel called "Silver Phoenix", which was an excellent novel I greatly enjoyed. I've read a handful of books with Asian(-American in some cases) characters that either took place in Asia or America, or both, and honestly, I think "Silver Phoenix" is one of the top five I've come across. It takes place in China, has genuinely Chinese characters, and "is inextricably tied to Ai Ling's empowerment through her identity, not just as a woman, but as a Chinese woman." This is the original cover:

It's a beautiful cover, too, don't you think? I mean, the colors are gorgeous. The girl looks strong and powerful, just like the theme of the book, and she's also Chinese. Like she's meant to be. If I hadn't heard of this book and I saw this cover in a library or a book store, I would go over and look at it.

Apparently, the publishing company didn't quite agree. In an effort to make it sell more, they decided to change the cover. Obviously the issue is the Asian girl. Just obviously. So what's the solution? Easy! Let's go and make the Asian girl nice and white and safe! Because, obviously, the sort of people who don't want to read a book with an Asian on the cover are the sort of people who would want to read this story in the first place. This is the new cover:

To be honest, even without considering all the racism and things, I wouldn't like this book cover. It just doesn't look so attractive. The girl is sickly pale, the title doesn't seem to match the cover picture, and just what is that ugly green thing hanging around her neck? It looks like something my dog sneezed out. Oh, and it's not enough to violate one book. They brutalized the sequel's cover as well:

Okay, can you get any whiter and non-Asian that that? The girl looks like she just stepped out of Gossip Girl.

I honestly can't believe this. I'm surprised they didn't ask the author to change her name from "Cindy Pon" to "Cindy Williams". What's next? Taking a book on Martin Luther King Jr. and changing the photo to that of a white man?

What are your thoughts on this?