Book Review | Girls of Paper and Fire

Girls of Paper and Fire

Natasha Ngan

385 Pages

5/5 Stars

Lei is a member of the Paper caste, the lowest and most persecuted class of people in Ikhara. Ten years ago, her mother was snatched by the royal guards, and her fate remains unknown. Now the guards are back and this time it's Lei they're after - the girl with the golden eyes, whose rumoured beauty has piqued the king's interest. 

Over weeks of training in the opulent but oppressive palace, Lei and eight other girls learn the skills and charm that befit a king's consort. There, Lei does the unthinkable - she falls in love. Her forbidden romance becomes enmeshed with an explosive plot that threatens her world's way of life and Lei, still the wide-eyed country girl at heart, must decide how far she's willing to go for justice and revenge. 

"We might be Paper girls, easily torn and written upon. The very title we're given suggests that we are blank, waiting to be filled. But what the demon king and his court do not understand is that paper is flammable. And there is a fire catching among us."

Girls of Paper and Fire is an immersive and intricate young adult fantasy novel inspired by Asian mythology and Ngan's experiences growing up in Malaysia. It's the first in a series that will have you enthralled from beginning to end. It's an incredible, heart wrenching story of  strong women and their determination to survive. 

This story is told from the point of view of Lei, a young girl taken to the palace and forced to serve the demon king as a consort. What makes it even more immersive is that it is told in first person point of view. It forces the reader to experience Lei's emotional story alongside her and leaves little to the imagination. 

Ngan's storytelling is magnificent, resulting in a world so lush and vivid it's hard to step away. The plot thrives on tension created by the awful position the girls are forced into and the brilliant political subplot. Ngan also does a great job of building the relationships between all the girls and showing how complicated their situation is.

Lei is a wonderful character; she's brave, determined and has a good heart. It was really nice to see a character allowed to be scared, to struggle and be desperate to survive. The ending was all the better knowing Lei had succeeded in escaping.

As a love interest, Wren was perfect for Lei - she was caring, supportive and there at the right moments. I loved that it was Wren, originally, who was carrying the rebellion against the demon king, and not Lei. Their romance is perfect as a slow burn and provides just the sweetness the book needs. 

"No one's paying attention to us, their focus all on the stage, and I need her right now, need the familiar warmth of her hands to ground me, to calm my already frantic heart from spiralling so far out of control that it breaks free - and me with it."

Overall, I loved Girls of Paper and Fire. It's a brilliant, angsty, emotional read and I can't wait to read the sequel. I will say that this book does contain scenes of violence and sexual assault - so if you're triggered by these things, this might not be the book for you. It's the story of girls reclaiming their own narrative and learning that they aren't strong in spite of anything, but powerful because of everything. I therefore, would thoroughly recommend. 

Have any of you read Girls of Paper and Fire? If you have let me know what you thought of Lei's story in the comments below. As always, thanks for reading and I'll see you in the next post.