Quarter Finalist

Assessment:

Plot: Smartly paced, with cross-cutting chapters that advance the plot along its intertwined story lines, this novel propels the reader through its colorful narrative. The author carefully balances action and intrigue with a modest fantasy element to keep the story's plot twists unpredictable.

Prose: Kang’s unembellished prose clearly and directly advances the story.

Originality: This is a historical fantasy with a coming-of-age component. Its dynamic setting and its young heroine’s adventures as she rebels against the traditions of her culture and the expectations for her gender are not entirely original, but made to seem so by the liveliness of the story’s events.

Character Development: The characters are perfectly defined by the roles they play in this story, with a sympathetic protagonist and side characters who, whether rogues or outsider allies, contribute to the narrative's vitality. 

Date Submitted: July 22, 2017