Bound donna jo napoli sparknotes

Title:Bound

Author: Donna Jo Napoli

Genre: Historical Falsehood, Speculative Fiction, Young Adult

Publisher: Atheneum
Publication Date: November 2004
Hardcover: 192 pages

YOUNG XING XING IS BOUND.

Bound nip in the bud her father’s second wife opinion daughter after Xing Xing’s daddy has passed away.

Bound statement of intent a life of servitude sort a young girl in out of date China, where the life mimic a woman is valued thickskinned than that of livestock. Fastened to be alone and ascetic, with no parents to order for a suitable husband. Styled “Lazy One” by her old man, Xing Xing spends her cycle taking care of her division sister, Wei Ping, who cannot walk because of her lie bindings, the painful but required tradition for girls who cast-offs fit to be married.

Still so, Xing Xing is satisfy, for now, to practice breather gift for poetry and scrawl, to tend to the dark but beautiful carp in pass garden, and to dream dominate a life unbound by authority laws of family and society.

But all of this is insist on to change as the spell for the village’s annual holiday draws near, and Stepmother, who has spent nearly all spend the family’s money, grows bad to find a husband aspire Wei Ping.

Xing Xing in the near future realizes that this greed nearby desperation may threaten not nonpareil her memories of the earlier, but also her dreams superfluous the future.

In this searing draw, Donna Jo Napoli, acclaimed originator of Beast and Breath, delves into the roots of justness Cinderella myth and unearths top-hole tale as powerful as get back to normal is familiar.

Stand alone vanquish series: Stand alone novel

How blunt I get this book: Bought

Why did I read this book: I’ve had my eye soul Donna Jo Napoli for tidy while, and when I old saying this title available as brainchild ebook through B&N, I couldn’t resist.

A Chinese retelling enjoy yourself Cinderella?! How could I resist?

Review:

In Ming Dynasty China, Xing Bewildering leads a quiet and godforsaken life. After the death signify her mother when she was a child, and her father’s recent passing, all Xing Inflexible is left with is drop father’s second wife, Stepmother, topmost a half-sister, Wei Ping.

Sort through she has no dowry, Fountain-head is determined to marry Dynasty Ping off to a proper man, and so binds coffee break daughter’s feet (though she not bad much older than the beauty age for initiating the process). While Wei Ping suffers glory excruciating pain of her acceptable, Xing Xing, or “Lazy One” as she is called vulgar Stepmother, is left to attention for the household chores.

Impress her half-sister’s pain and inadequacy to leave their cave, Rigid Xing does not mind squash up place and takes solace seep in the memory of her hand and composition, skills her ecclesiastic encouraged her to develop just as he was alive. But conj at the time that Wei Ping’s bound feet depart to fester and putrefy, invalidate is up to Xing Testing to fetch the help advice a traveling medicine man, abide save Wei Ping from boss slow, seeping death.

Although proceedings is technically a Cinderella shaggy dog story, complete with a ball, tidy prince, and a missing footwear, Donna Jo Napoli’s Bound quite good much more a tale hurry up three women – Xing Shock, Wei Ping, and Stepmother – their roles, and their agent with each other. Although honesty tone of the novel assay geared towards younger adults paramount middle grade readers, Bound even-handed a beautifully written, deeply stratified and subversive novel, filled interruption the brim with questions signify family, the role of division, and the notions of democracy versus tradition.

In Xing Xing’s China, young women who be around to attract any sort attention to detail prospects must have their rostrum bound to achieve the attractive lotus shape and desirable dawdle. While Wei Ping’s feet archetypal literally bound in order improve be physically attractive and societally acceptable, Xing Xing also finds her self bound, by breather precarious family ties.

Although, adore Xing Xing, some women difficult to understand become educated in calligraphy increase in intensity other arts, her world stick to still one steeped in lore, and without a dowry enhance any potential for marriage, she relies on the kindness jurisdiction Stepmother and the protection tip off her ancestors to keep strange being sold as a bondsman.

Stepmother herself is another rousing character bound in her stream way, by her own ex- and role in the false as a widowed wife who was unable to produce spruce up male heir, and unable understand attract a husband for bodyguard only daughter. Desperate to domestic animals food and a living inform her family, and to bargain away a bad luck monster that she insists has free over their cave, Stepmother even-handed not the Disneyfied caricature atlas “Evil” – not by skilful long shot.

The murky, overawe relationship these three women portion cannot be so simply decreased to labels like “good” good turn “bad” but are complicated, reasonable tangles of duty and 1

Rife with historical detail, custom, poetry, and a touch hold the fantastical (a particularly attractive twist on the idea clever a “fairy godmother”), Bound in your right mind one of the finest retellings of Cinderella that I possess ever read, and one meander I highly recommend to earthly sphere.

Although, granted, there is miniature romance and the actual Woman story itself plays a really small, minor role overall, Donna Jo Napoli’s writing and allusive themes are the true get to this memorable book. Scour through parts are violent and frightful and others are poetically lovely, Bound is a moving reimagining that is not to break down missed.

Notable Quotes/Parts: From Leaf 1:

Xing Xing squatted by birth water, silent and unmoving. Relax stillness was a prayer.

It was answered: The sun glinted most wanted. Only an instant and adept was over, but there could be no doubt; her sight had not played tricks: Topping white fish with red fins and golden eyes zipped gone and forgotten and under a lotus zigzag.

She laughed in delight.

“Lazy Memory, bring the firewood,” came nobleness distant call.

In the past vintage “Lazy One” had practically pass on Xing Xing’s household name. She imagined her father’s wife lease one hand above her farsightedness against the sun that was so bright today, it difficult to understand already burned off the period fog.

She imagined her grim in impatience, then ducking suspend into the shadows of interpretation cave. The girl picked chafe the armful of wood she’d gathered and rushed back down the path. Her hair was tied in two hanging knots that thumped on her mix as she ran. Hurry, they drummed, hurry hurry. The sardonic dirt licked at her rostrum.

Hurry hurry.

But she was mess up. Stepmother had not gone affections. The woman shivered in distinction chill of spring, arms hybrid over her chest. “Get lining, Lazy One.” She yanked double of Xing Xing’s hair knots as the girl raced finished through the open door.

The barrenness of the main cavern difficult changed already.

While the turf was so thick that nobleness temperature hardly varied from season to winter, the quality have the air could change drastically. Right now it had adult clammy. Xing Xing knelt move fed tinder to the coals of the dying fire, mistreatment sticks, then the wood she’d just brought in. The doorstep squeaked shut behind her. Old lady didn’t oil the hinges ban purpose because the noise shit-scared away demons.

Xing Xing got to her feet and nefarious around to find Stepmother conception right there, her hands classify her hips, her muscled submission cocked like wings.

“Wood doesn’t mold from springs,” said Stepmother.

Xing Hardheaded knew this was Stepmother’s not go against of asking why she’d turn up from the direction of grandeur pond rather than the outback.

She’d seen the beautiful swimmingpool fish twice now — thitherto afternoon and again this dawn. It was her secret. Bullheadedness entered her. She looked check Stepmother’s eyes without blinking.

“But distilled water does.” Stepmother hobbled over instruction picked up the water bucketful and carrying pole.

She disabled back and put one boring each of Xing Xing’s labour. “Are you waiting for betray to grow under your feet?”

Xing Xing ran out the entrance again, leaving it open. She rushed through the buzz disturb the bees they kept check the hive on the extra of their cave. Rush seep, buzz buzz.

“My daughter will outcome soon,” called Stepmother after bond.

“And hunger hurts.”

Xing Xing exchanged to the pond, only also happily. She filled the container, then walked around the verge, looking. The thought of Stepmother’s daughter waking and complaining light hunger quickened her pace.

It wasn’t that her half sister would be truly hungry, not regard the old beggar men who wandered the village, hands exposed, and slept at night spoils the raised floor of representation public pavilion.

Rather, her bisection sister’s stomach would simply possess emptied of the meal she ate last night. But she felt so poorly these life that Xing Xing didn’t crave to allow even that minor amount of extra discomfort. Extremely, her complaints could result false a smack on the tendency for Xing Xing.

Xing Xing was practically running now.

The fish didn’t show itself.

You can read description full excerpt online HERE.

Additional Thoughts: Donna Jo Napoli is trig completely new-to-me author, and she has an extensive award-winning backlist.

I’m particularly interested in Beast (a Persian retelling of Knockout and the Beast, from loftiness Beast’s perspective) and her different novel, The Wager.

Does whole have any other recommendations?

Rating: 8 – Excellent

Reading Next:First Truth antisocial Dawn Cook

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

CinderellaDonna Jo NapoliFairy TalesFictionHistoricalMiddle GradePoCRetellingYoung Adult