Book Crush : Silver Phoenix By Cindy Pon
On the day of her first betrothal meeting--and rejection--Ai Ling discovers a power welling deep within her. She can reach into other people’s spirits, hear their thoughts, see their dreams…and that’s just the beginning.
Ai Ling has been marked by the immortals; her destiny lies in the emperor’s palace, where a terrible evil has lived, stealing souls, for centuries. She must conquer this enemy and rescue her captive father, while mythical demons track her every step. And then she meets Chen Yong, a young man with a quest of his own, whose fate is intertwined with hers. Here is a heart-stopping, breathtaking tale for fans of action, fantasy, and romance--of anything with the making of legend. SILVER PHOENIX had been at the top of my wishlist ever since I first found out that Cindy Pon had written an epic adventure romance set in Asia. I suppose the book struck a chord with me because I had grown up watching wu xia pian and since martial arts books written in English were far and few - okay, practically non existent - the book caught my imagination right away.
There are so many things to love about Silver Phoenix, the most notable being Cindy Pon’s lush, cinematographic writing. I could have finished the book at one sitting but I found myself drawing it out to three weeks because I wanted to savor the way she wove the words together and picture the imageries she peppered liberally throughout the book.
As the main character, Ai Ling has a good balance of feistiness without becoming irritatingly volatile. And though the enigmatic Chen Yong plays Ai Ling’s love interest, I found myself drawn to his younger brother, the playful and womanizing Li Rong. I suppose deep down, every girl wants to hang out with the lovable rogue, that’s why when given the choice between Luke Skywalker and Han Solo, we’d pick Han Solo every time, right?
The thing is, it’s so easy for Chen Yong to be overshadowed by Li Rong, and yet Chen Yong held his own at all times. I’ve yet to figure out how Cindy accomplishes this cunning feat.
And oh, I loved, loved, loved, the ending. I’m not one who cries easily when I’m reading a book, but I found myself tearing up at the last page. It’s so perfect and heartbreaking and true to the characters.
I think the thing that struck me about a book like Silver Phoenix was the amount of research that went into it - the customs and culture, the folklore, the locale, and yes, the food - to make the whole experience so much more vivid and authentic. I think my only complaint was that the villain Zhong Ye was not fleshed out more and that his part was over so quickly. I had been expecting a big drawn out epic showdown because I am an epic showdown kind of girl.
Over all, Silver Phoenix is a book I will pick up and read again every few years because it’s such a beautifully sensuous book, such a lyrically visual treat. And rightly so, Silver Phoenix was on the Booklist Editor's Choice for Young Adult Reads 2009 along with such illustrious names as Neil Gaiman, Terry Prachett, Suzanne Collins and Kristin Cashore. It is also on the TAYSHAS 2010 list and had been nominated for YALSA’s BBYA and the Cyblis. Needless to say, I’m looking forward to the sequel.
To find out more about Cindy Pon please visit her website http://cindypon.com/