Malinda Lo

I don’t do too many book giveaways on my blog, but I’m excited to make an exception today, to celebrate the paperback release of Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon!

I’m giving away not only a brand-new paperback copy of Silver Phoenix, but a signed advance review copy of its sequel, Fury of the Phoenix, which doesn’t even hit stores until April 2011. To win, all you have to do is enter your contact info in the form at the end of this blog post.

I met Cindy online when I first started poking around the YA blogosphere in early 2009, and she has become a real-life friend to me since then. I know that sometimes readers are a little skeptical of authors gushing about their friends’ books, and I totally understand. But I don’t really gush about anybody’s books that often (friends or not), so if I do, you can be sure that I mean what I’m saying.

In Silver Phoenix, 17-year-old Ai Ling flees from an arranged marriage to a lecherous merchant and journeys on a quest to find her missing father. Along the way she discovers a great power within her, which she must use to fight demons and monsters who block her way. She also meets two brothers, Chen Yong and Li Rong, both of whom become her allies. Booklist, which named Silver Phoenix one of the Top Ten Fantasy and Science Fiction Books for Youth in 2009, described Cindy’s writing as “both fluid and exhilarating.” But here are my reasons for why Silver Phoenix and Fury of the Phoenix are worthy of your attention:

• They are different than 99% of the young adult fantasies being published today. There are no angels or vampires in these books. The love interest is not a bad boy with stalker instincts. The main female character doesn’t spend most of her time moping over a love triangle.
• They are both Asian-inspired fantasies written by an Asian American author. What that means is you get a non-Western setting that is also, in my opinion, refreshingly not exoticized. Stuff happens in these books that is based on thousands of years of Chinese mythology, but I’m absolutely certain you have never heard of some of these myths. And all the names sound right!
• Ai Ling, the main character, is courageous and smart. She does things she doesn’t know if she can do. She rises to the challenge presented. And she does it all while trying to never skip a delicious meal!
• The guy she falls for, Chen Yong, is smart and brave. He treats Ai Ling with respect, and he acts like man, not a boy. To me, that’s way sexier than a smirk and an attitude.

Since Fury of the Phoenix is a sequel, I won’t spoil it by telling you too much about what happens. But I will tell you this. Fury of the Phoenix is truly one of the most unique YA¹ fantasies I’ve ever read. It is sexy and thrilling, and I really love Cindy Pon’s style. She writes with an appealing lightness and energy that gives great motion to the story. And, because I can’t resist a little bit of a teaser: Fury of the Phoenix is chock full of pirates, deliciously wicked court intrigue, and lush romance between a eunuch and a courtesan. (I’m not kidding! I loved it!)

There’s one more reason you might enjoy Silver Phoenix: Food! As I mentioned, Ai Ling loves to eat, and there is so much delicious, yummy Chinese food in these books! Cindy has even included a special recipe in the back of the paperback edition; it’s her mother’s own vegetarian mopo tofu. I love to cook, so I convinced Cindy to give me a sneak preview of the recipe, and I tried it out.

Cindy's mom's vegetarian mapo tofu (made by me!)

It is super tasty! I’ve made it several times now. I really love the addition of cherry tomatoes, which isn’t in traditional recipes. It adds a really nice tartness to the dish.

So, if you want to win a copy of the paperback edition of Silver Phoenix and an ARC of Fury of the Phoenix:

• Enter your contact information in the form below. This giveaway is open internationally!
• Comments do not count as entries; you must fill out the form.
• You can get extra entries by tweeting, blogging, or posting to Facebook about the giveaway.
• The deadline for the giveaway is Feb. 15th.
• I will contact the winner shortly afterward.

Thanks for entering, and please do help spread the word!

Updated 2/20/11: The contest is over and a winner has been selected. Thanks everybody for entering!

1. I’m categorizing the books as young adult because that’s how they’re published. But in my opinion, these books very easily cross over into adult fantasy. [↩]