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Jun 10, 2021susan_findlay rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Beautifully written. Ngan does a fantastic job of bringing to life a world that, to be frank, is quite disturbing. If you're triggered by sexual violence, stay away. While it's not extensively described, it's very clear that the main character is raped violently. It's also strongly implied that most (all?) of the Paper Girls are raped - even if the degree of violence involved may vary. And nobody seems to be overly bothered by this (outside of the girls themselves). I am, however, *very* happy that Ngan did not turn the rapist into a romantic hero. One of the younger Paper Girls does appear to fall for him, but I can write that off as Stockholm Syndrome given that he is never presented to the reader as a sympathetic character. Most of the main characters are female. Many of them are strong - in different ways. But they aren't perfect. Mistakes happen. And they have to scramble for Plan B. The conclusion is plausible in context - and is clearly setting up for at least one sequel. But it's YA, so probably a trilogy. Possibly because of what's going on in the news right now, this story really reminded me of the treatment of First Nations children in many of the residential schools. The Moon Caste take away Paper Caste children - and it's supposed to be an "honour" that they'll be trained to be useful to the Moons (in this case turned into harem girls whether they like it or not - though they are expected to learn to fake liking it). I'm fairly certain this wasn't the author's intent as the influences appear to be primarily Asian. But it's interesting (and sad) how universal these themes truly are.