Book Review: Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim
Summary: Spin the Dawn has been described by some as a mixture of Project Runway and Mulan. It is about Maia Tamarin, a young girl who dreams of becoming the imperial tailor - as a woman, she knows that will never happen. But when an official of the emperor summons her sick father to take part in a competition for the position of imperial tailor, she disguises herself as her brother who came back from war. She knows she will put her life in danger by pretending to be a boy for she will be executed if her secret comes out, but she does it so her father won't have to do it. She has to take part in challenges against other tailors who are much more experienced than her. Secrets, lying, backstabbing and magic are in the air as she struggles with the complicated challenges. And to make matters worse, she grabs the attention of the court magician - something you really don't want when you are in disguise. For the final challenge, she has to sow three gowns from the laughter of th...