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 the sun, the tears of the moon and the blood of stars. She has to embark on an extremely dangerous quest to obtain the materials for these three magical dresses. 

Review:

I read this book for my book club in September. This month we're reading The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne - so you can still join if you want to. I have heard mixed reviews from this book before, so I didn't exactly know what to expect, but some of the members from my book club raved about it and according to them it is great. Now I wouldn't go as far as to say it is great. For me, this book is average. It is not horribly bad, but it is also not one of the greatest books ever written. I don't read fantasy that much anymore. This is probably one of the first fantasy books I have read since Harry Potter. So I don't really have a lot of experience with this genre. The beginning of the book felt a bit stretched out when the narrator tells us Maia's whole backstory. But I liked when she had to complete the challenges for the position of imperial tailor. But when she had to go on the quest, it kind of felt like the story was going nowhere. It almost felt like the author didn't plot out that part of the book, like she didn't really know what to do in that part of the story. No disrespect to Elizabeth Lim - she is amazing writer. I just didn't like how she plotted out this book. But when one looks at her actual writing, you will be amazed because she plays with words. It's just wow. 

I liked how Lim incorporated a feminist theme into this story like how Maia had to disguise herself to be a man in order to just compete in the challenges to be considered for the position of imperial tailor. And she did it even though she knew it could cost her her life. She still did , she reached for her big dream and didn't let anything get in her way or stop her from becoming the first female imperial tailor.  I quite connected to that part of the story. No one can ever tell you that you can't do something because of who you are (and doesn't just have to be because you are a woman but any other reason as well). No one should stand in the way of you reaching for your dreams!

So this book has cons and pros and I know you heard some more negative feedback, but that shouldn't stop you from reading this book. Everyone's taste differs. I thought this book would be one of those perfect books that sucks you into the story and you just can't put down.  I could've  put this book down and just decided not to finish it - that is the problem with this book for me. But I feel like that perfect book doesn't really exist. Someone will always find something wrong with a book even though it may seem like the perfect book for you. So don't let my opinion stop you from picking up this book, finishing it and forming your own opinion. This book was still really good; it just had some flaws. I gave this book 7/10. So go and read it and let me know what you think about it !