Shadows on the Moon
Author: Zoe Marriott
Publisher: Candlewick Press, 2012
Genre: YA Fantasy
Buy: Amazon ♥ B&N ♥ TBD
Trained in the magical art of shadow-weaving, sixteen-year-old Suzume is able to re-create herself in any form - a fabulous gift for a girl desperate to escape her past. But who is she really? Is she a girl of noble birth living under the tyranny of her mother's new husband, Lord Terayama? Or a lowly drudge scraping a living in the ashes of Terayama's kitchens? Or is she Yue, the most beautiful courtesan in the Moonlit Lands? Whatever her true identity, Suzume is destined to use her skills to steal the heart of a prince in a revenge plot to destroy Terayama. And nothing will stop her, not even the one true aspect of her life- her love for a fellow shadow-weaver.
Shadows on the Moon is the life story of Suzume, a girl who starts out as the daughter of a lowly poet, becomes the stepdaughter of a wealthy noble, escapes as a lowly drudge working the kitchens, and turns into a beautiful courtesan. She’s put on so many different masks that Suzume feels she has lost herself along the way, but it’s of no importance compared to her plot for revenge. When true love comes her way, Suzume will be faced with the hardest decision of her life, a choice between avenging her family or everlasting happiness. Shadows on the Moon will take you along the Moonlit Lands, a place filled with magic, obstacles unending, and love of the once in a life time kind.
Love comes like storm cloudsFleeing from the wind, and castsShadows on the moon.
Suzume’s character really surprised me. At first I couldn’t figure her out, she seemed to be really passive about the whole thing with her mother, who didn’t want to even mention her father and what had happened during the attack. She would cut herself to be free of the pain, which I saw as cowardice. But then when Suzume learns the truth, she explodes and runs away and becomes a drudge. I thought that was really brave, taking her life in her own hands.
Suzume then learns about her shadow weaving powers, and how she’d been using it all her life without knowing. After that the story moves forward quickly. As Suzume changes names, I could see how she re-invented herself time and time again adapting to the situations, and it just made me like her more. She goes from being Suzume (“little sparrow”) to Rin (“cold”) to Yue (“Moon”). The only thing that seems to be a constant in her life is Otieno. He is a foreigner who Suzume met on a ship, when he saved her from being thrown overboard. He has dark skin with iridescent blue tattoos that cover his back, and left arm. He’s a master archer, has a falcon, and has long hair in neat cornrows. If these descriptions don’t make you swoon, then a couple of his lines will surely will (see favorite quotes below). No matter how hard Suzume is falling for him, she still torn between duty to avenge her family and duty to her own heart.
Set in a fantasy Japanese/Chinesse-like world, Shadows on the Moon is rich in detail and prose, as Zoe Mariott peppers it with foreign terms that make the character and the land come alive. Though the story takes its time setting up the world and plot, the slow pace is all worth it in the end. The themes of grief, depression, and love are wonderfully dealt with. And I got so into the story with its many twists and turns that it’s only now that I realize it’s a darker re-telling of the Cinderella tale!
*I received this book via Netgalley from the publisher*
Favorite Quotes:
“Pipit,” he said again, his voice soft. He released my arm and took my face between his hands, gently tilting my head until I met his eyes. “Pipit. Pipit, do not deny me. I cannot bear it.”
The ice shattered. My shadow-weaving shredded away like mist under a summer wind, and I was exposed, weak and trembling and pitiful as I was. I could not speak. All I could do was look at him.
~
“I can walk unassisted,” I muttered.
“Oh, I know. And run, too. You are always running away from me,” he said. “If I have hold of you, you cannot get away so easily.”
~
“Tell me.”
“I cannot. Please accept that. I cannot bear to think about it.”
We sat in silence. Otieno’s fingers traced slow circles on my shoulder.
“You are a stubborn woman.” His lips touched my hair. “My stubborn woman.”
He held me against him, I felt no urge to argue.
~
“Otieno,” I said abruptly, “What would you have done if you had come here but I did not change my mund and agree to go with you?”
“Gagged you, thrown you over my shoulder, and taken you anyway,” he said promptly. “I have some ropes braided around my waist. Actually, I do not know whether to be relieved or disappointed that it is not necessary.”
