REVIEW
An e-arc has been provided by the publisher, Penguin Random House International, in exchange for an honest review.
Reading this book was like eating raisin in a dish—I indulge in them, from time to time, but I’d rather set them aside or not have them part of the dish in the first place.
I saw the allure of the story when I began reading it. The strong semblance to Mulan—one of my favourite Disney films—attracted me and really compelled me to keep on reading.
The story follows a young seamstress, Maiai Tamarin. Her father was called upon by the emperor for a test to become the imperial tailor; however, Maia’s father is in no shape to perform (not even inserting a thread in a needle) nor was her brother who’s supposedly the one to take over the tailoring but he was ruined by war. In a land where women are appreciated to do nothing but housework, Maia, then is not in any way, shape, or form qualified for the task. But that’s where they are wrong.
“Ask me to spin the finest yarn or thread, and I can do it faster than any man—even with my eyes closed. Yet ask me to tell a lie, and I will stumble and falter to think of one.”
Spin the Dawn is a good example of why I became distant to young adult fiction. They are far too trope-y for my liking and a huge chunk of the book feels like they are there just to make the story longer. Don’t get me wrong, a lot of the events were important yet they feel so rushed as if they weren’t even valuable to the story.
Part of why young adult fictions are accessible is the way they are read. They are relatively simple and quick-paced. However, that’s what makes them disappointing as well. Sometimes it becomes the detrimental point of the story or the writing. It’s too rushed that most of the more important aspect of the books are set aside for something shallow.
Don’t even get me started with the characters of the story. Living in an era where the entire world is dominated by monarchy, you’d think these people will have better maturity than we do in our age, but no, not even the 500 year old (I forgot his exact age) mage knows how to control his personality and urges that it’s quite appalling to me.
“War comes at a great cost and from that sacrifice comes peace. Sometimes we must let go of what we value for the future of our country. Be it a beautiful fan, or our honor, or our lives. In the end, we belong to the gods anyway.”
I can see why people would like this book. There’re so many points of interest to see—the magical world, strong female protagonist, interesting side-characters. But it lacked, still, in the substance I was looking for in a character and events in a fantasy story. I was hoping for the main character to be more selfish, the villain from the story could have better light considering they are the side of the coin that propels the main characters adventures, and I despise the absolute obvious romance that I wished never happened but rang true towards the end.
Commercial fictions, to me, are becoming weaker and weaker as publishers begin to focus more on quantity and hype for the sake of sales than the overall quality of the story. I forget books are more products designed to entice consumers at a glance and not just something that we enjoy at our leisure. But, alas, Spin the Dawn isn’t the worst book I’ve read. I enjoyed parts of it yet it’s not enough for me to pick it up again.
