Uncover a riveting story of palace intrigue set in a sumptuous Asian-inspired fantasy world in the breakout YA novel that Publisher's Weekly calls "elegant and adrenaline-soaked."
In this richly developed fantasy, Lei is a member of the Paper caste, the lowest and most persecuted class of people in Ikhara. She lives in a remote village with her father, where the decade-old trauma of watching her mother snatched by royal guards for an unknown fate still haunts her. Now, the guards are back and this time it's Lei they're after -- the girl with the golden eyes whose rumored beauty has piqued the king's interest.
Over weeks of training in the opulent but oppressive palace, Lei and eight other girls learns the skills and charm that befit a king's consort. There, she does the unthinkable: she falls in love. Her forbidden romance becomes enmeshed with an explosive plot that threatens her world's entire way of life. Lei, still the wide-eyed country girl at heart, must decide how far she's willing to go for justice and revenge.
Industry Reviews
"Ngan's demonic world is sharp and compelling, and her Lei is my sort of heroine, attacking her (steep!) learning curve teeth-first."--E.K. Johnston, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Story of Owen and Star Wars: Ahsoka "With deliciously deep world-building and a cast of fierce young women fighting to take charge of their own story, Girls of Paper and Fire cuts you deep and leaves you breathless for more." --Ashley Poston, author of Heart of Iron and Geekerella "Damn... Good read, highly recommend."--Olympic-gold-winning snowboarder Chloe Kim "A beautifully written, powerful story unique against all the current YA fantasy out there. You must read this."--Joshua Khan, author of Shadow Magic "Lei's story is gorgeously woven in Ngan's emotionally nuanced, crystalline prose. This book broke my heart, made me cry, and had me completely spellbound from the first page."--Lana Popovic, author of Wicked Like a Wildfire "Girls of Paper and Fire is as lush--and brutal--as the Demon King's own court. Ngan is a stunning new talent."--Kiersten White, New York Times bestselling author of And I Darken "Get ready to be pulled into a lush, magical world, where two concubines must hide their forbidden love if they want to survive the Demon King's treacherous court. A fiery, spellbinding read."--Julie C. Dao, author of Forest of a Thousand Lanterns "This gorgeous book is everything I want in a fantasy. Beautiful, lush, lyrical with fantastic world building and an epic forbidden romance, I devoured every word and was left desperately wanting more."--Ellen Oh, author of the Prophecy series and co-founder of We Need Diverse Books Praise for Girls of Paper and Fire