Fifteen Reasons to Read Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

Hey all! Today we’re bringing you a super fun post! As I’m sure everyone and anyone who has ever seen our blog knows, Sasha and I are HUGE fans of the Girls of Paper and Fire series by Natasha Ngan, so we thought we’d put together 15 reasons why you should read it! – Sasha and Amber

 

1.Sapphic Excellence

The f/f romance in this book is just – *next level*. The two girls are both so precious and loveable separately, and together they are strong and able to help each other and make each other better. Not only are they both badass warrior survivors, they’re also SO BEAUTIFUL together.

credit: pinktofu_art

 

2. Diversity

This book is packed with diversity!! It’s set in an Asian-inspired world, the cast is built up of POC, the author is a disabled QPOC and throughout book 1 and 2 there are plenty of LGBTQ+ characters.

3. Feminism

The theme of feminism in Girls of Paper and Fire is such a powerful one. It is set in a society with clear sexism and men in power but it’s a story of women refusing to be silenced, standing up for themselves and starting a revolution. The second book especially is a story about dealing with being a survivor, and all the different ways people handle that.

4. Characters

Each character in this book will make you fall in love with them, with a couple of exceptions of course! The group of paper girls are all so unique and their backgrounds are so interesting to read about. The friendships throughout book 1 are heartwarming and unexpected. In book 2, the cast of new characters are witty, funny, kind, protective and generally so loveable!

5. Important Topics

This book covers lots of important topics – don’t forget to check out the trigger/content warnings before picking it up! But it covers topics such as abuse, sexual assault, rape, self harm and much more in such a mature way, It’s absolutely heartbreaking to read at times, but I think it’s great that the topics are addressed and spoken about, rather than just swept under the rug.

6. Exciting Plot

The plot of this book will have you on the edge of your seat. It will get to a part where your heart rate has just about returned to normal, and then BOOM. Without giving anything away obviously, there are certain parts of the plot that actually make me want to hurl the book at the wall. It will certainly keep you gripped as you’re reading it.

7. Will Make You Cry

Are we the only ones that love books that make you cry? If you’re a weepy person, Girls is bound to make you cry – from both sadness and happiness. No matter how many times we’ve read this book/series, it still makes us cry and we always turn to our group of friends for support lol.

8. Banter + Found Family

So many of the friendships in this series are so witty and banter-filled, it hilarious. The way some of them interact and talk to each other is so funny and you will literally laugh out loud at points. Not only that, but the found family trope in this book is truly — *chef’s kiss*

9. You Can be Mine and Amber’s BFF

Really, this is the key point of this post. Read it, chat to us about it and cement our friendship forever. I followed Amber on Twitter because her display name was something like “girls of paper and fire stan.” and now look at us.

10. Gorgeous Cover

Have you SEEN the cover for Girls of Paper and Fire? It is absolutely stunning, and the cover for Girls of Storm and Shadow may even be MORE beautiful – and it’s definitely very sapphic… I cannot WAIT to see the cover for Girls of Fate and Fury…I wonder what colour it will be…

Just look at the power these covers EXUDE

11. #OwnVoices

We always want to read and support #OwnVoices books because we know how personal and difficult they can be for authors to write and quite literally put their heart on a page for readers. Lei is a queer Asian woman who is a survivor of sexual assault, and so is Natasha Ngan, making the representation so much more beautiful and important.

12. Varied PTSD Representation

This is one thing that we truly love about this book and appreciate the most. All of the paper girls are forced to sleep with the king, and the way their PTSD displays itself is different in every character. THIS IS SO IMPORTANT!!! There is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way to react or cope with emotional trauma, and we love Natasha for pushing that.

13. Gorgeous World + World-building

At times, it feels as though you’re actually standing right there beside the characters, which is both terrifying at times but mainly mesmerising. The rich Asian-inspired world created by Natasha is SO easy to visualise, Amber even created a ‘visuals while reading girls of paper and fire’ thread on twitter, which you can see here.

14. Easy to Grasp Magic System

The magic system in this book is super easy to grasp the concept of; so if you’re new to fantasy or find it difficult to understand super complex magic systems, this is definitely okay for you! Not only is it easy to understand, but it is also so vivid, descriptive and beautiful ❤

15. Beautiful Friendships

Especially in book 2, the friendships in this series will make you cry – like actually sob. All of the characters fit together so well and in book 1, the way the friends rally together when they need it most is so beautiful. Each and every single character in this series (with 2 or 3 exceptions) are TO DIE FOR, they’re all our babies and we just want to protect them ❤