Bound
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Overview
YOUNG XING XING IS BOUND.
Bound to her late father's second wife and daughter. Bound to a life of servitude as a young girl in ancient China, where a woman is valued less than livestock. Bound to be alone, with no parents to arrange for a suitable husband. Xing Xing spends her days taking care of her half sister, Wei Ping, who cannot walk because of her foot bindings, the painful tradition for girls who are fit to be married. Even so, Xing Xing is content to practice her gift for poetry and calligraphy, and to dream of a life unbound by the laws of family and society.
But all of this is about to change as Stepmother, who has spent nearly all of the family's money, grows desperate to find a husband for Wei Ping. Xing Xing soon realizes that this greed and desperation may threaten not only her memories of the past, but also her dreams for the future.
In a novel based on Chinese Cinderella tales, fourteen-year-old stepchild Xing-Xing endures a life of neglect and servitude, as her stepmother cruelly mutilates her own child's feet so that she alone might marry well.
Synopsis
YOUNG XING XING IS BOUND.
Bound to her late father's second wife and daughter. Bound to a life of servitude as a young girl in ancient China, where a woman is valued less than livestock. Bound to be alone, with no parents to arrange for a suitable husband. Xing Xing spends her days taking care of her half sister, Wei Ping, who cannot walk because of her foot bindings, the painful tradition for girls who are fit to be married. Even so, Xing Xing is content to practice her gift for poetry and calligraphy, and to dream of a life unbound by the laws of family and society.
But all of this is about to change as Stepmother, who has spent nearly all of the family's money, grows desperate to find a husband for Wei Ping. Xing Xing soon realizes that this greed and desperation may threaten not only her memories of the past, but also her dreams for the future.
Publishers Weekly
In this Cinderella story set in 14th-century China, "Napoli grants her heroine an independence that remains authentic to her time, and creates both an adventure and a coming-of-age story that will have readers racing to the finish," according to our Best Books citation. Ages 12-up. (Aug.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Editorials
From the Publisher
"A dramatic and masterful retelling." -- School Library Journal, starred review
"An adventure and a coming-of-age story that will have readers racing to the finish." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Deliberate and satisfying." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"Strong, unforgettable characters." -- Booklist, starred review
Publishers Weekly
In this Cinderella story set in 14th-century China, "Napoli grants her heroine an independence that remains authentic to her time, and creates both an adventure and a coming-of-age story that will have readers racing to the finish," according to our Best Books citation. Ages 12-up. (Aug.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.KLIATT
To quote the review of the hardcover in KLIATT, November 2004: Xing Xing is the daughter of master potter Wu. With the death of her father, she lives with Stepmother and a half-sister, Wei Ping. Stepmother is hoping to arrange a marriage for Wei Ping, and has bound her feet in order to make her more desirable. The infection that develops means that Xing Xing must seek medical help from a traveling herbalist. In the process she leaves her village and is allowed to see more of the world than she had imagined. The story is filled with the tradition and culture of the early Chinese. The family lives in a cave and Xing Xing works to keep the household clean and well stocked with foods. She befriends a baby raccoon and a beautiful white fish. As she travels with the medical man, she learns about herbal medicines and uses her own ability to read and write to earn her way on a riverboat. Returning home, she helps to heal Wei Ping and finds a secret treasure that her mother had left for her. Taking her treasure and attending the cave festival, Xing Xing again sees the world for herself without family chaperones. The end of the story is the Chinese version of Cinderella, thought by many to be the earliest version of the popular fairy tale. KLIATT Codes: J--Recommended for junior high school students. 2004, Simon & Schuster, Pulse, 186p., $5.99.. Ages 12 to 15.—Janis Flint-Ferguson
Children's Literature
After Xing Xing's beloved father dies, she is left in the care of his second wife, her cruel stepmother. Stepmother's one goal is to help her only daughter, Wei Ping, marry well. Although Wei Ping is already of marriageable age, Stepmother decides to bind her feet, a process that was usually begun in early childhood, to make the girl more attractive to potential suitors. Instead, the girl develops only debilitating pain and a life-threatening infection. While her stepsister heals, Xing Xing becomes the family servant, dressed in rags and secretly practicing the "three perfections"—painting, poetry, and calligraphy—which her father had valued and helped cultivate in her. As Xing Xing attempts to practice her art and evade her evil Stepmother, she finds solace from an unexpected source—a giant fish who may be the spirit of her late mother. Napoli's story bears a general resemblance both to traditional Western Cinderella stories and to the much older Chinese Cinderella tales. By placing her story in a specific time and place (northern China during the Ming Dynasty), Napoli also introduces historical details and themes about the value of women that add depth to the tale. Sophisticated readers will enjoy reading this novel alongside other global versions of the Cinderella tale, including Yeh-Shen, a Chinese Cinderella retelling for younger audiences. 2004, Simon & Schuster/Atheneum, Ages 10 to 14.—Norah Piehl
VOYA
Napoli again illustrates her skill in recreating fairy tales in their original context as she did in Beast (Atheneum/S & S, 2000/VOYA October 2000). This novel tells the Cinderella story in a historical China setting, where women bind their feet to appear attractive. Xing Xing is the stepdaughter who waits on her stepmother and stepsister after her father dies. Her stepsister recently began binding her feet and can hardly walk or do anything because of the pain. Xing Xing believes her dead mother's spirit has come back to guide her own life in the form of a beautiful carp that swims in the river next to their home. After Xing Xing is sent to another village to find a medicine man who might give her something for her sister's feet, she gathers courage to break away from her oppressive stepmother. She then finds a note and beautiful garments and shoes from her mother hidden in the house and goes to the celebration in the square, where she meets a Prince. As unflinching as the Grimm brothers, Napoli clearly defines some of the horrors of the time. Xing Xing's stepmother cuts off some of the sister's toes after a raccoon bites them to even them out and make the feet even sexier in the hope of catching a husband. While readers might not pick the book up without some encouragement, Napoli's excellent writing will soon draw them into the story. This Cinderella story is unforgettable. VOYA CODES: 5Q 3P J S (Hard to imagine it being any better written; Will appeal with pushing; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2004, Atheneum/S & S, 192p., Ages 12 to 18.—Amy Alessio