Thursday, December 16, 2010

Review - Wild Orchid (A Retelling of the ballad of Mulan)

Posted by LunaMoth at 6:26 PM


Information

Title - Wild Orchid (A retelling of the Ballad of Mulan)
Author - Cameron Dokey
Genre - Fiction/Fantasy
Pages - 224
Format Read - Ebook

Description - (from goodreads)

"Once upon a Time" Is Timeless
Wielding a sword as deftly as an embroidery needle, Mulan is unlike any other girl in China. When the emperor summons a great army, each family must send a male to fight. Tomboyish Mulan is determined to spare her aging father and bring her family honor, so she disguises herself and answers the call.

But Mulan never expects to find a friend, let alone a soul mate, in the commander of her division, Prince Jian. For all of Mulan's courage with a bow and arrow, is she brave enough to share her true identity and feelings with Prince Jian?

Thoughts

I have read two other Cameron Dokey 'retellings' and this was by far my favorite. Wild Orchid is not like the Disney tale of Mulan, yes Mulan is a girl who joins the imperial army in order to save her fathers life, but there is so much more to it than that. In this story Mulan must overcome herself, to look into her heart of hearts and find the courage to follow it. Wild Orchid starts off a while before the Hun attack China, we learn about her childhood and about her exploits before she became China's hero.

Wild orchid is a short read, a day read if you have the time but it is steeped in chinese tradiition (even if Mulan insists on skirting them) and what it means to truely be courageous, for not only are you actions a sign of bravery, but also your words and your willingness to follow your heart, no matter how difficult a task this is.

 

3 Comments:

  1. Kristina Barnes♥ said...
    December 16, 2010 at 7:28 PM  
    It sounds like this book has a great message to its readers. And it sounds really interesting, too. I personally love Chinese culture and tradition. Thanks for bringing this book onto my radar! <3
    MissA said...
    December 16, 2010 at 7:58 PM  
    I'm intrigued by reading this book and seeing how it's different from the movie. Mulan is one of my favorite Disney movies :)

    Thanks for the review, it does sound like it has a great message.
    A Canadian Girl said...
    December 17, 2010 at 3:48 AM  
    I love the Once Upon a Time series but I haven't gotten around to reading Wild Orchid yet. My favourite one so far is Tracy Lynn's Snow :)

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