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Editorial Content for The Fire Horse Girl

Book

The Fire Horse Girl

Contributors

Alyssa L.

Reviewer (text)

Alyssa L., Teen Board member

Told from the perspective of a Chinese-American immigrant, Kay Honeyman’s debut novel THE FIRE HORSE GIRL gives readers insights into what it was like to be Chinese in America during the 1920s and the stereotypes associated with Chinese girls who spoke their minds. It was a refreshing read that opened my eyes to a darker history of my culture.

Since Jade Moon is turning 17, soon, she is supposed to be preparing for marriage. However, she has a flaw: she is a Fire Horse girl, meaning that her Chinese zodiac is a Fire Horse. This is the worst Chinese zodiac for a girl to have, as it makes them too stubborn, reckless and headstrong. Her entire village believe she’s a curse. It also doesn’t help that her mother died while giving birth to her, and her previously large, wealthy family is now poor and abandoned.

When Sterling Promise --- Jade Moon’s uncle’s adopted son --- comes to help them move to America, Jade is thrilled. She wants to have a new start in life and be known more as herself than her zodiac. However, she quickly learns that there’s more in life than the simple truth and finds herself in a tangle of lies and betrayal.

This book opened my eyes up to new information about a culture that I thought I knew all about.

I’ve always been interested in different cultures and different time periods and this book opened my eyes up to new information about a culture that I thought I knew all about. I learned quite a bit about Chinese immigration to America and FIRE HORSE GIRL was written in a way that made me feel somewhat connected to the main character.

I feel as though the pacing of the story worked out really well. The beginning gave enough background information and wasn’t too long while the rest of the story quickened and shortened at specific areas. While there weren’t as many literary devices as I’m used to seeing, the author still produced scenes that readers could imagine occurring. I also think that Honeyman did a very good job of writing about the cultures and traditions of the Chinese in a way that readers could understand.

There were a couple of things that I disliked about the novel --- the ending and the fact that Honeyman didn’t emphasize some ideas that didn’t play a larger part later in the book. If she had, THE FIRE HORSE GIRL wouldn’t have been as confusing and readers could have drawn connections to things throughout. Overall, though, I really enjoyed this mind-opening novel.

Teaser

 
A young man named Sterling Promise comes to their village to offer Jade Moon and her father a chance to go to America. While Sterling Promise's smooth manners couldn't be more different from her own impulsive nature, Jade Moon falls in love with him on the long voyage. But America in 1923 doesn't want to admit many Chinese, and when they are detained at Angel Island, the "Ellis Island of the West," she discovers a betrayal that destroys all her dreams. To get into America, much less survive there, Jade Moon will have to use all her stubbornness and will to break a new path...one as brave and dangerous as only a Fire Horse girl can imagine.

Promo

Jade Moon is a Fire Horse, the worst sign in the Chinese zodiac for girls, said to make them stubborn, willful and far too imaginative. But while her family despairs of marrying her off, she has a passionate heart and powerful dreams and wants only to find a way to make them come true.
 
Then a young man named Sterling Promise comes to their village to offer Jade Moon and her father a chance to go to America. While Sterling Promise's smooth manners couldn't be more different from her own impulsive nature, Jade Moon falls in love with him on the long voyage. But America in 1923 doesn't want to admit many Chinese, and when they are detained at Angel Island, the "Ellis Island of the West," she discovers a betrayal that destroys all her dreams.

About the Book

Jade Moon is a Fire Horse, the worst sign in the Chinese zodiac for girls, said to make them stubborn, willful and far too imaginative. But while her family despairs of marrying her off, she has a passionate heart and powerful dreams and wants only to find a way to make them come true.
 
Then a young man named Sterling Promise comes to their village to offer Jade Moon and her father a chance to go to America. While Sterling Promise's smooth manners couldn't be more different from her own impulsive nature, Jade Moon falls in love with him on the long voyage. But America in 1923 doesn't want to admit many Chinese, and when they are detained at Angel Island, the "Ellis Island of the West," she discovers a betrayal that destroys all her dreams. To get into America, much less survive there, Jade Moon will have to use all her stubbornness and will to break a new path...one as brave and dangerous as only a Fire Horse girl can imagine.