Tell me... for a girl with so much imagination, why are you so skeptical of magic?
In this Mulan-inspired story, Maia Tamarin grows up a talented seamstress under her father's tutelage. When an official from the emperor summons Maia's father for a position in his court as a tailor, Maia takes on a disguise as a male and goes in his place. She undergoes both official and unsanctioned trials in her pursuit of the role that would transform her life. Throughout this, she encounters the Lord Enchanter and comes to terms with the magic imbued in both her culture and herself.
With set expectations placed upon her to stay in the shadows and marry the one who approaches her first, Maia decides to go for something more. One of the things I enjoyed the most from this story was although Maia lives in a setting where girls are looked down upon and have extremely limited opportunities, within her own mind Maia continually challenged that and strove for more, "My whole life. I'd been told what I couldn't do because I was a girl. Well, this was my chance to find out. The only thing I could do was take it".
Edan and Maia's relationship underwent a transformation with both of them showing the other new things and evolving together. Lady Sarnai and Emperor Khanujin each had a distinct presence and played impactful roles in the story. They also both manage to dance between "sides" adding tension and momentum. They're characters like Severus Snape that I don't think I'd want to meet but I appreciate their presence in the story and in what they add to it. Of the others that Maia encounters, such as Longhai, Ammi, and the travelers they all had their own smaller impacts on Maia that if anything, I just wanted more development of. One of my first thoughts upon finishing the book was that I was looking forward to some of these hopefully returning and getting more of them.
This book delivers on what it advertises. I went in expecting a Mulan story with a competition-game and a bit of magic and that's exactly what it was. It is a great story to sit and fly through in one sitting (which is almost exactly what I did). There is a gentle sprinkling thought-provoking scenes and quotes with enjoyable, and occasionally funny, escapism. The imagery was elegant and opulent, providing distinct settings across Maia's world and gorgeous clothing coming from the tailoring competition. The conclusion did end with a bit of a cliffhanger, but not one that left it unsatisfying. The arc of this first installment came to a close and set up a solid starting point for the next one.
Spin the Dawn will find its place on the shelf with titles such as The Selection and The Lone City trilogy. Fast-moving, cute moments, and poignant ideas without being too weighted down. I am certainly looking forward to continuing Maia's story and getting to explore what comes after Maia's choices at the end of the book.
... tomorrow would spin a new dawn
Oh . . . stitch me a tale!