Spreading the Awesome: ASH by Malinda Lo

mood: dancy
pandora/ipod: "because the night" by 10,000 maniacs

When Elana Johnson first sent out her "Spreading the Awesome" email calling for a blog chain promoting a book we adore, I immediately thought of Malinda Lo's ASH. Like instantly.

And it's not just because we're both members of The Enchanted Inkpot. And it's not just because I've met her and she's 10 kinds of awesome. Nope, it's that ASH was one of the most important books I read in 2009 and I wanted to - literally - spread the awesome.

ASH has racked up an impressive number of honors. Amazing reviews from:

Kirkus
The New York Times
Booklist
School Library Journal
Publisher's Weekly

ASH made more library recommended reading lists than I can count and it has also been a finalist for:

Lambda Literary Award
Northern California Book Awards
Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy (winner announced at the Nebula Awards in just two weeks!!!!)
and last but not least,

the William C. Morris YA Debut Award

Yeah, I know. That's the resume. Obviously we have an impressive piece of literature here. But that's not why I wanted to promote ASH today. To me, ASH is one of the most important books I've read in a long time for one reason: in the fantasy world of ASH, homosexuality is accepted.

Right? Crazy awesome, isn't it?

If you've read my blog for awhile, you'll know by now that I'm a vocal proponent of LGBTQ rights and issues. I'm a long-time supporter of The Trevor Project and I have a lot of friends in the gay and lesbian community. In addition, I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area which is arguably one of the most gay-friendly cities in the world.

But even then, even growing up one of the most liberal places on the planet, there are labels. "Gay." "Lesbian." "Homosexual." What blew my mind about ASH was the utter lack of labels, of pigeonholing, of classifying people based on sexual orientation. When Ash chooses to be with a huntress instead of marrying the prince, it's not a coming out story. She is allowed to fall in love with whomever because in this fairy tale world, there is no stigma of homosexuality. ASH is not a coming out story: it's just a love story.

To me, this is the goal of real acceptance and equality. A world where people can be, where we are not defined by issues of gender and religion, race and sexual orientation.

I'm going to get off my soapbox now. :D

GIVEAWAY!!!!

So as part of my spreading of the awesome, I'm giving away a copy of ASH.

Entry details: in addition to being a follower of my blog, to enter the ASH giveaway, comment on this post with a link to an inspiring LGBTQ story or a link to an LGBTQ non-profit website with your commentary on why you think either is important. Winner will be announced on Friday!

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There's a whole slew of us participating in today's Spreading of Awesomeness. Elana Johnson has the entire list of posts on her blog, and I'd also like to point you towards Sherrie Peterson who is writing about MARCELLO IN THE REAL WORLD by Francisco X. Stork (and totally making me want to run out and buy that book ASAP!)