---
product_id: 96180121
title: "Girls of Paper and Fire"
price: "₨598"
currency: SCR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 13
url: https://www.desertcart.sc/products/96180121-girls-of-paper-and-fire
store_origin: SC
region: Seychelles
---

# Girls of Paper and Fire

**Price:** ₨598
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** Girls of Paper and Fire
- **How much does it cost?** ₨598 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.sc](https://www.desertcart.sc/products/96180121-girls-of-paper-and-fire)

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## Description

A New York Times B estseller! Uncover a riveting story of palace intrigue set in a sumptuous Asian-inspired fantasy world in the breakout YA novel that Publisher's Weekly calls "elegant and adrenaline-soaked." “Queer girls falling in love while kicking ass and resisting oppression in a rich, magical, and Asian-inspired world.What more could you ask for?”—R. F. Kuang, bestselling author of The Poppy War series and Babel In this richly developed fantasy, Lei is a member of the Paper caste, the lowest and most persecuted class of people in Ikhara. She lives in a remote village with her father, where the decade-old trauma of watching her mother snatched by royal guards for an unknown fate still haunts her. Now, the guards are back and this time it's Lei they're after: the girl with the golden eyes whose rumored beauty has piqued the king's interest. Over weeks of training in the opulent but oppressive palace, Lei and eight other girls learns the skills and charm that befit a king's consort. There, she does the unthinkable: she falls in love. Her forbidden romance becomes enmeshed with an explosive plot that threatens her world's entire way of life. Lei, still the wide-eyed country girl at heart, must decide how far she's willing to go for justice and revenge.

Review: Beautifully narrated with diverse characters and a compelling story [STOP BEING SO CLOSE MINDED!] - I got this book because I was craving some diversity in my fiction catalogue, both in ethnicity and sexual orientation. So off of online recommendations, I decided to give Girls of Paper and Fire a chance, and I was not disappointed! I love the way the author narrates the journey of the main character as she goes from a timid, fearful girl to a young woman hell bent on rebelling against a society that has taken so much from her, and yet still tells her that her life and her body are not her own. The setting really puts me in the mind of “Memoirs of a Geisha” another of my favorite books, but with a strong dose of fantasy. I also enjoyed the romance element as it was not overly sappy like most romantic YA novels tend to be. This is not just a story about falling in love. It’s a story of hope and finding strength to fight against those who oppress you. I saw that this book was considered pretty offensive by a lot of people which comes as no surprise. I mean demons, lesbians, and sex? OH MY! I’ve read much more graphic scenes of violence and sexuality in plenty of other YA novels. Heck, “Lord of the Flies” and “Touching Spirit Bear” were MUCH more violent and I read those in middle school! In fact the author doesn’t really go into extreme detail during the brutalization of certain characters, preferring to skip ahead to directly after these things take place similar to other YA novels. And being that I know plenty of young teens have experience abuse in various forms; I believe this book could be more empowering than triggering given the fire and hope that the main character carries within herself and never truly loses hold of. If you’re sick of reading the same old boy meets girl books that are usually about as racially diverse as a country music concert then I suggest you give this book a try. Be open minded and allow yourself to be carried away into Natasha Ngan’s story of the girl who will light the world on fire.
Review: A fantasy that will keep you turning the pages! - I admit it, when I saw the cover for Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan I wanted to read it…I almost didn’t care what the story was going to be about. Well…that’s not true but that cover is sooo pretty. With that said, this story was everything I hoped it would be! Lei lives in Ikhara, a world where class rules everything. As a member of the Paper caste, she and her family are oppressed and have lived with the trauma of seeing her mother ripped away from them by the royal guards. Now, having heard a rumor about a paper girl with golden eyes, the royal guards are back, and they aren’t leaving without Lei. The world Ngan has created is not a pretty one. There are three castes and they are what dictate how everyone engages with one another. The Paper caste is the lowest - They are fully human and do not have any demon abilities. Just above Paper is the Steel caste. This group is made up of humans with partial animal-demon qualities…both physical and ability. The highest caste, Moon caste, is fully demon and has whole animal-demon features. All castes are ruled by the Demon King. Every year, 8 beautiful girls are chosen to be Paper Girls who come to the palace to serve the King. It is supposed to be an honor and some of the girls absolutely believe this to be true but for Lei, it is her worst nightmare. She never had any intention of being in this role and when she is forced to join the girls who were chosen his year, she dreams of the day she can escape. As she trains to serve, she finds out quickly which of the girls she can trust and which she can’t. I thought the friendships Lei built with Aoki and Wren were believable. Of course, there is always a girl who just has to antagonize everyone else and you will very quickly learn who she is and while I get her dissatisfaction with the hand she has been dealt, she is definitely not justified in taking her anger and frustration out on Lei. Lei’s relationships are what help balance this story out. By getting to spend time with Lei and the girls, they become more than the Paper Girls forced to serve the king. With that said, there is still a whole host of things that are wrong with what these girls are forced to do. The king may be handsome and powerful, but he is for sure not a good guy and no one learns that more than Lei. First, Madam Himura was a piece of work. Other than having control of the girls, I couldn’t understand her motivation behind treating the girls the way she did…of course, she is from the highest caste so that had a lot to do with it but from the second she was introduced, she was mean and abrasive. Second, when I say serve the king, I mean in every way. These girls have no choice and over time, it is apparent even Aoki has constructed a world in her head that allows her to feel ok with what is happening. I won’t say too much about this, but the way Ngan reflects the evolution of Aoki’s feelings seemed realistic and made me want to dive into the pages just to shake her. As the story progresses and each girl gets called, Lei struggles with her fate and doesn’t know how she will be able to just go along with everything when it’s her name on the piece of paper. While she is waiting, she trains and goes along as normal, but she also does the unthinkable – she falls in love. Because this is forbidden, it puts her in a dangerous situation, but it also motivates her to find a way to get out of her current situation. When she is called, Lei can’t just go along with what the king wants and when she fights, the punishment is severe. It is safe for me to say that Lei and the king have a contentious relationship. She makes him doubt himself and his power and that isn’t something that sits well with him. When she doesn’t just let him control her, he takes his frustration out on her and she definitely suffers for it. There isn’t too much more I can tell you without ruining the story, so I am going to stop here. Overall, I thought this was a fantastic read. It has interesting characters, an engaging story, and danger around every corner. Definitely check this one out and I will be waiting over here for the next book Ngan writes.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #1,058,686 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #23 in Teen & Young Adult Fiction on Sexual Abuse (Books) #171 in Teen & Young Adult LGBTQ+ Romance #469 in Teen & Young Adult Fiction on Girls' & Women's Issues (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.4 out of 5 stars 3,147 Reviews |

## Images

![Girls of Paper and Fire - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81QB+stFvmL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Beautifully narrated with diverse characters and a compelling story [STOP BEING SO CLOSE MINDED!]
*by N***N on December 16, 2020*

I got this book because I was craving some diversity in my fiction catalogue, both in ethnicity and sexual orientation. So off of online recommendations, I decided to give Girls of Paper and Fire a chance, and I was not disappointed! I love the way the author narrates the journey of the main character as she goes from a timid, fearful girl to a young woman hell bent on rebelling against a society that has taken so much from her, and yet still tells her that her life and her body are not her own. The setting really puts me in the mind of “Memoirs of a Geisha” another of my favorite books, but with a strong dose of fantasy. I also enjoyed the romance element as it was not overly sappy like most romantic YA novels tend to be. This is not just a story about falling in love. It’s a story of hope and finding strength to fight against those who oppress you. I saw that this book was considered pretty offensive by a lot of people which comes as no surprise. I mean demons, lesbians, and sex? OH MY! I’ve read much more graphic scenes of violence and sexuality in plenty of other YA novels. Heck, “Lord of the Flies” and “Touching Spirit Bear” were MUCH more violent and I read those in middle school! In fact the author doesn’t really go into extreme detail during the brutalization of certain characters, preferring to skip ahead to directly after these things take place similar to other YA novels. And being that I know plenty of young teens have experience abuse in various forms; I believe this book could be more empowering than triggering given the fire and hope that the main character carries within herself and never truly loses hold of. If you’re sick of reading the same old boy meets girl books that are usually about as racially diverse as a country music concert then I suggest you give this book a try. Be open minded and allow yourself to be carried away into Natasha Ngan’s story of the girl who will light the world on fire.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A fantasy that will keep you turning the pages!
*by E***0 on April 15, 2019*

I admit it, when I saw the cover for Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan I wanted to read it…I almost didn’t care what the story was going to be about. Well…that’s not true but that cover is sooo pretty. With that said, this story was everything I hoped it would be! Lei lives in Ikhara, a world where class rules everything. As a member of the Paper caste, she and her family are oppressed and have lived with the trauma of seeing her mother ripped away from them by the royal guards. Now, having heard a rumor about a paper girl with golden eyes, the royal guards are back, and they aren’t leaving without Lei. The world Ngan has created is not a pretty one. There are three castes and they are what dictate how everyone engages with one another. The Paper caste is the lowest - They are fully human and do not have any demon abilities. Just above Paper is the Steel caste. This group is made up of humans with partial animal-demon qualities…both physical and ability. The highest caste, Moon caste, is fully demon and has whole animal-demon features. All castes are ruled by the Demon King. Every year, 8 beautiful girls are chosen to be Paper Girls who come to the palace to serve the King. It is supposed to be an honor and some of the girls absolutely believe this to be true but for Lei, it is her worst nightmare. She never had any intention of being in this role and when she is forced to join the girls who were chosen his year, she dreams of the day she can escape. As she trains to serve, she finds out quickly which of the girls she can trust and which she can’t. I thought the friendships Lei built with Aoki and Wren were believable. Of course, there is always a girl who just has to antagonize everyone else and you will very quickly learn who she is and while I get her dissatisfaction with the hand she has been dealt, she is definitely not justified in taking her anger and frustration out on Lei. Lei’s relationships are what help balance this story out. By getting to spend time with Lei and the girls, they become more than the Paper Girls forced to serve the king. With that said, there is still a whole host of things that are wrong with what these girls are forced to do. The king may be handsome and powerful, but he is for sure not a good guy and no one learns that more than Lei. First, Madam Himura was a piece of work. Other than having control of the girls, I couldn’t understand her motivation behind treating the girls the way she did…of course, she is from the highest caste so that had a lot to do with it but from the second she was introduced, she was mean and abrasive. Second, when I say serve the king, I mean in every way. These girls have no choice and over time, it is apparent even Aoki has constructed a world in her head that allows her to feel ok with what is happening. I won’t say too much about this, but the way Ngan reflects the evolution of Aoki’s feelings seemed realistic and made me want to dive into the pages just to shake her. As the story progresses and each girl gets called, Lei struggles with her fate and doesn’t know how she will be able to just go along with everything when it’s her name on the piece of paper. While she is waiting, she trains and goes along as normal, but she also does the unthinkable – she falls in love. Because this is forbidden, it puts her in a dangerous situation, but it also motivates her to find a way to get out of her current situation. When she is called, Lei can’t just go along with what the king wants and when she fights, the punishment is severe. It is safe for me to say that Lei and the king have a contentious relationship. She makes him doubt himself and his power and that isn’t something that sits well with him. When she doesn’t just let him control her, he takes his frustration out on her and she definitely suffers for it. There isn’t too much more I can tell you without ruining the story, so I am going to stop here. Overall, I thought this was a fantastic read. It has interesting characters, an engaging story, and danger around every corner. Definitely check this one out and I will be waiting over here for the next book Ngan writes.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Fantastic read
*by M***E on November 16, 2018*

This book is about a young girl Name Lei who is a paper caste aka human. She lives in a world where humans have mix with animals and create weird creatures such as the Bull king. The Bull King is Moon Caste which is full demon. The Bull king guard kidnaps Lei and brings her as a present to the kingdom , to become the king's mistress. After arriving to the Kingdom, Lei discovers that she must create a back bone to survive the king and his world. But Lei back bone gives her far more than she ever knew she needed. It gives her love and determination to fight for everything she has feared she loss. But in order to know the rest how about you go find a copy of this beautiful book and read it for yourself. As for my rating of this book I give it a five out of five stars. I love how Natasha was able to depicted this stunning world, mix with Malaysian and Chinese culture. Lei was an incredibly strong female who did not know she had any strength until she fell in love with the right person. Natasha gave Lei an amazing build up as a character in this unique world filled with demons. The way Lei discover her love for her partner or discovers the strength to fight back against everyone who told her to obey. She became a fierce female as the story continue. I also love the way Natasha discusses discrimination in Lei World and explain how love is simply love. Natasha was able to take such a hardcore topic as discrimination and make it so simply to explain to this world. I love that part of the story so much. I love how Lei discovers that she is able to fight when she considers herself unable to do anything. I love the flirting between the love match in this book it was so incredibly beautiful. I love all of the detail Natasha added into this story, how that detail was able to turn a simple story into magic. Natasha writing reminds me of Leigh Bardugo, it is filled with a magic about it. It is something you will continue to think about again and again. I seriously cant wait for the next book in this story. This story is filled to the brim with female empowerment and also with love for your fellow person regardless of race or gender. This story will become a classic for the ages because of the message Natasha talks about in this book. I really did love the beauty of the world in this book and I will recommend it to everyone. I hope you will you will check out this inspiring world that Natasha has provide for all of us.

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*Product available on Desertcart Seychelles*
*Store origin: SC*
*Last updated: 2026-08-11*