Bound

By Donna Jo Napoli
Genre: Historical Fiction/Fairy tale retelling
Rating: 4 1/4 stars

Xing Xing's father is dead, and Xing Xing is now basically a servant in her own Chinese cave home to her stepmother and stepsister Wei Ping.  The whole goal of her stepmother is marry off her daughter well so that the rest of them will be taken care of and to that end, Wei Ping's feet have been bound in the traditional way to help make her walk in that desirable way.  As Wei Ping suffers the pain of bound feet, Xing Xing's only joy is the beautiful fish that lives in the nearby spring that comes to her when she calls.  Xing Xing believes it is her mother's spirit, helping her.  When Stepmother sends Xing Xing off on a journey to sell nuts to a doctor, for the first time she begins to find a little independence and self-reliance.  And slowly, Xing Xing realizes she may be worth more than the nothing she was always taught she was.  A Cinderella tale set in China during the Ming dynasty which will hold readers with its very different setting.