After a late night of airship-travel, I decided to choose a smaller tome to devour with my breakfast - Donna Jo Napoli's Bound. Her books always have intriguing titles and covers and my first impression of this one was that it might have to do with foot-binding ala Ties That Bind Ties That Break by Lensey Namioka - and it does in a roundabout way. It took a good portion of the book for me to remember that Napoli's stock in trade is the reworking of traditional tales. I was probably half-way through the book before I had that V8 moment of "Sheesh, this is Cinderella!". After that point I found myself too aware of looking for the threads of the traditional tale to enjoy the immersion in another culture that had enchanted me during my earlier reading. It didn't ruin the book for me and I admired Xing Xing's character and certainly wanted her to be happy at the end - (especially after the Mother Fish Episode - YIKES!) - though frankly her decision to marry the Prince surprised me as she had spent much of the book becoming personally strong and independent. Nonetheless, it is always great to read about another girl with big feet (like me) who comes to realize that though others may make fun of them, they enable you to have a firm grip on the world and to stand tall!
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