Publishers Weekly
Forster makes a strong debut with a fresh South Asian–inspired fantasy/mystery crossover. Abandoned as a child, 16-year-old Nisha Arvi has grown up within the private walled estate known as the City of a Thousand Dolls. There, orphaned or unwanted girls are raised in six specialized houses to be wives, courtesans, artists, entertainers, healers, or soldiers. As Matron’s assistant, Nisha isn’t part of any House, but she dreams of being Redeemed from the city by a handsome young man. Just as her wish seems within reach, the deaths of several girls make Nisha a valuable pawn, now destined to be sold as a slave. With time running out, Nisha tries to find out what happened to the girls, uncovering her own lost past along the way. Set in a magically isolated Empire with a strict caste system, a two-child limit, and telepathic cats, Forster’s well-crafted story and confident prose are rich, packed with small details that immerse readers in her sumptuously imagined world. The ending has a touch of deus ex machina, but readers will gladly follow Forster into a presumed sequel. Ages 13–up. Agent: Jennifer Laughran, Andrea Brown Agency. (Feb.)
From the Publisher
Set in a magically isolated Empire, Forster’s well-crafted story and confident prose are rich, packed with small details that immerse readers in her sumptuously imagined world.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“A fantastical murder mystery with a creative premise, heart-pounding pacing, and characters with secrets to keep.” — Cinda Williams Chima,author of the best-selling Seven Realms series
“The mystery here is a fine one, and the concept of the City is well executed. As Nisha must choose between remaining within the cloistered safety of the City or taking her chances with the outside world, her dilemma will be familiar to teens looking toward adulthood.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“With fantastic world building and a wonderful heroine, City of a Thousand Dolls intrigued me from the first page.” — Cindy Pon, author of Silver Phoenix
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
The mystery here is a fine one, and the concept of the City is well executed. As Nisha must choose between remaining within the cloistered safety of the City or taking her chances with the outside world, her dilemma will be familiar to teens looking toward adulthood.
Cinda Williams Chima
A fantastical murder mystery with a creative premise, heart-pounding pacing, and characters with secrets to keep.
Cindy Pon
With fantastic world building and a wonderful heroine, City of a Thousand Dolls intrigued me from the first page.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
The mystery here is a fine one, and the concept of the City is well executed. As Nisha must choose between remaining within the cloistered safety of the City or taking her chances with the outside world, her dilemma will be familiar to teens looking toward adulthood.
Kirkus Reviews
A vivid but uneven debut takes place in an Asian-blend fantasy world. The Bhinian Empire has a "two-child law." Because boys are more valued, infant girls were smothered or left for wolves until the creation of the City of a Thousand Dolls. Not a city but rather "a large private estate ringed by a high stone wall," this refuge grooms girls in one of six Houses--Flowers, Beauty, Pleasure, Combat, Jade and Music--until a man claims them as wife or mistress or until (shown less often) a healer or tradesperson selects them as apprentice. Now 16, Nisha has been here since age 6. Her unknown parentage and unique status (working as "Matron's shadow" rather than training in a House) render her a predictable fantasy archetype. When girls begin turning up dead, Nisha pursues the truth--accidents? murders? suicides?--hoping to circumvent the Council's plan to sell her and ruin her chance for freedom. Although Forster supplies twists and mystery, moments of revelation are somewhat lackluster. A romance thread targets readers older than those who'll be riveted by Nisha's special relationship with wild cats. (Bizarrely, those two themes eventually converge.) Moreover, Bhinian culture is a troublingly arbitrary amalgam of South Asian and East Asian details--jeera puffs and mukhwas, tea ceremonies and fan dancing, names like Akash tar'Vey or Lotus Emperor. Memorable but bumpy. (Fantasy. 11-15)
