joyous fantastic day!!!!!

I've just... I've just been waiting for this for so long, it's hard to even type!!! Finally!! Cindy Pon's ecstatically wonderful debut, a young adult historical fantasy, hits stores today!!

Silver Phoenix is more than just a great read--it's already revolutionizing the fantasy genre with its spunky and loveable Chinese heroine, Ai Ling.

This book is the real thing--check out the starred Booklist review (starred!!! you know how often they give out stars?!):

If the cover image of a fearless Chinese heroine reminds readers of such films as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, that’s intentional; the story inside will, too. First-time novelist Pon has a screenwriter’s talent for producing a sweeping saga, and in this, the first of two books set in ancient China, 17-year-old Ai Ling faces demons, monsters, and gods as she tries to fulfill her destiny. Frightened after a local man tries to blackmail her into marriage, Ai Ling resolves to journey to the emperor’s palace where her missing father was last seen. Along the way, she meets the handsome Chen Yong, who is of mixed parentage and on a quest to find answers to questions about his family that have haunted him his whole life. (In the story’s prologue, readers get hints about his origins.) As in most martial-arts movies, the story sometimes takes a back seat to the action, but Pon doesn’t stint when it comes to her characters. Ai Ling is a clever and determined heroine, Chen’s younger brother is a witty teen whose girl-crazy ways transcend the centuries, and even the monsters have dimension. Pon’s writing, both fluid and exhilarating, shines whether she’s describing a dinner delicacy or what it feels like to stab an evil spirit in the gut. There’s a bit of sex here, including a near rape, but it’s all integral to a saga that spins and slashes as its heroine tries to find her way home.

or the blurb from Meg Cabot:

“I couldn't put it down. Your heart will be racing, and you'll be aching for more. An addictive gem.”
~Meg Cabot, author of The Princess Diaries and Airhead series

or the blurb from Alyson Noel:

“Beautifully written, lush, exotic, and romantic, with a gutsy heroine who defies convention to fulfill her destiny—Silver Phoenix has it all! Cindy Pon has penned a remarkable debut, and I can’t wait to see what she writes next!”
-Alyson Noel, New York Times bestselling author of Evermore

Ok. I need to go calm down; I'm overly excited. Congratulations, Cindy!!