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Young adult book reviews for ages 12 and up - middle school and high school students




*Book of a Thousand Days* by Shannon Hale - young adult book review

 
Also by Shannon Hale:

Princess Academy: Palace of Stone

River Secrets
 
Book of a Thousand Days
by Shannon Hale
Ages 12+ 320 pages Bloomsbury USA September 2007 Hardcover    

Shannon Hale's Book of a Thousand Days is a beautiful novel based on an obscure fairytale from the Brothers Grimm (though the author admits she has taken "many liberties” with the original). Dashti, a poor mucker girl from the steppes, has no idea what she's getting herself into when she agrees to take a post as a lady's maid after her mother dies.

She learns how to do the job, including learning her letters (which let her write this journal), and on the day she takes her post as a maid to the Lady Saren, they are sent to be shut in a tower for seven years as punishment for Saren's refusal to marry the cruel Lord Khasar. They are bricked in with food that should last them seven years, if they can keep the rats at bay. The only things that makes one day different from another are the visits from Saren's two suitors: the terrible Lord Khasar and the kind Khan Tegus, both of whom will play a part in the fates of the two young women.

Book of a Thousand Days is a wonderful story from a talented author. All of Shannon Hale's characters are well-drawn and fascinating, and her writing is brilliant, capturing perfectly the voice of Dashti, a shy young girl from the steppes who becomes much more than that. The non-human characters in the story, especially My Lord the cat, make it even more enjoyable. The nine realms that make up the world inhabited by Dashti and Saren create a well-crafted setting based on the long-ago Asian steppes, making this book a fantasy, really, but with a historical feel to it.

The great adventure, against-the-odds romance, drama, and suspense in Book of a Thousand Days combine to make it a very enjoyable read that is more than that; this is one that will stay with readers past the final page.

Young adult book reviews for ages 12 and up - middle school and high school students

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  Jocelyn Pearce/2007 for curled up with a good kid's book  






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