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ephermeyal's review against another edition
4.0
I should be cleaning my room yet I finished this instead.
A well spent, though misplaced, two hours.
A well spent, though misplaced, two hours.
debz57a52's review against another edition
4.5
Really enjoyed this retelling at a time when I've not been impressed with the last few retelling YAs I've read. I love the story of the One Thousand and One Arabian Nights in general, but the way this story unfolds with intentionality, good pacing, and extra details that "no one" has ever learned before, well, that just made it better. I read the book in print (unheard of, nowadays!) in one day. I wasn't sure what to make of this fairy tale retellings series, but I might look into a few of the others now.
blue_squishie's review against another edition
3.0
A sort of retelling of The Arabian Nights. Mostly it just goes more into Shahrazad and Shahryar's story.
bowienerd_82's review against another edition
2.0
A so-so retelling of the 1,001 Nights. It had a lot of potential it didn't live up to. It's nice to see a modern version of the story, but this could have been so much more. Robin McKinley wrote short story fairy tale retellings with more oomph.
bluebellkell's review against another edition
3.0
The writing in this book was absolutely phenomenal, even magical! Very compelling story
libraryjen's review against another edition
3.0
I pulled this off my daughter's bookshelf in a moment of boredom. It's a retelling of the old Arabian Nights fairytale. It was a quick read, just a little escapism/distraction. It didn't blow me away, but it was entertaining. Shahrazad is a strong heroine, which I love, she's brave and courageous in her own right. She follows not only her heart, but does what she perceives to be her duty. I liked the twists of Shahrazad's blindness and the idea of seeing another's heart, but it wasn't a terribly compelling book. However, it was entertaining and clean and a quick read. :)
cheyennemathews's review against another edition
3.0
“What have I done? What have I done? What have I done?
And just as swiftly as her mind posed the question, her heart gave the reply: What I must. What I must. What I must.”
This quote is a perfect depiction of The Storyteller’s Daughter by Cameron Dokey and the Arabian Nights tale in general. This retelling follows the pattern of every other Arabian Nights tale, but it had a few small deviations that made it its own story. The intro made me want to set down the book and stop reading, but once I got past that, it was a very fast read. The intro began the novel with the ‘storyteller’ or narrator asking us if we were comfortable, how interested we were, and other things about us turning the page that made me very bored. The problem with intros like that is I wasn’t actually doing any of the things she said I was. So that fell flat for me.
The general story outside of the beginning was okay, nothing new. The hidden gem in this novel was actually one of the stories told by the storyteller’s daughter about a girl who wanted to save her father. That was a nice tale.
This book was very mushy and all about seeing each others hearts. For the unromantic out there, this is not the book for you.
And just as swiftly as her mind posed the question, her heart gave the reply: What I must. What I must. What I must.”
This quote is a perfect depiction of The Storyteller’s Daughter by Cameron Dokey and the Arabian Nights tale in general. This retelling follows the pattern of every other Arabian Nights tale, but it had a few small deviations that made it its own story. The intro made me want to set down the book and stop reading, but once I got past that, it was a very fast read. The intro began the novel with the ‘storyteller’ or narrator asking us if we were comfortable, how interested we were, and other things about us turning the page that made me very bored. The problem with intros like that is I wasn’t actually doing any of the things she said I was. So that fell flat for me.
The general story outside of the beginning was okay, nothing new. The hidden gem in this novel was actually one of the stories told by the storyteller’s daughter about a girl who wanted to save her father. That was a nice tale.
This book was very mushy and all about seeing each others hearts. For the unromantic out there, this is not the book for you.
bee_cee's review against another edition
3.0
I had read this book before, and forgotten it. It is an interesting, but not particularly memorable retelling of 1001 nights. An enjoyable read, but nothing special.