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mezzythedragon's review
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Delightful. I think I like the Cinderayla story the best, especially when Ayla tells off the prince for being a shallow prick and her stepsisters having some redeeming qualities. Looking forward to the next book.
aliferuz's review against another edition
4.0
It's a unique book, I might say. Meskipun eksekusinya sederhana (karena buku ini untuk anak-anak atau middle grade), penulis berhasil membuat 3 cerita berkaitan dengan menarik.
eliza_m_ecrire's review against another edition
3.0
Je dois vous avouer que je ne m'attendais pas à tout ce qui se trouve au sein de ce livre et, franchement, c'est une belle découverte !
Critique complète ici : https://lesmotsdezaza.wordpress.com/2022/09/07/critique-57-rumaysa-a-fairy-tale-2021-par-radiya-hafiza/
Critique complète ici : https://lesmotsdezaza.wordpress.com/2022/09/07/critique-57-rumaysa-a-fairy-tale-2021-par-radiya-hafiza/
typographic_whimsy's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
smartie_chan's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Death, and Child abuse
Death of a Magic Carpetalmondcookies's review
3.0
So initial thoughts on this book are I thought it would be more religious but it's not. Rumaysa has a hijab and prays but that’s it. She’s just a normal girl, running around having normal adventures. And maybe this is a metaphor for what religion is, the gods we believe in don’t fundamentally change who we are or what we want. We all want freedom and adventure and fun and friends.
Right let’s get into the actual review.
First story (Rapunzel)
- I can’t remember the original story containing spinning gold but okay, sure.
- It’s interesting that the witch gave MC a giant sack of oats which she hated. The witch is white, and correct me if I’m wrong, but oats are more commonly eaten by white people. Is this a metaphor for forcing Rumaysa to follow and adapt to another culture even though she doesn’t like it?
- The whole thing of MC having magic is very left field. The boy, Suliman, obviously also has magic so idk what the standard is in this world. Is it normal? Abnormal to have magic? Who knows. It’s not properly explained but also it’s a childrens book.
- The boy was no help in big fight, and at the end when he left and wanted nothing to do with MC, I got very happy. It meant he wasn’t going to claim her win for himself and has no intention to. Because that’s thing with men… sometimes they just claim credit for something that’s not their business.
- I enjoyed MC’s friendship with her owl. Love female friendships.
Second story (Cinderella)
- I really, really enjoyed this retelling. Nice how author reimagined the slow decent of the step sisters and mother (not immediate hatred) even if it wasn't shown. The sisters not treating her well but being too scared to step up to their mother is excusable and understandable for young girls.
- The stepsisters definitely became more rounded characters in this version. It’s good they could see MC (Cinderella) for what she was and realise they weren't treating their sister well. When push came to shove, they still sided with Cinderella and not the stepmother.
- Loved how the author portrayed the prince as a show off and how he repelled the girls with his personality. It’s hilarious how they initially swooned but after realising he was a prick, was able to re-evaluate. This is very sorely needed in fairy tales because usually princes are just glittering caricatures and little girls grow up thinking this is what they deserve. Even if under the facade, it turns out the actual personality is terrible. I think this is something that teaches little girls to stick onto bad relationships.
- Cinders doesn't marry him. “Were too young to get married anyway” lmfao. She leaves him kneeling in the dust lmfao
- Small note but I like how he had a female guard who was kind and compassionate but still strict.
- Maybe I'm healing my inner child right now.
Third story (Sleeping Beauty)
- Yay body Diversity! Big girl!!
- “She didn't know why she had fancy dresses, considering the only people she saw were her parents, only that's just what royal people did.” Omg I can’t stop laughing.
- Honestly this book is hilarious. And also extremely relatable. “I just want to stay in my room for the next year” mood. Me too kid, me too.
- There was definitely a disconnect here because the dragon suddenly had a name but it was never introduced. Like dude what.
- Enjoyed how the boy rejects what his parents believe to be the correct path and there's definitely nuggets of good wisdom in this book that many kids (and parents) would benefit from
- Ehem. “Sometimes it is all to easy for parents to decide what was right for their children. Though his parents meant we'll, they didn't always know what was best for themselves, let alone their child.”
All in all, really good book. It’s great how the retelling is very female centric and the male guy didn't end up saving anyone and there was no romance involved (they're children ffs!). Giving this a 3* rating because I feel the story is an amazing 4*, but the illustrations were a 2*. They were really, really bad. Especially all illustrations of Sara, the illustrator really did her dirty. Seriously, in some scenes she looks like a 30 year old man! No. Don't do that to my big boned princess.
The review pretty much ends here, but my ADHD is going wild, so the rest is a bonus.
A big motivation for author is to write stories young girls can see themselves in. Now that the UK is becoming more and more multicultural, with many young Muslim girls, this is a big need. In this way, I can say she has definitely succeeded. Not only in creating characters that resonate with young readers, but also characters that inspire the next generation. By making switches such as Cinderella refusing to marry the prince, she encourages young girls to look at a man's personality instead of perpetuating the “sit around and wait to be saved” notion.
It makes me wonder too, many people growing up in their own “homeland” learn their local language and read books from their own culture. They see themselves in their local media and maybe don't develop the “other” feeling that many second or third generation immigrants do. Radiya Hafiza is a brown woman in the UK. She grew up not being able to directly relate to the characters in books because the media she consumed was made for the UK audience, who I must assume would have been white and non muslim.
Is this another side effect of immigration where people feel the sense of not belonging because they're not able to access media and books from their own cultures? And even if they were, there's no guarantee they'd be able to read it due to language barriers. Or relate to the things written because when you migrate, you take most of your culture but you have to change and adapt to survive and thrive in the new environment.
For example, maybe in some south Asian countries it's common to buy food from the wet market, and maybe a book can depict this scene. However if a third generation brown girl living in the UK reads this, even though she can relate to the character, she wouldn't be able to related to the scene because it's highly likely that she shops in Tescos. In some ways this could be even more alienating for a young child, because it’s like you have both feet in different worlds, not quite belonging in either.
Nuances like these are incredibly interesting to me and this is just food for thought. Fundamentally this is a great retelling that reteaches great lessons. I'd be happy to recommend it to anyone, Muslim or not, POC or not.
Right let’s get into the actual review.
First story (Rapunzel)
- I can’t remember the original story containing spinning gold but okay, sure.
- It’s interesting that the witch gave MC a giant sack of oats which she hated. The witch is white, and correct me if I’m wrong, but oats are more commonly eaten by white people. Is this a metaphor for forcing Rumaysa to follow and adapt to another culture even though she doesn’t like it?
- The whole thing of MC having magic is very left field. The boy, Suliman, obviously also has magic so idk what the standard is in this world. Is it normal? Abnormal to have magic? Who knows. It’s not properly explained but also it’s a childrens book.
- The boy was no help in big fight, and at the end when he left and wanted nothing to do with MC, I got very happy. It meant he wasn’t going to claim her win for himself and has no intention to. Because that’s thing with men… sometimes they just claim credit for something that’s not their business.
- I enjoyed MC’s friendship with her owl. Love female friendships.
Second story (Cinderella)
- I really, really enjoyed this retelling. Nice how author reimagined the slow decent of the step sisters and mother (not immediate hatred) even if it wasn't shown. The sisters not treating her well but being too scared to step up to their mother is excusable and understandable for young girls.
- The stepsisters definitely became more rounded characters in this version. It’s good they could see MC (Cinderella) for what she was and realise they weren't treating their sister well. When push came to shove, they still sided with Cinderella and not the stepmother.
- Loved how the author portrayed the prince as a show off and how he repelled the girls with his personality. It’s hilarious how they initially swooned but after realising he was a prick, was able to re-evaluate. This is very sorely needed in fairy tales because usually princes are just glittering caricatures and little girls grow up thinking this is what they deserve. Even if under the facade, it turns out the actual personality is terrible. I think this is something that teaches little girls to stick onto bad relationships.
- Cinders doesn't marry him. “Were too young to get married anyway” lmfao. She leaves him kneeling in the dust lmfao
- Small note but I like how he had a female guard who was kind and compassionate but still strict.
- Maybe I'm healing my inner child right now.
Third story (Sleeping Beauty)
- Yay body Diversity! Big girl!!
- “She didn't know why she had fancy dresses, considering the only people she saw were her parents, only that's just what royal people did.” Omg I can’t stop laughing.
- Honestly this book is hilarious. And also extremely relatable. “I just want to stay in my room for the next year” mood. Me too kid, me too.
- There was definitely a disconnect here because the dragon suddenly had a name but it was never introduced. Like dude what.
- Enjoyed how the boy rejects what his parents believe to be the correct path and there's definitely nuggets of good wisdom in this book that many kids (and parents) would benefit from
- Ehem. “Sometimes it is all to easy for parents to decide what was right for their children. Though his parents meant we'll, they didn't always know what was best for themselves, let alone their child.”
All in all, really good book. It’s great how the retelling is very female centric and the male guy didn't end up saving anyone and there was no romance involved (they're children ffs!). Giving this a 3* rating because I feel the story is an amazing 4*, but the illustrations were a 2*. They were really, really bad. Especially all illustrations of Sara, the illustrator really did her dirty. Seriously, in some scenes she looks like a 30 year old man! No. Don't do that to my big boned princess.
The review pretty much ends here, but my ADHD is going wild, so the rest is a bonus.
A big motivation for author is to write stories young girls can see themselves in. Now that the UK is becoming more and more multicultural, with many young Muslim girls, this is a big need. In this way, I can say she has definitely succeeded. Not only in creating characters that resonate with young readers, but also characters that inspire the next generation. By making switches such as Cinderella refusing to marry the prince, she encourages young girls to look at a man's personality instead of perpetuating the “sit around and wait to be saved” notion.
It makes me wonder too, many people growing up in their own “homeland” learn their local language and read books from their own culture. They see themselves in their local media and maybe don't develop the “other” feeling that many second or third generation immigrants do. Radiya Hafiza is a brown woman in the UK. She grew up not being able to directly relate to the characters in books because the media she consumed was made for the UK audience, who I must assume would have been white and non muslim.
Is this another side effect of immigration where people feel the sense of not belonging because they're not able to access media and books from their own cultures? And even if they were, there's no guarantee they'd be able to read it due to language barriers. Or relate to the things written because when you migrate, you take most of your culture but you have to change and adapt to survive and thrive in the new environment.
For example, maybe in some south Asian countries it's common to buy food from the wet market, and maybe a book can depict this scene. However if a third generation brown girl living in the UK reads this, even though she can relate to the character, she wouldn't be able to related to the scene because it's highly likely that she shops in Tescos. In some ways this could be even more alienating for a young child, because it’s like you have both feet in different worlds, not quite belonging in either.
Nuances like these are incredibly interesting to me and this is just food for thought. Fundamentally this is a great retelling that reteaches great lessons. I'd be happy to recommend it to anyone, Muslim or not, POC or not.
jnobrien21's review
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
A cute retelling of some classic fairy tales, changing the narrative so that the Muslim princesses break free of the things that are holding them back.
wanderingbookwormsf's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
zeeezy's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
molang_madrigal's review
I quite enjoyed this book the first time I read it, but this time round I found it quite dark and depressing. Put it this way: Rumaysa’s tower is nothing like some adaptations of Rapunzel where she has lots of activities to do in the tower and it’s quite a nice place other than not being able to leave. Rumaysa’s tower is grey and dingy and hopeless and has nothing remotely nice in it except some books (which get promptly destroyed by the witch as a punishment) and is surrounded by a dark scary forest with poisonous rivers. And Rumaysa has to spin literally all day, and doesn’t get to eat anything except oats. It’s a bit more heartening when she escapes of course, but then the Cinder-ayla story starts off all about Ayla’s grief for her parents and once again, just general hopelessness. But some elements of the book are good - I really like the Islamic twists on the stories, and how Rumaysa and the other fairytale characters all help each other throughout the stories, and it was really great that none of the girls’ stories end with a relationship (Cinder-ayla was proposed to by the Prince but she turned him down because he was rude to her. Rumaysa and Sleeping Sara don’t have any romantic storylines, which is very refreshing.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Death, Grief, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Pregnancy
Minor: Injury/Injury detail
Poverty