A review by thebooklovingpanda
Rumaysa: A Fairytale by Radiya Hafiza

4.0

[H]er favourite book, 'One Thousand and One Nights'...had beautiful drawings of palaces and animals, women in hijabs and men in magnificent robes. It was a relief to step into someone else's life and escape her tower room, if even just for a moment.

4.5 stars

Content warnings:

Spoiler

loss of a loved one; neglectful and abusive guardian; very mild violence and injury

[Note: All quotes are from the ARC version and may be different in finalised editions.]

This was such a sweet, entertaining and original read that was unexpectedly funny too!

'Do all evil people just like towers and one window?', [Rumaysa] said out loud, feeling quite frustrated by now. 'What's the point of being evil if you're not going to be creative about it?'

I loved how the central character Rumaysa connects the Rapunzel tale to the other spins on Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty! The inclusion of Muslim protagonists and South Asian culture was seamless and very refreshing. There were some cool plot twists and some actually quite thrilling scenes!. Bonus point if you love reading flying carpet rides. The illustrations were also whimsy and dynamic and one day I'd love to see how it looks in a paper version!

The characters all felt real and distinct from each other, and I liked that side characters (e.g. Ayla's stepsisters) weren't written as caricatures but like actual children/teens with realistic reactions.

Losing a loved one is a strange thing. It can come upon you out of nowhere, knocking you sideways and changing the colour of your life for many years to come.

I also enjoyed how feminism threads throughout this story without being heavy-handed. This includes challenges to anti-toxic masculinity and there was a nice little bit of anti-classism too. Definitely an enjoyable and recommended read from me!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan's Children's Books for an eARC for an honest review.