A review by annashiv
Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale

5.0

So, this book is not a retelling of 1001 arabian nights as I went into it believing...my bad. I guess it thought that because the covers on some look vaguely middle easternish and the title has a thousand in it and there is an evil 'king' (khan) who kills his wives. As it turns out it's based on a very little known tale from the brothers grimm. Anyway, that didn't mean it ended up disappointing. I love Hale's writing and stories, and this was no exception. It was very charming and cute. I loved Dashti's optimism and strength and overall good nature. I feel those are easy to get wrong and often are in YA females. Often it can come across as stupid or vapid or any number of things, but Hale is a master. I also loved the mongolian inspiration and felt it was well done. My one complaint would be it felt similar to her princess academy books, mainly because there's magical singing, which I guess I've read too much (as Gail Carson Levine has also done this) and it's always difficult to imagine the songs and singing in books for me and can be a bit weird. Still, I didn't mind it as the story was exceptionally well done. I think it was a stroke of genius to tell it in a journal.

Give it a read. I feel I might have enjoyed the goose girl more, but I'd have to reread it to remember (something I plan on doing someday). and that might be a good place to start, but I would definitely put this above the princess academy trilogy.