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A review by jessica_flower
The Storyteller's Daughter by Cameron Dokey
3.0
I liked this retelling, and I know younger high school and elementary school me would have loved it like she loved the rest of the fairytale retellings in this series.
The writing is lyrical and like a fairytale; it gives you enough mystery to leave you wanting to find out what happens next. That being said, I definitely felt my age when reading this. There is an excess of metaphors and some miscommunication between the main couple (and thickheadedness on account of the king) that made me huff, but considering this is a short book, a fairytale and meant for a younger audience I'll let it slide.
The main issue that I have is that Shahrazad and Shahrayar are names that are so similar to each other that I got the two of them mixed up often enough that I had to take a closer look when I was reading to avoid confusion. That's just a me problem, though. These two did have good banter between them, and I did appreciate that.
I know this is ridiculous to point it out because it is literally what gets the story going after a slow start but the curse that Shahrayar's first wife puts on him made me chuckle. She curses him to never know peace until he finds "a woman whose heart you can see truly and therefore know it - one who can do the same with yours - you will find no peace by day or night."
Girl, come on. Why give him a way out of suffering if you wanted to kill him that badly.
I think that might be my age showing.
It was a nice quick read, and I liked the healthy sibling relationships that were portrayed in this story: the sisterly bond between Shahrazad and Dinarzad, and the brotherly bond between Shahrayar and Shazaman. I liked how they actually cared for each other, when one could argue they had reasons not to. They overcame obstacles together by working side by side and helping each other out instead of tearing each other down or getting caught up in petty jealousies and insecurities.
The writing is lyrical and like a fairytale; it gives you enough mystery to leave you wanting to find out what happens next. That being said, I definitely felt my age when reading this. There is an excess of metaphors and some miscommunication between the main couple (and thickheadedness on account of the king) that made me huff, but considering this is a short book, a fairytale and meant for a younger audience I'll let it slide.
The main issue that I have is that Shahrazad and Shahrayar are names that are so similar to each other that I got the two of them mixed up often enough that I had to take a closer look when I was reading to avoid confusion. That's just a me problem, though. These two did have good banter between them, and I did appreciate that.
I know this is ridiculous to point it out because it is literally what gets the story going after a slow start but the curse that Shahrayar's first wife puts on him made me chuckle. She curses him to never know peace until he finds "a woman whose heart you can see truly and therefore know it - one who can do the same with yours - you will find no peace by day or night."
Girl, come on. Why give him a way out of suffering if you wanted to kill him that badly.
I think that might be my age showing.
It was a nice quick read, and I liked the healthy sibling relationships that were portrayed in this story: the sisterly bond between Shahrazad and Dinarzad, and the brotherly bond between Shahrayar and Shazaman. I liked how they actually cared for each other, when one could argue they had reasons not to. They overcame obstacles together by working side by side and helping each other out instead of tearing each other down or getting caught up in petty jealousies and insecurities.