Friday, January 10, 2020

The Wrath & the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh


Shahrzad is a teen-aged girl who volunteers to marry the murderer of her best friend- the Caliph of Khorasan. Whenever the young Caliph marries, his wife is found dead by dawn the next day. Shahrzad's best friend was such a victim, and after her death, Shahrzad swears revenge. She leaves behind her father, sister, love, and friends to pursue her task. She manages to get through each night by telling stories that are able to captivate her husband. While at the palace, Shahrzad looks for any opportunity to kill the Caliph, while constantly observing him from afar. Meanwhile, those she had left behind try to cope with her absence.

I enjoyed reading this book a lot and was unable to put it down. The author includes so many details and descriptions to every character and place in the book that I was able to imagine everything in my head as if they were my own memories. The author was able to create an amazing story that I recommended to my friends, telling them it was like a television drama, only written down on paper. However, I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone younger than the teen level because of a few scenes. Another characteristic of this book that I enjoyed very much is that it is like a unique retelling of The Arabian Nights and included several details from individual stories.


Reviewed by anonymous, Grade 10
Glendale Central Library

1 comment:

Melissa said...

The land is ruled by a 18-year-old king, Khalid, who people call a murderer. He marries a new women each night and kills them in the morning. Shahrzad's friend is one of the women to marry Khalid, and Shahrazad decides to seek vengence for her friend's death. She marries Khalid and is determined to stay alive and end King Khalid's reign. Every night Shahrzad tells Khalid stories that make him interested and that delays her death. However, she finds out that Khalid is not the person who she believed he was and she learns the truth to his story.

I really loved reading this book. I loved the characters and learning about Khalid's story. The plot was really interesting and it was one of those books that I did not want to stop reading. I loved the romance and the chemistry of Shahrzad and Khalid. The world that the author describes is so beautiful and it made the book that much more interesting to read. I would recommend this book to young adult romance and fantasy readers who want to read a book that has a world that is a little different that some of the other fantasy books.

Reviewed by PM, Grade 12
Glendale Central Library