65. The Wrath & the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

Book 1:  The Saga of Shahzrad and Khalid
2015, G. P. Putnam's Sons
395 pgs.
YA Fantasy/HistFiction/Retelling of 1001 Nights...
Finished 11-29-2015
Goodreads rating:  4.23
My rating:  4
Setting:  Ancient "Khorasan" (Persia?)
Book 2:  The Rose and the Dagger should appear in May, 2016

First line/s:  "It would not be a welcome dawn.  Already the sky told this story, with its sad halo of silver beckoning from beyond the horizon."

My comments:  A little heavy on the romance, but the main character - many of the characters, actually - were sassy, with great senses of humor....real.  I love the setting of ancient times, and the introduction of magic, though a little more of that would have been welcome.  Kahlid was a little too silently smoldering, but I think a lot of YA females will enjoy that.  Decent storytelling!  I look forward to the second in the series to see what directions the plot will take and what happens to some of the more endearing - and not-so-endearing characters.
     Note:  the illustration/photo of Shahzrad in the cover and front endpaper is perfect - sassy, gorgeous, young....and I loved the cover, too....

Goodreads Summary:  One Life to One Dawn.
          In a land ruled by a murderous boy-king, each dawn brings heartache to a new family. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, is a monster. Each night he takes a new bride only to have a silk cord wrapped around her throat come morning. When sixteen-year-old Shahrzad's dearest friend falls victim to Khalid, Shahrzad vows vengeance and volunteers to be his next bride. Shahrzad is determined not only to stay alive, but to end the caliph's reign of terror once and for all.
          Night after night, Shahrzad beguiles Khalid, weaving stories that enchant, ensuring her survival, though she knows each dawn could be her last. But something she never expected begins to happen: Khalid is nothing like what she'd imagined him to be. This monster is a boy with a tormented heart. Incredibly, Shahrzad finds herself falling in love. How is this possible? It's an unforgivable betrayal. Still, Shahrzad has come to understand all is not as it seems in this palace of marble and stone. She resolves to uncover whatever secrets lurk and, despite her love, be ready to take Khalid's life as retribution for the many lives he's stolen. Can their love survive this world of stories and secrets?
          Inspired by A Thousand and One Nights, The Wrath and the Dawn is a sumptuous and enthralling read from beginning to end. 

The Story of Queen Esther - Jenny Koralek

Illustrated by Grizelda Holderness
2009
Rating: 4
Endpapers: a swirl of dancers on red, by the edge of the sea. Very cool.

This is the ancient story that is commerated by the festival of Purim, a joyous celebration in the Jewish year. Since I'm not Jewish but work at a Hebrew day school, I'm a bit familiar with the outline of the story, but not the particulars. I've read that this version sanitizes the story quite a bit, and that a few of the illustratons have "technical" problems (ie: Jews never kneel to pray, but are depicted as doing so in the story). I actually love the illustrations. They cover the page from edge-to-edge in reds, blues, and browns and are quite lovely.

It's a "typical" bible story with greed, self-importance, death....no I'd better not go in that direction, but to be honest, it does contain all those elements. Koralek has omitted drunkeness and decadence and similar actualities, I'm sure.

This is the story of how Esther becomes a Persian queen, hides her Jewishness, and with the help of her cousing Mordecai, who helped raise her, saves the Jewish people from annhialation. You can look up the story on Wikpedia, which will tell it far better than I.