The Wrath & the Dawn

April 6, 2015
What does one make of a man forced to murder dozens of women in order to save a city from a curse—who then stops killing, dooming the city anyway, because he’s fallen in love? It’s a tricky ethical conundrum to build a love story on, and Ahdieh’s debut, a reimagining of the tale of Scheherazade, dances around it. Shahrzad, 16, decides that she is the one who will stop the murderous caliph, Khalid, by destroying him to avenge the death of her best friend. Shazi marries Khalid and entices him with a cliffhanger story, persuading him to allow her to live one more day to finish the tale as she races to devise his assassination. Day after day together adds nuance their relationship beyond what either could have imagined; as they hesitate in their separate resolves, other plots are set in motion. Lushly imagined and powerfully characterized, it’s a potent page-turner of intrigue and romance. With a premise this loaded, though, Ahdieh sets herself a big challenge in the second, concluding volume. Ages 12–up. Agent: Barbara Poelle, Irene Goodman Literary Agency.

March 15, 2015
A lush, hypnotic, swoony re-imagining of the "Arabian Nights" framing story.Sixteen-year-old Shahrzad jilts her sweetheart to wed the "murderer, monster, madman" Khalid Ibn al-Rashid, Caliph of Khorasan, planning vengeance for his serial murders of his brides, including her beloved cousin. Clever, stubborn, and reckless, Shahrzad wields stories like weapons as she piques her new husband's interest and maneuvers through palace intrigue. But she never envisaged that the cold, brilliant, tortured boy king could kindle her desire, nor that her spurned betrothed would raise a rebellion to rescue her. Redolent of perfumes and spices, luxuriant with jewels and silks, this debut pulls authentic details from across cultures and centuries and mixes them with magic and mysticism to concoct an exotic storybook world-albeit with violence and candid sensuality that take it well out of the realm of children's books. While the steamy love triangle takes center stage, secondary characters add excitement with their treacherous schemes, murderous plots, and soapy melodrama. Witty, brash, and passionate, Shahrzad makes a good foil for both her impossibly valiant and infatuated first love and for the angry and self-loathing Khalid, cursed to make impossible choices. As the disparate plot threads intertwine to a heartbreaking climax, the conflagrant cliffhanger will leave those readers enthralled by the forbidden romance both yearning for and dreading the concluding volume. Dreamily romantic, deliciously angst-y, addictively thrilling. (Fantasy. 14 & up)

Starred review from April 1, 2015

Gr 9 Up-A reimagined tale based on One Thousand and One Nights and The Arabian Nights. In this version, the brave Shahrzad volunteers to marry the Caliph of Khorasan after her best friend is chosen as one of his virgin brides and is summarily murdered the next morning. She uses her storytelling skills, along with well-placed cliff-hangers, to keep herself alive while trying to discover a way to exact revenge on the Caliph. However, the longer she stays in the palace, the more she realizes there's more going on than just a murderous prince. While her feelings for the Caliph grow and change, the first love she left behind is busy plotting to overthrow the entire palace. When the various plotlines come together in a final conflict, the story is brought to a satisfying, if unexpected, ending. A quick moving plot and sassy, believable dialogue make this a compelling and enjoyable mystery, with just the right amount of romance and magic. The main characters are well drawn and surprisingly likable, while secondary characters also develop in endearing ways. The rich, Middle Eastern cultural context adds to the author's adept worldbuilding. Intimacy is dealt with in a straightforward way, without graphic details, and a subtle message of strength is portrayed through the brave independence of the protagonist. VERDICT This well-written mystery will be a surefire hit with teens.-Sunnie Lovelace, Wallingford Public Library, CT

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from April 15, 2015
Grades 10-1 *Starred Review* A mad king takes a new bride every night, only to kill her at dawn. A resourceful girl volunteers to be his wife and, by spinning part of a tantalizing story each evening, stays alive. It's an old story, but there is nothing tired about this adaption. Here, Shahrzad is rash and headstrong, marrying the caliph, Khalid, with the intent to avenge the death of her best friend, one of his earlier wives. But Khalid may not be the manor monsterhe appears, and soon the stories Shahrzad tells take a far backseat to the one she is living. Set against a backdrop of political intrigue and a simmering revolution, this is a carefully constructed narrative of uncertain loyalties, searing romance, and subtle magic in a harsh desert city. It's not a completely faultless debutthe prose very occasionally turns purple, but that's a minor offense; the characters are redeemingly nuanced and well crafted. Even more impressive, Ahdieh is in complete control of her plot, tightly spooling out threads of the richly layered story just as surely as Shahrzad herself. The result is that the reader can't help but be absorbed by the time the crescendoing conclusion comeand in true Arabian Nights fashion, it's a cliff-hanger. Like the caliph, we will just have to wait for the rest.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)