Shadow Spinner [Paperback]

Shadow Spinner starts 989 days after Shahrazad stopped the Sultan's murder of wife after wife by volunteering to marry him, then telling him stories so gripping, with cliffhangers so huge, that each one buys her another day of life. At this point, Shahrazad has given the sultan three sons and is growing desperate - she's running out of tales to tell, for one thing. Enter Marjan, who comes to the harem with her Aunt Chava, to sell things to the women. Marjan worships Shahrazad, and has collected tales all her life; she knows one that Shahrazad doesn't know, and gets caught up in the intrigue of the sultan's harem as well as Shahrazad's own story.

Marjan is a likeable character, and her experiences are great adventure. Still, the true center of the tale is Shahrazad, and the unexpected stength of the book is its villains. Unlike most YA and children's fantasy, the villains of this book are not all bad; Marjan in time comes to understand the reasons behind the actions of the sultan, his mother, and even her own mother, who hurt her badly years before.

This is a fun story on the surface, with a lot of food for thought swimming just underneath. It's a good read especially for young girls, and it should also appeal to adult fans of fantasy or children's lit. A winner.

Marjan is an orphaned girl living with an elderly Jewish couple, whom she calls Uncle Eli and Auntie Chava. She is actually a servant to them, but they treat her more like a niece or granddaughter. Uncle Eli used to be very rich, but he lost his fortune, and the family lives in poverty. Even so, Marjan is perfectly happy, despite the fact that she is crippled. Her foot is stuck turning downwards and twisted in, and she has to walk on the side of her big toe. Marjan's favorite pastime is telling and hearing stories.

One day Auntie Chava has to go to the palace of the Sultan. To help pay the taxes, she is going to sell some of her own jewelry and treasures to the women who live in the Sultan's harem. Marjan is allowed to come with her. They enter the harem, and while Auntie Chava is busy selling her wares to the harem women, Marjan entertains some of the concubines' children with fairy tales. Midway through her story, Marjan discovers that a girl slightly older than her, a girl of noble birth, is listening to the story too. The girl, whose name is Dunyazad, asks Marjan to come with her. She leads Marjan through the twisting passageways of the harem to the chamber of her sister. Marjan receives a shock upon discovering that Dunyazad's sister is none other than Queen Shahrazad. Shahrazad has just given birth to a child and is trying to find a new story which she has not told the Sultan. It has been nine hundred and eighty-nine nights since she first started telling him stories on their wedding night. Marjan manages to tell Shahrazad half of a story which the Queen has not yet told the Sultan, and Shahrazad is delighted and rewards Marjan. Marjan goes home with Auntie Chava as usual.

The next day, one of the harem eunuchs shows up at Uncle Eli's home and tells Eli and Chava that he has been ordered to take Marjan to the harem with him.

Bidding farewell to her only family in the world, Marjan leaves for the harem, wondering what will happen to her next.

This book is a wonderful historical read that will transport the reader back to Persia in the Middle Ages and portray accurately the fear-filled lives of the women shut away behind the harem doors.

Anyway--this is a great book, especially for reading aloud. It doesn't have quite the pizzazz or made-for-the-movies aura that Harry Potter has, but in my opinion, that's a good thing. And it finally got my daughter out of re-reading Harry for the umpteenth time and trying some new books.