A Thousand Nights by E. K. Johnston (Waiting on Wednesday)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

I have always loved the story of Shahrazad. I grew up with the story and that of The Arabian Nights, as well as loving the orchestral rendition of Scheherazade by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakove (some fabulous classical music!!). I even have a beautifully illustrated edition of The Arabian Nights on my shelf along with my other collector books. I've read other retellings and enjoyed them and this is one story that you could take and retell in many different ways. I'm thrilled for this newest retelling, which is my WOW pick for this week:

A Thousand NightsA Thousand Nights
by E. K. Johnston
YA Urban Fantasy
Hardcover, paperback, & ebook, 336 pages
October 6th 2015 by Disney Hyperion


Summary

Lo-Melkhiin killed three hundred girls before he came to her village, looking for a wife. When she sees the dust cloud on the horizon, she knows he has arrived. She knows he will want the loveliest girl: her sister. She vows she will not let her be next.

And so she is taken in her sister's place, and she believes death will soon follow. Lo-Melkhiin's court is a dangerous palace filled with pretty things: intricate statues with wretched eyes, exquisite threads to weave the most beautiful garments. She sees everything as if for the last time.But the first sun rises and sets, and she is not dead. Night after night, Lo-Melkhiin comes to her and listens to the stories she tells, and day after day she is awoken by the sunrise. Exploring the palace, she begins to unlock years of fear that have tormented and silenced a kingdom. Lo-Melkhiin was not always a cruel ruler. Something went wrong.

Far away, in their village, her sister is mourning. Through her pain, she calls upon the desert winds, conjuring a subtle unseen magic, and something besides death stirs the air.

Back at the palace, the words she speaks to Lo-Melkhiin every night are given a strange life of their own. Little things, at first: a dress from home, a vision of her sister. With each tale she spins, her power grows. Soon she dreams of bigger, more terrible magic: power enough to save a king, if she can put an end to the rule of a monster.

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Is this one on your can't-wait-to-read list?


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