Book Look Review "The Book of a Thousand Days"

“The Book of a Thousand Days”

Shannon Hale has written another wonderful fable for young adults and all of us who still enjoy reading fairy tales. I discovered a great place to read young adult reviews. It is aptly named cleanteenreads.com which makes it easy to remember and find. Alison Craig, a Springville resident with lots of reading and teaching experience recently developed this site to help us with our book choices. I recommend you visit and sign up if you are a teenager or the parent of one. Alison reviews the current popular books and some classics. I will let you read her review of “The Book of a Thousand Days” to give you a taste of what you’ll find on her site.
“Sixteen-year-old Lady Saren is so terrified of the man her father wants her to marry that she’d rather be walled up in a tower for seven years than marry him. When Khan Tegus, the man she loves, comes to the tower, she makes her maid, Dashti, speak to him for her.
But pretending to be gentry, a hanging offense, is only one of Dashti’s worries: there’s something wrong with Lady Saren that even Dashti’s songs can’t heal, and with the rats and Lady Saren’s insatiable appetite, their food won’t last for seven years.
When Dashti hears men outside plotting to break into the tower, she knows she must find a way to save her lady from them.
With her energy, loyalty and courage, Dashti is a heroine every girl should be proud to emulate.
The story has lively, exciting moments, with quieter parts in between, beginning as the two girls are walled up in the tower, slowing down as the back story's filled in. It speeds up as visitors come to the tower, quiets down after they leave. Things really heat up near the end when Dashti comes up with a plan to vanquish Lord Khasar and she’s finally revealed as Lady Saren's maid.”
Alison then describes in detail on her book rating chart offensive language, sexual references, drugs and alcohol, violence and other cautions for young readers. Readers can access each month’s reviews for free, or subscriptions start at just $12 a year for other services and to access reviews from past months. It’s like having your own local movie reviewer but of course a book reviewer is even better!