To save her sister she must face a demon.

For many years a cruel king has demanded that his people provide him with brides. They come from all of the districts in the city and all of the towns. They always die – some on the first night. Now it is her village’s turn to provide a wife. She knows that he will choose the most beautiful girl her village has to offer; her sister.

She will not allow it. Whatever the price of keeping her sister alive, she will pay it.

Before long her sister’s life will not be the only thing she is fighting for. With an inter-species war looming, she will have to fight for her family, her people, and the soul of a king…

When revisiting traditional stories, there’s always the possibility that the outdated morals will taint a modern day adaptation. In few stories is there more danger of this than the Asian/Middle Eastern story of One Thousand and One Nights. The story of Scheherazade regaling her royal husband with half-told tales to stay her execution for another night does her credit but obliterates any understanding a modern reader could have for him.

Because of this, I was reluctant to begin a book based on the One Thousand and One Nights tale, but curiosity overcame me. I cracked the spine and read the first page. Then the second. Before I knew it, I was halfway through the book and it was hours past my bedtime.

Suffice it to say that A Thousand Nights is a fantastic novel. It’s a short book, but makes the most of the words it uses. The writing is vivid, lyrical and precise. This book is a luxury to read, and it’s a surprise to find that each beautifully crafted sentence moves the story forward. No words are superfluous.

Unlike the original story, women are the front and centre of A Thousand Nights. In the traditional tale most of the women were present only to die. Even Scheherazade, who survives, is a framing device to tell stories mostly featuring men. In A Thousand Nights, women are the driving force for every major event. The unnamed main character decides her own fate without applying to anyone for permission. Her sister, though the one being saved, is no plot device to disappear once her part is over. She and the main character are connected even across the distance, and neither gives up on the other as they both work toward their goals.

In many ways this is a fairy tale flipped on its head. The bride is no damsel awaiting rescue. Instead it is the humanity in her husband that needs to be saved. He is helpless to free himself and she is his only hope.

A Thousand Nights is a lovely retelling of the tale of Scheherazade. With a focus on character rather than action, it manages to keep the fairy tale-like feeling of the original while exploring the intricacy of emotions a little deeper.

A Thousand Nights – E.K. Johnston

Macmillan (October 22, 2015)

ISBN: 9781447284116

When Apple’s mother returns after eleven years away, Apple feels whole again. But just like the stormy Christmas Eve when she left, her mother’s homecoming is bittersweet. It’s only when Apple meets someone more lost than she is that she begins to see things as they really are.

A story about sad endings.
A story about happy beginnings.
A story to make you realise who is special.

Hardcover, 330 pages

Published 2015 by Bloomsbury Publishing (first published August 14th 2014)

Apple has always felt that her grandmother is strict and difficult to live with. So when her free-wheeling, relaxed mother shows up out of the blue and offers Apple to come live with her, Apple is quick to accept. But Apple’s mother has a surprise of her own, and what Apple thought would be a bonding experience with her mother becomes something much more. She encounters a woman who was never ready to be a mother, a brand new love, and she has to grow up fast.

Apple learns what is important to her through the mistakes that she makes and the new friendships she finds. Apple and Rain is a coming to age story, mixed with discovering the harsh realizations of life. It’s a heart-warming story of family and friendship, and of finding both in unexpected people and surprising ways.

The story is great for younger teens and reminded me a bit of Judy Blume’s work. What I enjoyed most about the story was Apple’s developing compassion for others and how she begins to see the bigger picture. I recommend this book to young girls who enjoy reading about social and family situations. I liked this story, and the endearing way the family finds to re-connect in hard times.

All of her life, Becca’s grandmother, Gemma, has told her the tale of Briar Rose. But this tale is not like the original. In Gemma’s tale only Briar Rose awakens from her hundred years of enchanted sleep.

As Gemma ages, she becomes convinced that she is the princess in that magical fairy tale. Before she dies she asks Becca to promise that she will find the truth behind her story. Without even knowing her grandmother’s real name, that promise is going to be almost impossible to keep. It is a vow that will take Becca far from home in search of castles, princes, and something much darker.

There’s something about fairy tales that draws people to them – and when fairy tales are re-imagined in modern skins, they become even more compelling; a classical story that everyone knows, but with more complex emotions and a possible twist. In Briar Rose, Yolen puts the traditional fairy tale grimness back into the story. Rather than the story serving as a vague morality tale, Yolen links it to the Holocaust to devastating effect.

The way the characters are portrayed when confronted with dire circumstances is at the emotional heart of this novel. There were heroes during the Holocaust but most of the people involved were just trying to survive to the best of their, often limited, ability. Yolen shows this: the men and women who took last stands – not because they thought that they could make a difference but to do something other than starve or freeze; the people who thought that war couldn’t affect them before they were proved wrong and dragged into the violence they had tried to ignore.

Despite the fact that this book is over twenty years old, there is so much in it that is ahead of its time. It’s centred on the relationship between two women, with Becca taking up a quest that her grandmother could not. The novel doesn’t boil the Holocaust down to being a tragedy that only affected Jews either. The other groups that were prosecuted are present.

While Gemma’s story – and the stories of those around her are captivating, Becca’s tends to drag. Her safe existence can’t compare with Gemma’s perilous one. Becca is needed as a framing device to the story, but I rushed through most of the scenes set in the present day.

The thing I love most about retold fairy tales is that – if done well – all of the emotional complexity that is missing from the original is worked into the retelling. In Briar Rose, the emotional impact is shattering. It’s the kind of fairy tale that needs to be told: one with history, depth and compassion. One that was an unfortunate reality for far too many people.

Briar Rose – Jane Yolen

Tor (1992)

ISBN: 9780765342300

On August 25^th 2015 a giant leap was achieved for mental health in Australia. A young lady by the name of Sophie Hardcastle pinned her heart to her sleeve and put pen to paper to give us an intimate insight into what it’s like to live through Bipolar 1 in her book Running Like China.

Joelene and I had the pleasure of meeting her at the Hachette YA Bloggers evening earlier in August. Sophie is a well spoken, intelligent woman who really has a lot to say. Not a word wasted and many lessons to teach us all. Her story is the reality for so many people regardless of age or background.

Here’s the goodreads blurb…

“Most of the time we don’t notice the darkness… not until we’re in the thick of it. It was like that for Sophie Hardcastle, as the joy she’d always known disappeared. She was constantly tired, with no energy, no motivation and no sense of enjoyment for anything. Her hours became empty. And then, the month before she turned seventeen, that emptiness filled with an intense, unbearable sadness that made her scream and tear her skin.

In this brave, bold and beautifully told memoir, Sophie lays bare her story of mental illness – of a teenage girl using drugs, alcohol and sex in an attempt to fix herself; of her family’s anguish and her loss of self. It is a courageous and hopeful story of adaptation, learning to accept and of ultimately realising that no matter how deep you have sunk, the surface is always within reach.”

If you have the guts to take the journey with Sophie please allow time for the memoir to resonate with your altered perceptions because undoubtedly it will change how you see the world. Chances are you’re either managing mental illness yourself or know someone who is; so this book will certainly make sense, make you emotional, and give hope.

Vivid is the perfect word for how Sophie writes. Even in the difficult chapters, where you feel like you should turn away from her pain and anguish, the words still leap forth and take you into the moment — like it or lump it.

Please, please make the effort to track this book down, borrow it from the library, buy it from any good book shop. There’s even an audio book for the people on the go. There is no excuse not to educate yourself and those around you.

http://www.sophiehardcastle.com/

Paperback, 273 pages

Published August 25th 2015 by Hachette Australia

ISBN13 9780733634260

Here’s Sophie on the youtube channel Where I Write talking about just that and reading the Prologue to the book.

At seventeen, Lain Fisher has already aced the Institute’s elite training program for Mindwalkers, therapists who use a direct neural link to erase a patient’s traumatic memories. A prodigy and the daughter of a renowned scientist-whose unexplained death left her alone in the world-Lain is driven by the need to save others.

When Steven, a troubled classmate, asks her to wipe a horrific childhood experience from his mind, Lain’s superiors warn her to stay away. Steven’s scars are too deep, they say; the risk too great. Yet the more time Lain spends with him, the more she begins to question everything about her society. As she defies the warnings and explores Steven’s memories, it becomes clear that he’s connected to something much bigger…something the Institute doesn’t want the world to discover.

Lain never expected to be a rule breaker. She certainly didn’t plan on falling in love with a boy she’s been forbidden to help. But then, she never expected to stumble into a conspiracy that could ignite a revolution.

Hardcover, 400 pages

Published June 9th 2015 by Knopf Books for Young Readers (first published June 4th 2015)

Lain is a Mindwalker, a kind of psychologist who can go into your memories and alter them. The citizens of her world have rankings according to their mental stability. There are guards who keep watch over them and random scans take place often. They watch for those who may be losing control and causing problems for other citizens.

Steven, a level 4 whom has to wear a collar, approaches Lain at school and asks her for help altering his memories. He has survived tragedies in his past and wants to forget. Lain accepts the job against her guardians (and boss’s) advice. As she begins her sessions with Steven, she finds something in his memories that does not match what he has told her. As she looks deeper  into Steven’s past, she finds a connection to her own.

Mindwalker is a very fast-paced story with twists and a lot of action. Lain and Steven are complete opposites, and the romance that develops between the two is cautious and caring. Steven was my favourite character; he is emotional, truthful, and wears his heart on his sleeve. Lain is a bit more uptight; she speaks carefully, and thinks before she acts. It was fun to see her mind unravel as she begins to see what is happening. I think the world building was also very interesting. The city is somewhat enclosed. I really enjoyed seeing (the bit that we get to) outside the city and the people who choose to live there.

This is a science fiction tale that is realistic and frightening at times with a variety of characters that really stand out; it’s both tragic and hopeful. It’s is one of my favourite reads so far this year — a story that I would recommend to everybody. I was hooked from the first page.