Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale

9 Stars

"When Lady Saren refuses to marry a man she fears, she and her maid, Dashti, are locked in a tower with just a tiny flap open to the outside world. As food runs low and the weather changes from broiling hot to unbearably cold, it is all Dashti can do to make them comfortable in their dark prison. Not long after their confinement begins, Saren's suitors arrive--one welcome, the other less so--and she orders Dashti to speak to them. Impersonating Lady Saren is a crime punishable by death, but Dashti will have to play the role many times if she is to save them both from the tower and the dangers outside. As she takes control of their desperate situation, Dashti begins to understand her own astonishing talents and believe that even a low-born maid can find true love." (Taken from the back cover.)

Shannon Hale has definitely joined the ranks of authors whose works I will always seek out. And this book is among her best. Her heroines are likable; they are sometimes confident (without being brassy or obnoxious) and sometimes shy-violets (without being self-deprecating) and sometimes unsure of who they are and who they want to be (without being WHINY). I also appreciate the thought that goes into her settings. This book is set in a medieval pseudo-Mongolia. A world that is very unlike most other young adult fiction, but that still draws you in and makes you WANT to know more about it. I liked this enough that I will probably reread it soon (tempted to pick it up again tonight, just to see if I missed anything!), and manages to leave you guessing about how she will resolve all of the threads she's weaving.