Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale

Summary:

"When Dashti, a maid, and Lady Saren, her mistress, are shut in a tower for seven years for Saren's refusal to marry a man she despises, the two prepare for a very long and dark imprisonment.

As food runs low and the days go from broiling hot to freezing cold, it is all Dashti can do to keep them fed and comfortable. But the arrival outside the tower of Saren's two suitors--one welcome, and the other decidedly less so--brings both hope and great danger, and Dashti must make the desperate choices of a girl whose life is worth more than she knows.

With Shannon Hale's lyrical language, this forgotten but classic fairy tale from the Brothers Grimm is reimagined and reset on the central Asian steppes; it is a completely unique retelling filled with adventure and romance, drama and disguise."

This book is written like a journal so we as the readers get to see the main characters raw and unfiltered thoughts to the situations that she is in. The setting of this books appears to be medieval Asian and I absolutely love it! Many books focus on Europe and Asia is left out of the picture so this setting is unique and fun. Dashti, the main character in the book, is amazing. So much stuff gets thrown at her but she manages to stay positive and keep going. Another good point of this book is the small amount of magic that is mixed into it, at the begging you are led to believe that Dashti's songs are merely superstition. However towards the middle and end of the book I realized that there is real magic to these healing songs. This book is actually based off of a fairy tale! Its a little known Grimm's fairy tale called Maid Mallen, yeah I had to look it up too. I love how simple this book is, and Hale gives us a nice fairy tale book that I'm sure will be classic in years to come. 

Rating: 10 out of 10. This book is well written, and I love the medieval Asian setting as it is very unique. I also love the positive message it sends, it lets people know that no matter your situation you can help others and be happy. 

Content Rating: 1 (8-120). There is a small amount of violence, also there is a time where one of the characters sees a man naked as he turns into a wolf. However there is zero detail and all it says is that he took off all his clothes until he was naked.