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Jan 01, 2011

Valerie rated it:

This is definitely one of the top 5 in the series-so far. It has rejuvenated my faith in the series. Although I couldn't give it 5 stars it was pretty close.

I was relieved when Shahrazad (I think that’s her name) marries the King before the first quarter of the book ended, since it usually takes longer for Dokey to let the adventure start. So I got to see more of the guy-the-girl-is-supposed-to-fall-in-love-with. I've only read one other book with this retelling so it was a fresher r More...

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Jan 30, 2008

Alice rated it:

I would wager that everyone belonging to GoodReads would say that they love books, and love reading. Those of us that are librarians have decided to devote ourselves to the cause.
Why is the Story so powerful?

In the hands of storyteller Dokey, the maiden Shahrazad who must please the king with her nightly story becomes a metaphor for the Story itself. Will you turn the next page-- or not? Will you open your heart to the story-- or not? Those who do, find that the double power o More...

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Sep 02, 2011

Pamela(AllHoney) rated it:

I'm new to the YA fantasy genre so I'm not really sure how to review in comparison to others in this genre. It was a easy, enjoyable read without a ton of filler. The story was simple and straight-forward. Something I think my daughter could and probably should read. (If I could get her into reading).

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 18, 2011

Janell rated it:

Surprisingly, I enjoyed this one even more than Beauty Sleep. I wouldn't necessarily call this a fairy tale and the writing style was a little different, but it was the characters that I really enjoyed the most. I also like stories when the hero and heroine must rise above the challenges they face, including ones they've unknowingly created for themselves. Like many fairy tales, it has a little treachery but unlike most fairy tales, however, this one has some blood being spilled. This is defini More...

4 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 27, 2011

Maia rated it:

I love fairy tale retellings. I mean, I love them. I love seeing what authors do with the old stories, how they twist them and pull them apart and add feisty heroines and princes with a bit more depth than the average Grimm paragon. It helps if the retelling comes with lovely writing, romance, and a dollop of humor - but adds something entirely new to the old tale.

And as fairy tale retellings go, this is a good one. The writing is not lovely, but it's interesting and fits with the pl More...

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Dec 30, 2010

Karissa rated it:

Previously I have read "Beauty Sleep" by Cameron Dokey, and I liked the story. So, I was excited to read another fairy tale retelling by Dokey. Unfortunately I found this retelling of "Arabian Nights" hard to get through and pretty boring.

Shahrazad is the daughter of a great storyteller. When the King is betrayed by his wife, his heart turns to stone and he vows to marry a young woman each new moon and kill her the next morning. That is unless a young woman comes fo More...

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Jun 25, 2010

Lady rated it:

Cameron Dokey does a splendid job with her retelling of the Arabian Nights! I loved every page of it and read it cover to cover in a couple of hours. Definitely one of my top favorites in the "Once Upon a Time..." series.

Shahrazad is the daughter of the vizier and a storyteller. Shahrayar is the crown prince. After his father's death, Shahrayar divides the kingdom between himself and his brother, and as the years pass great peace comes to the land. However, both brothers so More...

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Jun 26, 2009

Dlora rated it:

The Storyteller's Daughter is the retelling of the Arabian Nights story, so now you know the plot . . . or do you? The narrator is Shahrazad, the storyteller of a thousand and one nights. You think you already know the story but she says that you really know only a small part, and what she is about to relate has never before been told.

The book's prologue is probably my favorite part -- Shahrazad comes alive, speaking poetically and directly to you about the nature of stories and catc More...

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Apr 21, 2009

Kathryn rated it:

This was the first of the Once Upon a Time series that I have read. I've heard good things about Cameron Dokey as well, but I just didn't get into this book. I felt the writing style was inconsistent. It seems to jump back and forth between a more old-fashioned formal storytelling language and modern slang! I enjoyed the relationship between Shahrazad and Shahrayar, but wanted more to be explained. Why did her eyesight return and her storytelling end and her mothers never did? Nothing in the pro More...

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Mar 26, 2009

Sandy rated it:

story inspired by the magical and romantic tale of Shahrazad from The Arabian Nights. When betrayed by his queen, Shahrayar's heart turns coldly to stone. He vows to take a new wife once each month, at the full moon, but to keep her only one night, killing her in the morning. Shahrazad, the 17-year-old blind daughter of the king's vizier and Maju, a blind storyteller, concocts a plan to reach the king's heart. She will begin a story each night that will not be finished in the morning. Three sto More...

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Aug 23, 2011

Janus Vielle rated it:

I haven’t read of the actual story of “The Arabian Nights,” but being unaware of it was not a hindrance for me to enjoy “The Storyteller’s Daughter” which is a retelling of that tale.

Cameron Dokey’s writing is quite invigorating. I was drawn to story as soon as it started. The plot was simple enough and I like the idea of having a story within a story.

This book started out with a very magical and mysterious prologue. It was such a great way to introduce this story. It wa More...

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Jul 05, 2011

(´*•.¸ღBexღ¸.•*´) rated it:

Based on the Arabian Nights this story is that of a king (Shahrayar) with a curse that he shall never love again, instead he will take one wife every full moon that will be killed in the morning. Then the blind Shahrazad steps forward and makes a plan to tell the king a story that will take many nights to tell, he will love it so much he'll keep her alive to hear the end. With stories in the story this is a book that keeps your attention until the last page.

It has a strong female le More...

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Feb 05, 2012

Sonia rated it:

Shaharazad has inherited her mother's storytelling gift and although never accepted by her father's people she uses her gift to bring sanity to the king. Betrayed by love King Shahrayar swears to marry and then the next morning kill his wife so that she has no opportunity to betray him. Shaharazad offers herself up as a bride to save others from death. Her stories woo the king, and attempt to restore his heart. His book brings that character of Shaharazad alive rather than just the stories s More...

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Oct 22, 2011

Rebecca rated it:

First off, I missed that this was a YA book when I put it on my list and was super excited to read it. I was surprised when it came into the library and was a tiny paperback from the teen section! Usually this does not bother me because I read 'Beastly' recently and loved it. I think that the only reason I was thrown off guard was because I was expecting it to be an adult book... Anyways... enough rambling... here is what I thought of the book.

The story is a classic one, the storytelle More...

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Mar 03, 2009

Rebecca rated it:

I am surprised at how much I enjoyed this book! Shahrazad's own story is told, along with the stories she weaves, against an authentic ancient middle-eastern background, complete with desert heat, tribal loyalty, exiled kings who are locked away instead of killed, and women who use their beauty and skill-- and sometimes cunning-- to control the men they love, and thus the history of their kingdoms. (One quote: After finishing a very long story..."I notice that once again it is the women w More...

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Apr 04, 2011

Heidi rated it:

I wasn't as impressed with this one. I felt that some aspects of the story were being repeatedly rammed down my throat while others just didn't flow smoothly to make as much sense or to at least be coherent to the story as a whole. Interesting tales that she told, but I find myself slightly bored with them (probably because I wasn't in a mind-set to analyze all of them--I want fluff with these fractured fairy tales!--so I was just reading them to get them over with). The imagery at spots seemed More...

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May 22, 2010

Chris rated it:

I'm not the target audience for this book. Right now, I looked at all the wonderful reviews of this novel and wonder if the people read the same book I did. Maybe I'm too picky.

Go read any translation of nights instead of this.

I have problems with this book. The first is that the character of Shahrazad makes no sense. All of sudden she's blind. All of sudden she's a wonderful story teller who understands people even though she avoided people by locking herself in her More...

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Jan 01, 2009

Hannah rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Mar 14, 2009

Lynette rated it:

I loved this book! I haven't ever read The Arabian Nights, but I really enjoyed this version of the fairy tale. In fact, after reading this book and After Midnight (Cinderella), I put a lot more on hold at the library. These books are part of the Once Upon a Time series. I recommended them to my 11-year-old niece also. So far, I think she will love them too. However, there is one part in this book that she might find disturbing...the wicked king kills villagers in the castle courtyard and More...

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Oct 13, 2011

Jennifer rated it:

There are so many wonderful reviews about this book that I think maybe I missed something. I'm afraid I just didn't enjoy it. I struggled through every page thinking that maybe it would get more interesting. I just never found what others did. It is nonsensical to believe that Shahrazad could have such insight into people without ever having spent any time with any. The stories that were found in the cloth featured wise, strong women yet in the world around Shahrazad none of those women really e More...

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Aug 22, 2011

Georgie rated it:

A fresh view on 'The Arabian Nights' as we peer into 'The Storyteller's Daughter', a re-telling by Cameron Dokey, and part of the wonderful and original 'Once Upon a Time' Series. This one is new in it's own right as we cast our eyes over the story of Shaharazad, and her plan to save the heart of the King, whose heart has been lost because of treachery and deciet played upon him by his first wife.

Other favourites of mine in this series are:

Before Midnight (Cinderella)
More...

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Dec 29, 2010

Shanna rated it:

I am enjoying this series of books "once Upon a Time". Each book is a retelling of a Fairy Tale. This one was about The Arabian Nights. I enjoy reading tales that I am not too familiar with. I liked the style of writing. It was a quick read. Some of the lessons we can learn from this book is about judging others, jumping to conclusions and being able to see others true heart. I also read the book about the Magic Flute by this same author and enjoyed it also. The author is descrip More...

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Sep 06, 2009

bookczuk rated it:

I finished this book while up in the mountains, but while up in the mountains my brother and his wife, who live in India, were brutally beaten by bandits, who broke into their home and robbed them. The following days were a time of intense prayer and hope. My brother died this morning from his head injuries. My sister-in-law survives, but is struggling with aphasia and adjusting to the world without her beloved. I will review this book at some point but I have been lost in the world of prayer More...

4 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 27, 2011

Jennifer rated it:

This is a retelling of the 1001 Arabian Nights. I started to read that once, and was quite surprised by the explicit sex at the beginning, so I didn't go any further. This was done for teens, so it was clean. I loved the love story, and how the stories within related to the characters. I thought that was very clever. It gave me a lot to think about in relation to my own romance and my communication skills with my husband. Maybe I should try the original again if it is going to turn out thi More...

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Apr 28, 2010

Elley rated it:

This is the first book in the Once Upon A Time series. The first one I read was actually "Snow," and then I gathered all the rest from various places because I love them so much. I just recently decided to re-read the entire series. (And no, it's not a series you need to read in order - each book is based on a separate fairy tale.)

The Storyteller's Daughter is based off the The Arabian Nights, or The One Thousand and One Nights, or Tales of the Arabian Nights - pick your po More...

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Aug 08, 2011

Mary-Beth rated it:

I liked this story much more than I expected to. It started out fairly unpromisingly, with a quasi-poetic italicized section written in the second-person. The danger with writing in the second person is that it tends to presuppose a specific type of audience with specific reactions, interests, etc. I rarely fit the author's idea of this perfect audience and so it loses me.

But I was quickly drawn into Shahrazad's story which is perhaps unsurprising given that I find her a very interes More...

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Mar 11, 2010

Grace rated it:

Ok, I was kinda disappointed. Three stars, as you can tell. The beginning itself is worth five stars. The prologue was AMAZING. I'm serious. I was bowled over by it. But the rest? Not so much. I enjoyed it, but... it seemed too angst filled. Unrealistically dramatic. I can't place my finger on it, but... plus, the ending was cliche. While sweet, cliche. I just... it didn't feel right.

And who was it who told the tale anyway? I don't really understand. Did Dokey hint at who was, or was More...

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Oct 02, 2011

Anne rated it:

4.5 stars

If you didn't happen to catch it from the title, this is a retelling of The Arabian Nights. You know, the one about the woman named Shahrazad who keeps herself from getting killed every morning, by spinning the world's greatest To-Be-Continued story every night. Well, this is her version of the tale.
And it's good. Really good.
The best part is that it's beautifully written, but the author doesn't bore you to death by describing every grain of sand in the desert. More...

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May 20, 2009

earthy rated it:

Purple prose abounds! While I appreciate the attempt to give more depth and understanding to the situations from the "Arabian Nights" saga, none of these characters are particularly interesting or believable, and the nearly constant pseudo-lyrical descriptions of the importance of Story come across more as stilted prose than insightful philosophical discussion. I was interested enough to finish the book, but I'm sure there are plenty of better ways I could have been spending my time.

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Aug 11, 2011

Lisa added it

An enjoyable YA read. There are stories within the main story as Shahrazad tells a tale or two to the king.

Some of the themes could reveal spiritual truths: certainly the theme of looking on the heart not the outward appearance. I was also struck by the way the king's brother allowed the people in the city to suffer so they would see the cruelty of their new king. In such a way, God sometimes also deals with us.

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