Recommended Age:
11
+
Best for readers who like immersive, character-driven fantasy with reflective storytelling and dialogue.
About the Book
Told through the diary of Dashti—a lady's maid who is locked in a tower for seven years alongside her mistress, a princess who refused to marry a cruel lord—this novel inspired by a Grimm fairy tale and set in a Mongolian-influenced world follows their survival and eventual escape. Beautifully written in diary form, with a distinctive voice and a rich sense of culture.
Content Ratings
💡
Mild Themes
The novel explores endurance under unjust confinement, the courage of a servant girl protecting someone more vulnerable than herself, and the long patience required to outlast cruelty.
⚔️
Mild Violence
Criminal threat, danger from structures, and dark magic create sustained threat; violence is present in a fairy tale style.
Engagement:
Genre:
Fantasy
Published:
2007
Page Count:
305
