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Book of a Thousand Days Hardcover – September 1, 2007

by Shannon Hale (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 1,074 ratings
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Based on a classic Grimm's fairy tale, this is the story told by Dashti, a maid from the steppes of a medieval land, who sacrifices her freedom to accompany her mistress into exile. Imprisoned in a remote tower after Lady Saren refuses to marry the man her father has chosen, the maid and the lady have almost nothing in common. But the loyalty that grows between the two, the man they love in different ways for different reasons, and the lies they tell because of and in spite of each other, combine to evoke the deepest bonds, transcend the loneliest landscapes, and erupt in a conclusion so romantic, so clever, and so right that no reader will be left dry-eyed.
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Previous page
  1. Reading age
    12 - 15 years
  2. Print length
    320 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Grade level
    7 - 9
  5. Lexile measure
    850L
  6. Dimensions
    5.76 x 1.17 x 7.57 inches
  7. Publisher
    Bloomsbury USA Childrens
  8. Publication date
    September 1, 2007
  9. ISBN-10
    1599900513
  10. ISBN-13
    978-1599900513
  11. See all details
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About the Author

Shannon's mother says she was a storyteller from birth, jabbering endlessly in her carriage as the two strolled through the neighborhood; once she could form complete sentences, she made up stories, bribing her younger siblings to perform them in mini plays. When she was ten, she began writing books, mostly fantasy stories where she was the heroine, and she continued writing secretly for years while pursuing acting in stage and improv comedy. After detours studying in Mexico, the U. K., and Paraguay, Shannon earned a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Utah and a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Montana. In the interim, she submitted short stories and novels to magazines and publishers, saving all her rejection letters which she has since laminated into one continuous 60-foot roll which she proudly unfurls to audiences as a testament to her dedication and determination.

Since the publication of her first book, The Goose Girl, in 2003, Shannon has become a beloved author to young readers as well as booksellers and educators. Her third novel, Princess Academy, earned her a Newbery Honor and is a The New York Times, Book Sense, and Publishers Weekly bestseller. Shannon has also written two books for adults, Austenland and The Actor and the Housewife. Shannon lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, with her husband, Dean, their children, and their pet, a small plastic pig.

www.shannonhale.com

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bloomsbury USA Childrens; First Edition (September 1, 2007)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1599900513
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1599900513
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 12 - 15 years
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 850L
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 7 - 9
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.76 x 1.17 x 7.57 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 1,074 ratings

About the author

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Shannon Hale

Shannon Hale

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New York Times best selling author Shannon Hale started writing books at age ten and never stopped, eventually earning an MFA in Creative Writing. After nineteen years of writing and many rejections, she published The Goose Girl, the first in her award-winning Books of Bayern series. She has since published 40 books for young readers including the Newbery Honor winner Princess Academy and its two sequels; multiple award winner Book of a Thousand Days; and graphic novel memoirs Real Friends, Best Friends, and Friends Forever (with LeUyen Pham). With frequent collaborator LeUyen Pham, she created the adorable Itty-Bitty Kitty-Corn picture book series. Her novels for the adult crowd include Austenland (now a major motion picture starring Keri Russell). Shannon and her husband Dean Hale have collaborated on several projects, such as Eisner-nominee Rapunzel's Revenge (with Nathan Hale); early chapter book series The Princess in Black (with LeUyen Pham); two novels about the unbeatable Marvel superhero Squirrel Girl; and the DC graphic novels Diana: Princess of the Amazons (with Victoria Ying) and Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld (with Asiah Fulmore). They live with their four children and two cat overlords near Salt Lake City, Utah.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
1,074 global ratings
I love this book.
5 Stars
I love this book.
The plot is fun, the presentation is interesting, and the romance is adorable. It's a wonderful read and I highly recommend it.
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Top reviews from the United States

SaraRPG
5.0 out of 5 stars Inspirational story to inspire and enchant
Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2014
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This book is one of those books that had a huge impact on me when I was younger. The beautiful, almost lyrical writing style, the relentless optimism of the heroine, and the amazing story combined in such a wonderful way for me that I felt the same way about it that I do about certain people, like I'm better for having known them. This is one of the few books that I will read over and over, whenever I feel like I need a little more beauty in my life or just because.
Recently, my mom had a pretty serious surgery on her eyes, and she wasn't able to see for some time. She was pretty down about it,and since I live halfway across the country, I knew I had to give her something positive to focus on. I sent her this in a care package, with specific instructions to start with this book first. After she received it. she called me so excited to talk about where she was in the story and to try to prod spoilers out of me, a complete 180 from the conversation the day before. She loved the different voices and the full cast kept her completely engaged without the sometimes jarring shift in perspective that can happen with a single narrator. This became one of her favorite books and I was so happy that something so positive and inspirational to me could help her get through a rough patch as well. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves lyrical, inspirational stories, with a strong non-traditional heroine and a sweet love story. For anyone who has ever felt hopeless, Book of a Thousand Days is a story to remind you of simple good things and the power of perseverance.
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H. Hoyt
5.0 out of 5 stars Spoiler Free Praise (not even plot details)
Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2007
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(This review is spoiler free. I don't even mention the plot.)

I have read quite a few good reviews of Book of a Thousand Days, by the wonderful Shannon Hale so I was expecting good thing.

It was better than I could have ever hoped for. It was perfect.

It was a story that made you forget every story you have ever read before. I had no idea what was going to happen with the characters--I was reading something new and raw, with no expectations. I read as if it were the only book that existed in the world.

Why? Because of Dashti. Dashti is the author of the book. The book is her journal. I usually end up understanding characters, relating to them, and liking them. I loved Dashti. I loved her as if she were my best friend, as if she were my sister. As if she were real. I've read many books and stories where the characters are real, but I haven't loved them as I have loved Dashti. I loved Lady Saren as Dashti loved her. I knew these people and I became a part of their world.

The setting was magnificent. Gone with the Western norm, this was set in a world based off of Asia. Gone was the cliched magic of fantasy books. It was Shannon Hale magic in its best: subtle, gentle, feminine, beautiful.

The voice and tone were Dashti. The words were so different from what many books are, but the newness and rawness of the words became part of me. There was beauty, and there was deep, deep sadness in the book. I have never read a book that so adequately portrayed the sadness of life and war--it could have been real. This never seemed like a word of fiction, ever, it was real. Instead of pretty heroines with feisty attitudes, the book offered something heartfelt, real, and full of inner beauty.

I love Book of a Thousand Days. Wow. Wow. Wow. Please read it. It isn't an enjoyable, fun read. It isn't something that you laugh through and are entertained. You do laugh, but it is the deep laugh that comes from sadness. You cry, but it is because you are happy. You see these characters and you join them and can weep for them, laugh with them, and rejoice with them. This book is what any book should aspire to be.
23 people found this helpful
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Alexa @ Alexa Loves Books
4.0 out of 5 stars and I really enjoyed it! Unlike Tiger Lily
Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2015
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Book of a Thousand Days is the second fairytale retelling that I read for It Takes Two this month, and I really enjoyed it! Unlike Tiger Lily, this story still played out like a fairytale, complete with a heroine you could root for, a handsome hero and the requisite happily ever after. While it certainly took some time for things to pick up, I enjoyed my experience with this book from start to finish.

The main narrator of this story is Dashti, who is the girl writing down this story in her own private journal. It was clever of the author to use this perspective, as it allows us to have an insider’s look at Dashti’s thoughts straightaway. We ultimately get a very strong sense of who she is and what her past looks like; we also get immediate access to Dashti’s experiences and feelings at the present moment. Plus, thanks to the occasional sketch, we also get a visual of certain characters and moments in the book!

I definitely rooted for Dashti because I loved how she tried to stay true to herself and her beliefs, even though it wasn’t always easy. While she certainly was not benevolent all the time (and she admits it), there’s a lot to admire about her. She’s got strength to her, both physically and internally, that I aspire to have myself. She cares and loves and remains loyal without question to the people she calls friend or family. I loved that she was this underdog character (a servant to the princess), but she eventually found a way to shine by using her own skills.

Dashti is also a mucker, and I thought that was an extremely fascinating concept. Muckers are not healers, per se, but they have the ability to soothe hurts and aches and ailments through the power of song. Sometimes, I could sense how perfectly the song would help with an ailment; other times, I didn’t understand and thought it was nonsense. It was interesting to see how this skill set that Dashti had proved to be useful throughout the entire tale.

There’s a lot of craziness that happens within these pages. To begin with, Lady Saren (who I’m SO not a fan of) and Dashti are locked up in a tower for seven years – and that’s crazy enough. Then, kingdoms are overrun and razed to the ground, and Dashti sacrifices a great many things in obedience to her duty and what she thinks is right – but everything fit together well. This story is, after all, a fairytale, and in fairytales, the impossible is always possible. Even though it seemed a little fanciful, I just went along with it, and certainly enjoyed it along the way.

The important thing, to me, is that there’s a happy ending. I love a happy ending – who doesn’t? I wasn’t sure how things would work out for these characters that I loved, but I’m very, very happy with what the author chose to do. Honestly, I ended up closing this book with a very satisfied feeling because there’s an actually happily ever after.

I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to read Book of a Thousand Days. It fits the bill for a fairytale retelling, as it takes the classic story of Maid Maleen (which I only realized I knew after I’d read the book) and purloins elements to create this fabulous new tale. I thoroughly enjoyed immersing myself in this book, and I can highly recommend this to fellow fans of fairytale retellings and happily ever afters.
3 people found this helpful
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J Hill
5.0 out of 5 stars so hard to put it down!!!
Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2024
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Shannon Hale did a great job with this book!! There were twists & turns I never saw coming—and that’s saying a lot. Usually I can guess things really well. But this book surprised me a lot. That made it so enjoyable and SO hard to put down.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Amanda Dantas
4.0 out of 5 stars Condições boas, com um mínimo problema.
Reviewed in Brazil on August 25, 2020
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Chegou muito rápido e em boa condição, só com um pequeno rasgo na capa.
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Amanda Dantas
4.0 out of 5 stars Condições boas, com um mínimo problema.
Reviewed in Brazil on August 25, 2020
Chegou muito rápido e em boa condição, só com um pequeno rasgo na capa.
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Lady Blackbird
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 24, 2020
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I really enjoyed this tale of mistress and faithful servant set in a country akin to Mongolia. The narrator is intelligent, ingenious and loyal. Her mistress, a dainty milksop who manages to keep going because of the determination of her maid. All in all an excellent novel of love and adventure suitable for all ages.
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Sarah Prieto
5.0 out of 5 stars Puntual
Reviewed in Spain on February 10, 2019
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Puntual en la entrega. El libro me ha gustado bastante
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Jane's Fan
5.0 out of 5 stars Shannon Hale is one of my favorite authors. She has a very different writing style ...
Reviewed in Canada on October 19, 2016
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Shannon Hale is one of my favorite authors. She has a very different writing style in this book and her Bayern series and Princess Academy books, somewhat of a more primitive style, but that is not to imply that they are not well written. They are very well written. She is a very adaptable writer because her Austenland and Return to Austenland books are every bit as engaging for adults, with a bit of silliness thrown in for fun!
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sleepreader
5.0 out of 5 stars Wunderschöne Geschichte
Reviewed in Germany on March 23, 2013
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Shannon Hale mausert sich immer mehr zu einer meiner Lieblingsautorinnen - sie hat einen sehr anmutigen, lebendigen Sprachstil, mit Beschreibungen, die ebenso unkonventionell erscheinen wie berührend sind, ihre Figuren gehen einem fast immer sofort ans Herz und die Handlung hat meistens einige unvorhergesehene Wendungen, ist aber niemals unglaubwürdig (obwohl sie in einer Art Märchenwelt angesiedelt sind).

Ich lese sie immer wieder gerne!
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