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Summary: One of the best books I have ever read!
Review: Shadow Spinner is a great book! The story is about Marjan, a girl with a crippled foot who likes to tell stories. Shahrazad, the sultan's wife, has been telling the sultan stories every night to keep the sultan from killing her. The sultan wants to hear a story from his childhood, but Marjan doesn't know the second part of the tale, and she must get it. This book takes place in ancient Persia. It was modeled after an ancient Persian or Indian story. Each chapter begins with "Lessons for life and storytelling," which states truths storytellers should know. The truths are reflected in the chapter. The characters are very believable. I would recommend this book to people of all ages. It is a wonderful story filled with mystery and excitement. It can be easy or hard to predict what will happen. Once you start reading it, you won't want to stop. I think everyone should read this book!
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Summary: a great book on an interesting time period!
Review: Shadow Spinner is based on Arabian Nights. Marjan is a storyteller who is living with Jewish people she calls aunt and uncle. Her mother commited suicide after she maimed Marjan's foot so the sultan wouldn't marry her. The sultan's first wife was unfaithful to him and he killed her and married a woman every night and killed her in the morning, because he believed that all woman were unfaithful. Her mother thought that the sultan would continue until all the unmarried woman were dead and then start marrying the young girls. One day Marjan goes with her aunt to sell jewelry at the harem, which is the place where all the woman in the palace live. After telling a story to some children she is led to Shahrazad, the sultan's wife. For almost three years she has told the sultan stories and doesn't finish them so she continues them the next day. She is desperate for stories she hasn't already told him. So Marjan tells her one and she tells the sultan. It turns out this story happens to be the sultan's childhood favorite and he asks her to tell him the story of the main character's son. Shahrazad, trying to please him, says she knows it and will tell him the story after she is done with the one she is presently telling. She asks Marjan about the rest of the story and Marjan says she doesn't know it. So Shahrazad sends Marjan out of the harem (which isn't allowed) to find out the rest of the story (Marjan heard the story from a storyteller in the bazaar). What makes this book interesting is the sultan's mother, the most powerful woman in the harem, who distrusts women and hates Shahrazad. Also, Marjan deals with her feelings of hate towards her mother at crippiling Marjan for life.
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Summary: Shadow Spinner
Review: SHADOW SPINNER IS THE BEST BOOK I EVER READ!!!
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Summary: A Truly Amazing Novel!
Review: "Shadow Spinner" is an amazing tale of Sharazad and her 1001 tales, and how a young girl named Marjan, who never believed she would be worth something in this world. Marjan's talent for stories wins her spot inside the palace where she assists Sharazad in her search for a new tale. This book is alive with bright colorful people, places, and events and shows human determination at it's finest. Read "Shadow Spinner" and you won't be disapointed!
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Summary: Exotic, mysterious Islamic setting . . .
Review: I read Shadow Spinner shortly after returning from India. Susan Fletcher's colorful descriptions of crowded bazaars, noisy streets and the shadowy labyrinths of the sultan's harem awakened memories of the palaces and mosques I visited in Rajastan, and the exotic sense of mystery and adventure (and danger?) that's a part of traveling in the Middle East (this story takes place in Persia). This is really a story within a story, because the gutsy main character, Marjan--known as "Shahrazad's cripple"--helps the famous storyteller/harem girl hang onto her head for one more night as she entices a love-wounded sultan with one more installment in her never-ending story. I liked the ending. Lots of action, excitement and suspense in this book, with much wisdom in the telling. Truly a fascinating glimpse at what it would be like to be a girl in an Islamic society.
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Summary: OMG awsome book!
Review: I loved this book sooooooo much! It was really fun to read. Sometimes I stayed up until midnight reading it!!!! I was reading this book for school, and I read the whole thing the first night!!! I really REALLY recommend reading this book! ! !
There are parts that make you want to just jump in the book, And reassure the characters, or punch one of them etc. I hope that you choose to read this book!!!
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Summary: Shadow Spinner
Review: How would you feel if you couldn't go out in public without a veil over you head? That is what it was like for the girls in the book Shadow Spinner by Susan Flezcher. This book is about a girl named Marjan. She loves to tell stories and is forced to live in a harem helping Shahrazad tell stories to the Sultan, but if he doesn't like the story, or if she doesn't have a story to tell, she will die. Marjan tells a story to Shahrazad for her to tell the Sultan, but the story didn't end where they thought it did, so Marjan has to go out and find the storyteller who told her the story to find out the ending. The problem with is, no one is allowed out of the harem. So, the question is how is she supposed to get out? After that was answered, the next question was how do we get Marjan out of the harem for good because it wasn't safe anymore?
This book was a great adventure and I couldn't wait to read more. The best characterization in the book was the description of Shahrazad. "She was beautiful her long hair hung down her back. Her skin was clear and glowing, her lips full, her eyebrows pleasingly arched, her lashes a thick, dark fringe, but her eyes seemed haunted. They had a look in them that dwelt somewhere between hunger and terror." Unfortunately, not every description was that good. The worst characterization was of the Sultan. "A man sat on a throne in the midst of a standing people. His black silk robes were edged in sable; he wore an enormous ruby in his turban and diamond-studded dagger at his waist." The reason I did not like this is because the author only described what he was wearing, so in my head all I could see were clothes and a body but no face because the author never described it.
The setting was good but in my opinion it could have been better. The best setting was of the harem. "It seemed like a labyrinth, the staircases twisted and turned. There always seemed to be a hidden corner. Every area had a different smell but they all seemed to look the same so you could never tell where you were." The worst example of the setting is of Marjan's house. "A small house, with not a lot of riches or jewels a simple and plain house just like any other." I did not like this because I didn't know what any other house looked like. It was not as descriptive as I would have liked.
The best plot was when Marjan was escaping the harem for the fourth time and this time she was going to stay out of the harem and she wasn't coming back. I liked this part because it was exciting when the eunuchs almost caught her and killed her. It was one of the best parts of the book, and I couldn't put the book down. The worst part of the plot was when Soraya was following Marjan around and reporting every move she made to the Khatun. I didn't like this part because it really had no point to it. It was a part of the book that could have been left out.
The theme was also impressive. The main theme was to never give up. This was expressed when Shahrazad never gave up on getting the rest of the story. She kept trying until she got the whole thing. The worst theme was breaking the rules to get something you need. This happens when Shahrazad sneaks Marjan out of the harem to get the rest of the story.
Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a good adventure. If you want to know what happens to Marjan and Shahrazad, the only way to find out is to read the book Shadow Spinner by Susan Flezcher.
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Summary: Great Read
Review: Marjan is an orphan who lives with her adoptive "aunt" and "uncle". Her "aunt" thinks she will never get married, becuase of her maimed foot. But when she goes to the Harem with her aunt, she startes telling stories. And suddenly, the famous storyteller Shahrazad, needs her help.
What will become of her?
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Summary: teach me, oh storyteller
Review: I picked up this book because I am particularly interested in books that depict children or teens with disabilities. In this book, Marjan has a deformed foot. The book is particularly interesting because of the guilt associated with the disability due to the reason behind it. Like any good book directed at youths, though, the guilt is resolved by the end, and Marjan is quite suddenly able to look at herself through new eyes. I say all of that somewhat sarcastically, but this book does have some good points. Marjan is a strong young woman (despite, or because of, her disability), and I applaud that. The book is also an interesting look at Sheherazade (the book spells it Shahrazad), who many young girls may not know about. Shahrazad is presented as a heroine for the ages, brave beyond belief, saving the lives of countless young women in the city. However, the book is extremely didactic in nature. Be prepared to take some elements with a grain of salt. For example, at the end of the book, Marjan realizes that a certain repented evildoer is "cirppled with guilt" as she is crippled by her disability. If you can ignore obvious efforts at teaching like that, then this book will be great, especially for young women to learn about Persian/women's history.
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Summary: Awesome!
Review: This book was wonderful! I loved the way each chapter begins with something about how to be a storyteller. I thought it was beautiful! The story has action, adventure, suspense, and beautiful descriptive language.
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