Catherine Faris King’s debut novel, The Ninety-Ninth Bride, is a beautiful retelling of the tale of Scheherazade, and the thousand and one nights of stories that kept a bride alive. But The Ninety-Ninth Bride is not directly about Scheherazade, the famed woman who tamed a king. Instead, King tells the story of Dunya, a young girl in a family that cares little for her, whose open heart and wide eyes make for a unique perspective on the events of those thousand and one nights.
Dunya is but 15 when she offers to help her father, and is given to the Sultan as his next bride in a string of murdered women. The Sultan has executed the last ninety-eight women he has married, driven mad by the betrayal of his first Sultana, and Dunya fears for the worst. But on her wedding night, Dunya is surprised to discover that there is another bride in the chamber—Zahra, who saves Dunya by telling the Sultan a tale each and every night, postponing the Sultan’s rage. But there is something bigger at work, infecting the land and causing troubles for humans and magical folk alike, and Dunya is determined to fix it, no matter the cost.
King takes Scheherazade’s tale and runs with it, pulling readers away from the supposed centerpiece of the tale—Zahra—and to Dunya. Dunya is not particularly special in her own mind, but when she is spared by Zahra’s dedication to her nightly tales to the Sultan, Dunya explores the world around her. King’s narrative is discovery and storytelling wrapped up in found family and magical diplomacy. And in between it all are the twists and turns of a very unique narrative, because just when you might be starting to get comfortable, or bored, with the narrative, King pulls the rug out from under her readers.
The Ninety-Ninth Bride is a wonderfully descriptive young adult novel, with fascinating magic and magical characters, sweet pseudo-siblings, and fantastic retellings of a few of the original 99 tales. An it is, above all else, a coming-of-age tale in which Dunya grows from a forgotten young girl into a powerful young woman. Dunya’s emotional arc and relationships are a thing of beauty. As she grows and explores the world outside of her father’s house and the Sultan’s palace, Dunya realizes that the world is so much larger and brighter than the limited halls of man.
But Dunya does not grow in a straight line—she is immature at times, frustrated, angry. And this made this book feel even more real, because character development is never a straight line, and King writes it extremely well. Dunya is not a perfect hero or a perfect character. She makes mistakes in life and friendship, doubts herself in times of trouble, and learns from every stumble. I’m still thinking about this book weeks after reading it for the first time, because of Dunya’s remarkable growth from a quiet young girl to a confident young woman.
The casual representation in this book stole my heart. I fell in love with Dunya’s djinn companion, Upalu, who can grant only the wishes within her powers, and yet helps Dunya with little promise of reward beyond their wonderful friendship. Romance is not the main focus of this novel by any means, but there is love of every kind in every word, scene, and deed.
If you’re looking for a heartwarming read that will envelop you in culture and myth, I have to highly recommend this book. King’s novel takes on a broad myth and creates something new out of the old. Even if the tales are familiar, the twists and turns of the characters are unique and genuinely exciting, holding readers in suspense until the climax of adventure. It’s sweet and engaging and heartbreaking all at the same time. The Ninety-Ninth Bride is a young adult tale of magic and fairy tales, determination and power of will. Fall into the tale of a young woman coming into her own, and you’ll never want to leave.
And while you’re at it, give The Book Smugglers some love! They picked up King’s short story and gave her the opportunity to turn it into this magical tale, and gave readers the chance to fall in love with the woman behind Scheherazade’s tales. And a special note: This cover is a thing of beauty. It was painted by Reiko Murakami, who is given a full-page credit at the end of the book. It was definitely one of the things that drew me to this book when The Book Smugglers were looking for reviewers, and I hope it draws you in as well! Every book deserves a lovely cover, and they really hit it out of the park with this one.
Catherine Faris King
Published June 19th, 2018
