#rumaysa

I always feel so incredibly inspired by well-written fairytale retellings and I knew I’d be in for a wonderful, unique ride with Rumaysa. Pitched as a Rapunzel retelling set in a fictional version of South Asia, I was always going to be here for it but it ended up being even better than I could have ever imagined.

As a baby, Rumaysa was stolen from her parents by a witch and imprisoned in a tall tower in an enchanted forest. With nothing but books and a friendly owl called Zabina for company, Rumaysa spends her days weaving straw into gold for the cruel witch. Then one day, she escapes and embarks on a series of adventures, helping out other girls who need her, on the way to find her parents.

There are some truly stunning illustrations in this book by the very talented Rhaida El Touny. They match the whimsical, enchanting nature of the story perfectly and add a beautiful visual dimension to the adventure. I know that young readers will be thoroughly taken in by them and that gorgeous editions of the book will become much-loved additions to so many bookshelves.

I would love an owl friend like Zabina. She is unwaveringly loyal and wise, making her the perfect girlfriend for Rumaysa. The writing was so vivid and absorbing that I could so easily see her fluttering around the tower, telling Rumaysa all of the forest gossip and gushing about the handsome raven. What a crazy but fantastic girls’ night in that would be!

Every so often, the book would give a subtle nod to the fact that it was a fairytale. It was done in such a clever way that it didn’t take me out of the story at all. I had such a great time picking up on all the parallels of the original fairytales and noticing our Hafiza had expertly adapted them.

The second third of the book delivers us Ayla’s story, which is almost an exact reflection of Cinderella’s. The ending is thankfully completely different and I was afraid for a little while that it wouldn’t be because it seemed so out of Ayla’s character to follow the same path as Cinderella.

Despite having different backgrounds and experiences, Rumaysa and Ayla have a lot in common. They both seem to recognise this when they meet and this causes them to forge a wonderful bond. I like to think that all fairytale heroines would react like this on meeting each other and work together to overthrow the forces that bind them to certain ideals and expectations. Thank you, Radiya Hafiza, for making this possible!

Rumaysa also helps rescue Sleeping Sara, who has been kidnapped by an evil dragon master. I cannot tell you how delighted I was to learn that Sara was plus-sized. A larger princess is something that Disney are still to give to the world and I could barely contain my excitement that Radiya Hafiza gave her to me first. Ok, so she is asleep for a lot of her story but when she is awake, Sara is a badass, fearless leader and it was so exciting to see.

There is even some discussion on the different expectations for boys and girls. Suleiman is a young boy who features in all three of Rumaysa’s adventures. He has been encouraged to go and rescue the princess (Sara) by his parents but he actually just wants to stay inside and invent things. This moment of quiet reflection by him exposes the ideals that both genders are held up to. Boys are expected to go out and have daring adventures while girls are expected to stay at home and be happy with the small world that the indoors provides. Almost every character in this book defies these expectations, which makes it a fantastic read for young minds who know that there is more to the world that what they’re perhaps told.