Blog Tour: Rumaysa Ever After
Stolen as a baby, Rumaysa was held captive by the wicked witch, Cordelia. Since escaping her tower, she has been journeying through enchanted lands, searching far and wide for her parents. A curious gift from a boy named Suleiman- a purple onyx necklace- is supposed to take her to the one most in need and Rumaysa hopes that this will be her parents. However, it is constantly whisking her away to help others. When she receives a mysterious invitation from Saira White, Queen of Bishnara, Rumaysa finds herself on a dark journey which threatens her own happily ever after…
Sequel to the wonderful ‘Rumaysa: A Fairytale’ , ‘Ever After’ continues Rumaysa’s story as she searches for her parents. As in the previous story, Rumaysa is resourceful and brave as she continues on her quest, but Radiya Hafiza adds many details which make Rumaysa very real and endearing despite her magical powers! She makes mistakes and can be clumsy, tripping over her dress as she enters a carriage or almost knocking over a silver goblet- a fallible heroine to relate to rather than the ‘perfect’ image normally offered in fairy tales.
In this story, Rumaysa encounters Saira White- or Snow White- after the death of the wicked step-mother. In Saira’s story, having been spared by the guard in the forest, she finds the home of seven outcasts and lives with them. As with the original tale, the obsession with appearance and the need to be beautiful are key to Saira’s story and there are some wonderful moments where Rumaysa reflects on peoples’ perception of beauty and challenges it, questioning its importance and concluding that sometimes the quest for beauty leads people to do ugly things.
Rumaysa’s time with Cordelia has damaged her self esteem, leaving ‘marks’ on her and making her doubt herself and her abilities. As she faces the challenges of this story, there are times when Cordelia’s voice rings in her ears, but she overcomes this and comes to understand the value of her powers and channel them to defeat the ‘monster’ she faces. The story also looks at how difficult it can be to trust others once you have been betrayed and the feeling of being trapped- of having no choice about how you act, making the story an excellent starting point for discussions with children as well as brilliant for inspiring writing in role or for developing children’s own versions of traditional tales.
The book is full of wonderful descriptions, not least of the food Rumaysa is now exposed to after having lived on a diet of porridge in the tower. Wherever she goes, there are mouthwatering dishes- aloo fita, pastries, truffles- tempting the reader alongside Rumaysa and adding a real sense of place to the story. I also loved the description of libraries and the way Rumaysa sniffs the pages of a book- a trait of us book lovers!
Illustrated throughout by Rhaida El Touny, ‘Rumaysa Ever After’ is an enchanting read.
Rumaysa Ever After Radiya Hafiza, illustrated by Rhaida El Touny
Macmillan ISBN: 978-1529001311
Many thanks to the lovely people at Macmillan for inviting me to take part in this tour. Make sure you have a look at the other posts about this wonderful book!