This funny and empowering story weaves together three classic fairytales into one new adventure with an unusual structural twist: Rumaysa is a Muslim girl who lets her hijab down from a tall tower in order to escape. Set in a magical version of South Asia, Rumaysa explores enchanted forests and dragon lairs, teaming up with Cinderayla and Sleeping Sara along the way to create a strong sense of sisterhood.
I hate to admit this, but it never occurred to me that the fairytales we read are very Western centric. I mean, I suppose we mostly get Grimms and Hans Christian Andersen over here, but even in collections from around the world, the illustrations are very Western.
So I'm thrilled to see this one. Radiya has shown very clearly that some themes are universal, as the stories need almost no changes. I love how neatly the three stories are drawn together through Rumaysa and another recurring character. I sincerely hope that ending was leading us into a series of these - I can't wait for Rumaysa to take on a few more famous fairy tales. I think she'd make them a lot better.
Now, I'm off to see if I can find a copy of the Thousand and One Nights illustrated like the one described here...
Rumaysa publishes on the 1st of April, 2021.
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