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RUMAYSA by Radiya Hafiza

RUMAYSA

Ever After

From the Rumaysa series, volume 2

by Radiya Hafiza ; illustrated by Rhaida el Touny

Pub Date: April 23rd, 2024
ISBN: 9781529091311
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books

Ever since she escaped the tower she was trapped in, Rumaysa has been searching for her parents.

Rumaysa is back in this sequel to Rumaysa: A Fairytale (2023), this time with a spin on the classic fairy tale “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.” The purple onyx necklace gifted to her by her friend Sulieman takes her to “enchanted lands and troubled people,” those who are most in need. Among other adventures, she helps a mermaid escape captivity and saves Little Red Riding Hijab from a wolf. Yet, all Rumaysa wants is for the necklace to return her to her parents. After she rescues a young boy from a scaly, clawed beast, she learns he’s Prince Aydin, the brother of Queen Saira White of Bishnara. The queen gratefully invites Rumaysa to her palace, which is made of gold. There, Rumaysa learns the queen’s story: Her stepmother tried to kill her, but Saira White fell through a trapdoor into the underground home of “seven outcasts.” When the magic necklace starts to pull at Rumaysa, she follows its lead, discovers a surprise, and learns she’s in danger. At points in the story, readers also get to hear the perspectives of Naina and Samar, Rumaysa’s parents, as they search for their daughter. Hafiza again portrays strong, independent girls and women in a story that focuses on familial love and being true to oneself. Black-and-white illustrations complement the text.

A much-needed, creative, and captivatingly different take on fairy tales.

(Fantasy. 8-11)