The Wrath and the Dawn - Renee Ahdieh

The Wrath and the Dawn
Author: Renee Ahdieh
Published by: Putnam Juvenile

In this beautifully written first novel, Renee Ahdieh weaves a story as complicated, colorful, and beautiful as a tapestry you might find hanging in the caliph's palace.

For weeks Khalid has been marrying girls and then hanging them the next morning at dawn. One of these girls was Shazi's best friend. Filled with hate and a need for revenge, Shazi volunteers to be his next wife. She knows that she must do whatever it takes to survive that first night. When Khalid comes to her room she tells him a story that lasts until sunrise - refusing to tell him the ending unless he spares her life for one more day. Khalid reluctantly agrees.

With her life secure one more day, Shazi must figure out the caliph's weakness so that she may be the one to end his life and avenge the suffering of everyone who's lost a daughter in the village.

Shazi knows that in order to figure him out she must get close enough to understand him, what she doesn't expect is to see a quiet, alert, troubled boy who keeps too many secrets for one soul to bear.
When her emotions toward Khalid become increasingly blurred she strives to figure out why Khalid acts as he does so that her feelings can reconcile the man or put her back on her path of vengeance.


With a real and honest look at the the confusing and conflicting nature of love, The Wrath and the Dawn does an excellent job at being both a love story and an intensely interesting tale about revenge, redemption, and the choices we make at the hands of others. With multi-dimensional, believable characters and hints of as-of-yet untold magic this novel will leave you reeling after you're finished and will make you impatient for the next installment.

I give it 5 out of 5 cateyes. (Though this book has pretty much changed my entire cateye judging standard.)

*I received an advanced copy of this book from the First to Read Penguin program. All opinions are my own.*