When Dashti, a maid, and Lady Saren, her mistress, are shut in a tower for seven years for Saren’s refusal to marry a man she despises, the two prepare for a very long and dark imprisonment.
    As food runs low and the days go from broiling hot to freezing cold, it is all Dashti can do to keep them fed and comfortable. But the arrival outside the tower of Saren’s two suitors—one welcome, and the other decidedly less so—brings both hope and great danger, and Dashti must make the desperate choices of a girl whose life is worth more than she knows.
    With Shannon Hale’s lyrical language, this forgotten but classic fairy tale from the Brothers Grimm is reimagined and reset on the central Asian steppes; it is a completely unique retelling filled with adventure and romance, drama and disguise.

Suggested Book Club Questions for Book of a Thousand Days (Fiction)

The following book club questions provide a starting point for creating a reading group discussion on Book of a Thousand Days:

• Did Shannon Hale emphasize any specific themes throughout Book of a Thousand Days? What do you think Shannon Hale is trying to explain with this theme?
• What was unique about the setting of Book of a Thousand Days and how did it affect the storyline?
• Could you relate to any of the characters? If so, which ones and why?
• How do characters change or learn throughout Book of a Thousand Days? What events caused these changes? Have you or someone you know experienced the same thing?
• How does Book of a Thousand Days reveal Shannon Hale's own perspectives about people and the world? For a lively discussion, describe why you think Shannon Hale is liberal or conservative.
• Did certain parts of Book of a Thousand Days affect you emotionally? Why did it evoke those emotions?
• Did Shannon Hale's point of view on things lend new perspective to your own view of the world?

Suggested Book Club Questions for Book of a Thousand Days (Non-fiction)

The following book club questions provide a starting point for creating a reading group discussion on Book of a Thousand Days:

• Did Shannon Hale make persuasive arguments in Book of a Thousand Days? Did Book of a Thousand Days change or reinforce your opinion on the subject?
• What did you learn from Book of a Thousand Days?
• How does Shannon Hale present the information and did you enjoy it?
• How is Shannon Hale biased within Book of a Thousand Days? Is there a political slant to what is being discussed and how does it impact the book?
• What, if anything, does Book of a Thousand Days make you want to read next? Why?