This Woven Kingdom
Parents say
Based on 2 reviews
Common Sense is a nonprofit organization. Your purchase helps us remain independent and ad-free.
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.
Suggest an Update
A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this book.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Tahereh Mafi's This Woven Kingdom is the start of a fantasy series by the author of the very popular Shatter Me series. Teen readers need to be more prepared for the higher level of reading required than for a lot of mature content -- the character dialogue alone will definitely boost their vocabulary. Characters die in just a few skirmishes with knives and swords and others are found murdered in their sleep with no marks on them. A boy tries to kill himself with a knife rather than go to jail, and there's a story of another boy who finds his father's severed head and tries to kill himself. The goriest it gets is talk of kids' brains being eaten, which is a gross revelation but not part of the action of the story. Sexual content is simply a kiss with some light groping and some innuendo. Adults drink at a party and in a street gathering where they also smoke shisha (a water pipe). Iranian American author Mafiri adds many touches of her heritage in the naming of the characters, in setting details like the city's public baths, and in the mythology of the Jinn. The main character, Alizeh, while threatened at every turn and always fearful, still makes brave choices and shows resilience.
Community Reviews
Report this review
Great story, good writing
Report this review
What's the Story?
In THIS WOVEN KINGDOM, 18-year-old Alizeh lives as a maid in a Duchess' home to hide who she really is, the Queen of the Jinn. She covers her eyes with a see-through cloth called a snoda, as maids are required to do, toils long days, sews party dresses for extra money at night, and prays she's never discovered. The Clay, or nonmagical, killed her royal parents and formed an uneasy peace with the Jinn, a peace that requires they stay anonymous and never use their powers. Alizeh follows these rules until one morning when she's accosted in the street by a starving boy with a knife. She easily bests him with her Jinn strength, then spares his life. Before she can run off, a concerned man in fine clothes approaches. Normally she would not be so alarmed, but for his face. It's the same face she saw a vision of in her pitch-black attic room the night before. The night Iblees, the devil, paid her a visit.
Is It Any Good?
On the scale of just how star-crossed star-crossed lovers can be, the royal pair in this twisty ride of a magical fantasy are a perfectly doomed perfect 10. First off, Kamran's grandad, King Zaal, has been trying to find and kill Alizeh, the secret Jinn queen, for half of her life -- the little matter of a prophesy claiming that she will be the cause of his death. Second, Prince Kamran is charged with producing an heir and was brought home from the army to marry, stat. And then there's the matter of Alizeh's Jinn powers. She's got super strength, invisibility, and other cool tricks readers learn about as the story goes on -- no wonder the nonmagical royals are so jealous they jail anyone for showing off. When Kamran sees Alizeh, disguised in her usual maid attire, dispatch a threatening street urchin, he's sure both that he's smitten and that she's a spy. This conflict drives the pair together in a such a beautifully orchestrated scene that you can imagine romance fans the world over crafting their fan mail before they've even finished the book.
This Woven Kingdom is nearly a perfect fantasy tapestry until the climactic action. Plots weave together, but not cleanly enough to follow the pattern sometimes. It's clear Alizeh is supposed to attend the ball, but it seems more like a vehicle to meeting Kamran again than a real escape plan, and as her plan unravels, it feels far too rushed. Still, there's quite the payoff at the end, with such a stellar cliffhanger for Book 2 that readers will be dying to dish out the spoilers.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the class struggles in This Woven Kingdom. How does the class system affect maids wearing and called snodas (scarves that cover their eyes)? How does it affect the Jinn? How does it affect Miss Huda, an illegitimate child living in her upper class father's home? Do you think during the course of the series the class structure will change? What have Alizeh, Omid, and Miss Huda set in motion?
What other stories have you read where strict class or even race lines are broken? In those stories, what do the characters in power gain from keeping the class structure the same? What does it take for change to happen?
What do you think is next for Alizeh? For Kamran? What about Omid and Miss Huda? Do you think they will reappear in Book 2?
Book Details
- Author: Tahereh Mafi
- Genre: Fantasy
- Topics: Magic and Fantasy, Princesses, Fairies, Mermaids, and More, Adventures, Monsters, Ghosts, and Vampires
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
- Publication date: February 1, 2022
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 13 - 17
- Number of pages: 512
- Available on: Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: January 25, 2022
Our Editors Recommend
-
The Midnight Lie
Same-sex love story drives compelling Winner's spin-off.
-
Gilded
Bold, at times gory reimagining of "Rumpelstiltskin."
-
Ash Princess, Book 1
Torture, genocide make absorbing fantasy for mature teens.
For kids who love fantasy
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate