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Hadassah: One Night with the King
Tommy Tenney and Mark Andrew Olsen Book Review

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Plot Summary of Hadassah: One Night with the King
"

Bethany House, Jan 2004
ISBN: 0764227378

Hadassah fails to grasp the ritual that her father puts her through until he provides her a letter handed down by generations of her ancestors and written by the biblical legend Esther. In ancient times, Esther's family is slaughtered because of their religious beliefs. Her cousin Mordecai adopts the young and they flee to Persia. Mordecai teaches his ward about being a Jew, but also warns her to hide her religion from others if she wants to live.

The King of Persia orders all virgins to come to the palace so he can choose a new queen. Esther using the name Hadassah is among the participants. She vows to G-D (written in reverence this way) to risk her life to free her people if she is the chosen one. Though selected as the next queen, Hadassah realizes how foolishly dangerous it would be to reveal her Jewishness. Still, her people including her beloved Mordecai are in trouble so Esther no longer can remain silent in the lap of luxury much longer even if speaking out means “If I perish, I perish”.

Once the changing between eras stop (until one final turn) with biblical Esther taking center stage, readers obtain a fantastic retelling of the story of Jewish holiday Purim (just past) that provides deep insight into the heroine. The key that takes the tale beyond the strong retelling of Esther the queen (often told) is filling in the blanks of her childhood and her learning to become the monarch's wife. Aimed at a religious audience, anyone who appreciate a powerful rendition of a classic bible tale will enjoy eating Hamentaschen while spending one night with Tommy Tenney and Mark Andrew Olsen.

Harriet Klausner
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of Hadassah: One Night with the King
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book? - thoughtful
Time/era of story - distant past/middle ages
Political/social activism Yes
Plotlet: - minorities fighting for rights
Inside culture (main char) - Arab
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Outside culture (society) - Jewish
Ethnic/regional/gender life Yes
Woman's story? Yes

Main Character
Gender - Female
Profession/status: - Prince/Nobleman/King
Age: - 20's-30's
Ethnicity/Nationality - Jewish
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - society
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor

Setting
Asia/Pacific Yes
Asian country: - Arabia

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
Unusual Style: - a lot of flashback and forwards - a lot of stream of consciousness
Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript
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Tommy Tenney and Mark Andrew Olsen Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
Harriet Klausner  

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