This Woven Kingdom

Published in 2022, This Woven Kingdom marks the beginning of a new series for Tahereh Mafi, an award-winning author of young adult fiction known for her books Shatter Me, Unravel Me, and Ignite Me, which are part of the Shatter Me series. This Woven Kingdom delves into a world influenced by Islamic tradition, where humans and Jinn coexist—albeit tensely. The narrative centers on Alizeh, a Jinn who is prophesied to bring about the kingdom’s downfall, as she navigates themes of Islamic tradition, agency versus destiny, identity, power, discrimination, and compassion. While the book hasn’t yet won any awards, it is a New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestseller and has garnered considerable critical acclaim.

This study guide refers to the HarperCollins Kindle Edition.

Content Warning: This guide discusses suicide.

Plot Summary

In a complex world torn between humans and Jinn, Alizeh, a Jinn servant and seamstress, finds herself laboring under stringent conditions in the estate of Duchess Jamilah. Due to her Jinn heritage, many people treat her with suspicion, particularly the housekeeper. Alizeh’s life takes a dramatic turn when she crosses paths with Prince Kamran of Ardunia. Intrigued by her mysterious demeanor and suspecting that she might be a spy, Kamran is also dealing with a crumbling empire teetering on the edge of a water crisis and buckling under the oppressive expectations of his grandfather, King Zaal.

Alizeh and Kamran’s lives become intertwined through a series of events, beginning when Alizeh is attacked by a poor street kid named Omid, and they both grapple with personal traumas that haunt them. The two are further connected when the royal advisors divine a prophecy that implicates Alizeh as a threat to the king due to her “icy blood.” Meanwhile, Alizeh learns that she is the last member of an ancient kingdom’s royal lineage and has a powerful destiny, and she continues, often inadvertently, to explore her suppressed Jinn powers while trying to maintain a quiet, unassuming life as a servant and seamstress.

Kamran, already wrestling with his family’s extreme viewpoints, becomes even more conflicted when King Zaal becomes convinced that Alizeh’s lineage could inspire a rebellion and therefore orders her execution. As they navigate their complicated worlds, Alizeh and Kamran discover a tentative yet palpable romantic tension growing between them, adding another layer of complexity to their already fraught interactions. The conflict reaches its peak when the Tulanian King Cyrus arrives. His presence reveals King Zaal’s dark secret: a sinister pact with Iblees (the devil) to extend his own life by feeding on children’s brains. When Cyrus kills Zaal, Kamran engages him in a duel interrupted by Alizeh, revealing her true Jinn identity in the process.

The story takes another turn when Iblees is revealed to be the mastermind behind all these events. Iblees seeks revenge against all humans, whom he believes are responsible for his fall from grace. He intends for Alizeh to marry King Cyrus and rule the realms as an all-powerful Jinn queen, further complicating the web of politics, love, and duty that ensnares all the characters. Just as the realms seem on the brink of irrevocable chaos, Alizeh falls from a dragon, leaving her fate—and the stability of both human and Jinn worlds—hanging in the balance.