My favorite Bible story is that of Esther (originally named Hadassah). Even straight out of the Bible, it's a great read, more like a novel than "Bible verses." When I saw my mom had a copy of One Night With the King by Tommy Tenney, I snatched it up and devoured it in less than two days. It's a very quick, easy read.
This fictional book is told as a memoir by an older Queen Esther telling her life story to a young queen candidate. She reflects on the tragic death of her family and being raised as her cousin Mordecai's daughter. As a beautiful young woman, she is captured against her will and joins 99 other young virgins in a vigorous, year long preparation period for one chance to spend a night with King Xerxes of Persia and win his heart and title of Queen. She is soon faced with an opportunity to potentially risk her life but save all of the Jews in the land, placing her in the royal position "for such a time as this" (one of my favorite Biblical themes).
For anyone who knows the Bible story, there is no actual suspense since the plot remains true to the Bible. What is really intriguing is how Tommy Tenney fills in all the gaps and gives the reader a picture of what life was like back then and what was going through Hadassah's mind during such a unique time. It had me going back to the Bible several times to compare the true version with the author's rendition. Something about it reminded me of The Red Tent by Anita Diamant, another Biblical fiction story which I loved.
I give this book 5 out of 5 stars!
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