Say you are a 16-year-old Afshar girl, daughter of the kadkhuda (he’s the tribal leader). Your father has decided to arrange a marriage with the kahn (he’s the tribal chief who represents the tribe with the government)… except the kahn’s old(ish), has buried three wives, and is arrogant and self-absorbed. You don’t want to marry him. What do you do?

What Anahita proposes to her father is this: every Afshar girl weaves a wedding qali (that’s a rug). She proposes to weave a riddle into the rug, and she will marry whomever can solve the riddle. With that, you have the premise of this engaging book by Meghan Nuttall Sayres.

I have to admit, that this book is a bit clunky to start with. Sayres weighs down the first section with information about the place (Iran), culture (Persian), language (Farsi), as well as nomadic life. Much of this information was necessary in order to understand Anahita and her world, as well as the suitors who would most likely have a chance to win her hand. But I felt like I had to push through the early chapters; all the extra elements slowing me down.

After I got through that section, though, the book soared. Anahita — who has a bit of a reputation for being outspoken — has to convince her father first that marrying the kahn is a bad idea. Then she has to convince him that a riddle contest is a good idea. Then she has to deal with the repercussions of that decision, which effect not only her but the entire tribe. I enjoyed that part; I felt like Sayres was very honest with Anahita by not letting any minuscule part of her rash — and unorthodox — decision go unexplored. I felt that Anahita’s responses were honest, too. Her unwillingness to settle for anyone which gives way to the slow realization of how her stubbornness affects other people. She matures very beautifully.

But what I enjoyed most was the love story. Anahita has three serious suitors, and Sayres makes each one of them desirable and worthy of Anahita’s hand. We meet them in snatches: there’s the prince who meets Anahita only briefly; the good friend who sees her every day; and then the scholar and teacher who comes into the picture late. In this book, there’s is only one bad choice (the kahn); everyone else is varying degrees of good. I was, in turn, hoping for each one of the suitors to win her hand, even though I suspected that there was one true front-runner. However, I was very satisfied with the way it turned out.

It’s also a book for weavers and spinners. Sayers (who’s a weaver herself) takes the qali-weaving through the entire process, from carding and spinning the wool, through dying (all-natural; no synthetic dyes here), and finally through weaving the pattern. Even though I’m not a weaver, I know a few, and I thought of them as I was reading those passages. I could tell that Sayres has an affection for the craft, for it came through in those passages. I’m not sure it made me want to weave, though it did give me an appreciation for all that goes into the process.

One last thing. In the authors note at the end (very informative, by the way), Sayers mentions that she’s donating proceeds from this book to help the people of Iran in recovery from a December, 2003 earthquake in Bam. If you do decide to purchase it, the royalties will go to development enterprises in Bam that serve women and children.

Just think: you get a good story and can help people at the same time. Happiness all around.