The Wide-Awake Princess

I've been wanting to read this book for a while. I saw it at the bookstore and, after reading the back, instantly added the book to my to-read list. It took me a while to get to it, unfortunately. But, I finally did and what a treat! The book is written by the charming E.D. Baker of The Frog Princess fame. I always like a good take on the Brier Rose tale and this one was fantastic.

The story is as follows, Princess Annabelle (Annie) is gifted with a resistance to magic on her christening day. This gift forces Annie to grow up in a rather lonesome way as most people around are afraid to be near her for fearing of losing their magically bestowed beauty. But, when Annie's sister, Princess Gwen pricks her finger and brings the whole castle to an enchanted sleep, it's up to Annie to save the day. As she travels with a guard, Liam, to find the prince to break the spell, Annie meets a whole cast of familiar characters and magical folk.

I loved the premise of this book. The idea of a magic-resistant adventuress traveling through a land packed with magic was very entertaining. And I thoroughly enjoyed Baker's twist on old tales, such as Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel, and the Princess and the Pea. I also really appreciated the inclusion of Snow White and Rose Red, which is, to my mind, a sadly neglected fairy tale.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants a fun romp through fairy tales. Baker's humor and masterful storytelling bring a fresh and charming take on a well known tale.

The Thirteenth Princess

Is it appropriate to just hop right into a review after taking a break for almost a year? Eh, sure.

I am lucky because my library has a home delivery system meaning I can go onto their web catalog, order a gazillion books, and then just, well, live life as the books come rolling in (more like tossed on to my front porch, but you get the idea). This was a book I had ordered quite a while back and just recently received it - a classic fairy tale and very engrossing read.

The Thirteenth Princess is a retelling of the "Twelve Dancing Princesses" only in this tale, there were actually thirteen princesses. The father was so angered at never having had a son, he banishes the thirteenth princess, Zita, to the servants' quarters never wanting to hear of her again. Since the poor mother had died at childbirth, there was no one to plead Zita's case so she grows up in the busy and rough life of servanthood while her sisters live the luxurious princess life. Everything seems fine - Zita is accepted secretly by her princess sisters and her father never knows - until it comes time for the older sisters to be wed. Then they seem to have terribly bad luck beginning with an inability to speak to any suitor and subsequently to where daughters begin to get ill; growing more weak and overtired every day. Zita and her friend Breckin, the stableboy, must find a cure to what ails the sisters or the worst will happen!

I've read many, many fairy tale retellings. This one stood out because of its classic fairy tale style. The king is the perfect cold, harsh, heartbroken king, the cook the perfect jolly, rolling-pin-wielding cook, the princesses all perfect, gentle and golden-haired, etc. Although I love a good ironic (The Runaway Princess), humorous (Goose Chase), philosophical (Princess Ben) or historic (The Perilous Gard) twist, a nice, old-fashioned, maybe even a bit predictable fairy tale is enjoyable and, because of the large amount of "different take" stories, refreshing. And, despite the fact that the characters fit perfectly into their stereotypes, it took me quite a while to actually figure out who was causing all the problems. Which, when you read as many children's fantasy books as we do, is a remarkable feat.

I recommend this book for those days when you long for a classic fairy tale where the princes are handsome, the stableboys are freckled, the witches bake gingerbread and the bad guy dies in the end. Curl up with a cup of Earl Grey and some shortbread and dig into The Thirteenth Princess by Diane Zahler.

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow

This absurdly cold weather has made me alternately long for stories of heat and sun for contrast and those in frigid settings, possibly to make the weather seem less wearying and more romantic. So I reread Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow - a perfectly freezing tale that fits the cold mood.

It is a gorgeous retelling of the Nordic fairy tale, East of the Sun, West of the Moon, which is on the more complex end of the fairy tale spectrum. Jessica Day George introduces the heroine only as 'lass' because her cruel mother refuses to name her when she was born. Despite her namelessness (which, in Nordic legend, makes her an easy target for trolls), the lass becomes famous in her town because of her gift of understanding animals. This talent attracts an isbjørn, an 'ice bear,' to her village; he asks her to live with him in an ice palace for one year to break the curse placed on him. Between that moment and the 'happily ever after (and yes, there is one),' the lass endures many adventures, from troll weddings to enchanted wine to riding the North Wind.

This book is so wonderful. I love fairy tale retellings anyway, and this particular one is fascinating and under-told. Ms. George creates a beautiful and frightening story but one with a delightful dose of humor and spirit. Her heroine is much more three-dimensional than I think many fantasy heroines are and the language is gorgeous.

If you are looking for a classic fairy tale with a wintery feel, this is your perfect story.

What books do you read when it's freezing outside?

Princess Ben

Like many books I review, I'll read a mention of the book from some lucky bookseller who has an advanced copy.  I'll get excited about the book, rush to my neighborhood bookstore or library and then realize the book doesn't come out for several months.  Sigh.  

Princess Ben was one of these books so I was pleasantly surprised when it arrived at my library.  And promptly settled down to read it...

Princess Ben is about a young free-spirited and slightly overindulged princess, who after her doting parents are tragically murdered, is left to the devices and education of her cruel aunt.  Her aunt, Queen Sophia, becomes more frantic about the quest to cultivate Princess Ben with hopes for making her marriage material when the neighboring kingdom (the chief suspect in the parents' deaths) begins to put pressure to overtake the kingdom.  After one particularly bad interaction between the Queen Sophia and Princess Ben, she is shut up in a cell behind her aunt's room.  However, the room holds an unexpected escape by way of a secret passageway that leads to a mysterious magical room...

Princess Ben started off with a bit of an angsty feel and, when coupled with the tragic circumstances, I steeled myself for a typical tortured heroine fairy tale.  However, by the Part Two of the book, I realized that this story was far from the typical fairy tale!  For start, the heroine isn't a delicate golden-haired beauty or even a feisty brunette beauty.  She's a sulky, strong-willed girl with a voracious appetite.  Her maturing and growth throughout the book is only one of many; it amazed me that characters that I made immediate judgments about (oh, she's the villain, he's the love interest) would change through the story as the narrator, the irrepressible Princess Ben, changed.  Catherine Gilbert Murdock's clever interweaving of fairy tale references only add to the cleverness of the story rather than serve as distraction.  

This story was deeper than the average "fairytale retelling" genre and delivered humor, adventure, and dare I say it, a valuable moral.

Diary of a Fairy Godmother

I checked out this book after reading a review at one of my favorite blogs, Tweendom.  After I completed it, I felt almost giddy with enjoyment of this book so, despite the fact that there are several very wonderful reviews of this book out on the blogosphere, I had to add my own.

Diary of a Fairy Godmother is the journal of a young witch-in-training (barely one hundred years old!), Hunky Dory, who is at the top of the class in her charm school.  Her mother is so proud of her; she brags to anyone who will listen that her daughter "will be the wickedest witch wherever the four winds blow!"  Her aunt says that if she "were ever stupid enough to have a daughter, she'd want one exactly like [her]."  Her classmates admire her and her teacher considers her her teacher's pet.  There is only one very real problem: Hunky Dory enjoys granting wishes!  Could this mean Hunky Dory is destined to be a, gasp, Fairy Godmother?  

This book was all kinds of fun from the first page to the very end!  The fractured fairy tale has practically become its own genre but Esmé Raji Codell takes it to the next level with delightful attention to detail in making the witchy world so complete in its oppositeness.  I enjoyed the illustrations by Drazen Kosjan- they fit the spirit of the story perfectly.  I also loved how she seamlessly worked in other traditional fairy tales and added a fresh spin to them.  One of the best parts of the book were the quotes from the textbook of witches Be the One With the Wand; I'm tempted to copy some of them down onto sticky notes for inspiration.  I thought it was a wonderful touch that Ms. Codell included a reading list of other "Magical Must-Reads" in the back (Eleanor Estes' The Witch Family is in there, one of my personal favorites). 

I am definitely adding this book to my canon of "Magical Must-Reads!" 

The Castle Corona

This book, like the other Sharon Creech books I've read, left me with a feeling of delight.  Somehow, I always think that the books are going to be heavy and dramatic but she  has a gentle and lighthearted touch (at least in the books I've read of hers- The Wanderer and Bloomability) with an overall feeling of optimism.

The Castle Corona is a fairy tale without witches, magic or scary forests.  Instead it concerns two peasant children, the wise and imaginative Pia and her little brother, trusting and energetic Enzio, who spend their dreary days dreaming about living in the golden castle.  Inside the beautiful castle, however, is a family of royals also dissatisfied with their lives and dreaming about lives filled with more excitement or leisure (depending which royal is doing the dreaming!).  

One day Pia and Enzio find a pouch that was dropped by a thief from the castle, turning both the town and the castle upside-down.  The rest of the story unfolds, revealing the characters' different dreams, fears and endearing quirks.

The story is completely delightful, the characters are unique and yet identifiable, the tone is tender and whimsical with a whisper of a wisdom.  David Diaz's illuminated text is a beautiful touch.  Despite the lack of any suspenseful or dangerous conflict, I couldn't put the book down.  Her playful and humorous style reminded me a bit of Carol Ryrie Brink's fantasy stories.

I thoroughly enjoyed it!  If you've read it, feel free to comment!