Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy

I haven't been reading a lot of middle grade books lately, but I received an advanced copy of Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy from the publisher.  It was released in January, yet I just got around to reading it.  This book reminded me why I love kids books.  I was drawn to it first by its cover.  It looked a bit magical, and I was instantly interested in reading it.  Although it took me a long time to start this book, I was quickly swept up by the story.  There are actually two intersecting stories taking place.  You have the story of the boy, hand picked by Wizards to deliver a sword to a chosen one who will defeat the Snow Queen.  When he encounters the evil queen, she locks him up.  Ophelia's story begins when she accompanies her father on a job to some foreign city.  He is sword expert and is hired by the museum to help set up an exhibit.  Ophelia spends her days wandering the museum and trying to stay out of trouble.  On her very first day, she stumbles upon a locked room.  Inside she discovers the Marvelous Boy, prisoner of the Snow Queen.  He begins to tell her his story and asks for her help.  She doesn't believe a word of it, after all, magic is not real.  But, she is bored and curious.  She does as he asks, and her world will never be the same.  Adventure and danger await her at every turn.  She must first believe.  Then, she must do all she can to rescue the boy, find the one, and save the world.  She only has a couple days until the world ends and the Snow Queen will take over.  Can the boy and Ophelia stop her?  I really enjoyed the characters.  The writing was full of magic and whimsy.  The story within the story kept me hooked.  I kept wanting to know what Ophelia would encounter next.  The museum setting was lots of fun.  Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed it and wish I had read it earlier.  I think it would make an excellent read aloud, in a classroom setting or just at home.  Either way, it is definitely one that would be fun to read together with children.  It is captivating and enchanting.  Happy reading!

Cruel Beauty

Lately there seems to be a lot of Beauty and the Beast retellings out there.  Cruel Beauty is interesting because it combines the fairy tale with Greek Mythology.  People should know better than to make deals with the Gentle Lord.  The price is always higher than you expect.  When Leonidas Triskelion desperately bargains for a child, his wish is granted.  His wife gives birth to twin girls, one of them promised as a bride to the Gentle Lord.  That is the price Leonidas agreed to.  The hidden barb is that his wife does not survive childbirth.  Seventeen years later, Nyx is preparing to marrying the king of demons.  She has a secret mission she has been training for her whole life: to kill the Gentle Lord and save her people from  900 years of living under his curse.  As she tries to discover the secrets of his house and figure out how to destroy it, she instead discovers truths she never imagined.  Perhaps the Gentle Lord is not the true enemy.  Perhaps he is himself a victim of the curse.  Plus, Nyx finds herself falling in love with the demon.  Can she continue on with her mission to destroy him?  I love fairy tales and I love Greek Mythology.  This book gave me a little of both.  The Children of Typhon, Pandora's Box, the Kindly Ones, plus the mention of various other myths weave their way through the story.  I really enjoyed the characters.  Nyx is a spitfire, constantly amusing Ignifex/the Gentle Lord.  Her tenacity is what keeps her alive.  She is strong and passionate.  As wife number nine, she just might be the one to survive.  Ignifex is not what his reputation leads us to believe.  As all Beast re-imaginings,  he is a lot kinder and he is definitely more than meets the eye.  This is more than a love story.  It is about family, duty, destiny, loyalty, betrayal and consequences.  Nothing comes without a price, and the cost may be more than you can ever imagine.  As far as Beauty and the Beast retellings, this is one of my favorites so far.  It is quite enjoyable.  Happy reading!

Thursday Three: Fairy Tales

I'm still thinking about Fairy Tales a lot, so I want to share some of my favorite retellings for young readers.
1.  Ella Enchanted
This book is such a cute retelling of Cinderella.  In this version Ella is cursed with obedience.  Whatever anybody tells her to do, she must obey.  Of course there are those that abuse it, but Ella is feisty and won't go down without a fight.  She takes off on an adventure to find the fairy who cursed her, hoping she will undo it.  She finds her prince and falls in love, but her curse drives them apart.  Of course she figures out a way around it and gets her happily ever after, even rescuing the prince along the way.  The characters are a lot of fun, especially Ella.  She is strong and brave and doesn't need to be saved by anyone.  Definitely a fun and worthwhile read.
2.  The Frog Princess
This series started long before Disney did the movie.  It has a similar premise though.  Emma is a princess who isn't quite what her mother wants her to be.  While hiding out from the odious prince Jorge, she meets a frog that convinces her to kiss him.  If she does, he will return to his human prince form.  Instead, her kiss turns her into a frog.  The two then must survive long enough to find a way to reverse the curse.  It is a really silly and fun book.  Full of adventure and laughs, this book is a light, fluffy read for girls everywhere.  If you enjoy it, the series continues through eight books.
3.  Beauty
This is a fun retelling of Beauty and the Beast.  Unlike the original, this version finds Beauty with a loving family and a good life, one she does not want to leave to fulfill the promise her father makes to the Beast.  At least half of the book takes place before Beauty goes to the castle and meets the Beast.  In my opinion, I wish there was more time with the Beast, developing that part of the story more.  It all happens too fast, but as a fan of this fairy tale, I still enjoyed this version.  It is very descriptive and the writing is lovely.  I really enjoyed the development of the back story.  After all, this book is supposed to be about Beauty, and her meeting the Beast is only part of her story.

Tuesday Talk: Princess series

Tomorrow is Tell a Fairy Tale Day (worldwide observance for those who care).  Since I love fairy tales and fairy tale retellings, I figured I would honor the observance with a recommendation.  The Twelve Dancing Princesses is one of my favorite fairy tales, so I decided to talk about Jessica Day George's Princess trilogy.  Besides being fun fairy tale retellings,  this series is completely clean.  In other words, even younger girls can enjoy them without their mother's having to worry.  The third book does have a little bit of swearing, but nothing horrible.  The first book, Princess of the Midnight Ball, follows pretty closely the story of the Twelve Dancing Princesses.  Of course Jessica put her own spin on it and beefed it up a bit, but I thought it was wonderfully done.  The characters are lots of fun.  They are likable and vulnerable at the same time.  The second book, Princess of Glass, follows one of the younger sisters from the first book, Poppy.  It takes place after their curse is lifted and is a loose retelling of Cinderella.  It definitely takes on a life of its own.  I definitely enjoyed following Poppy on her own adventure to a foreign land.  The third book, Princess of the Silver Woods, ties up the story for the twelve daughters of King George.  Unlike the second installment, which was more of a spin-off and could stand alone, the third book circles back to the original curse.  The daughters learn that their troubles are far from over, but they are determined to end it once and for all.  This book follows the youngest daughter, Petunia, as she travels to visit a family friend.  It is a mishmash of Red Riding Hood and Robin Hood.  I thought the final story was lots of fun.  I only wish Jessica would write more fairy tale princess retellings.  The ending was pretty conclusive for this lot of characters, but I wish she would pick other characters to visit.  The last time I asked her about it, she said she was done with this series, but a girl can hope she will revisit fairy tale princess land, right?  She did mention she has a couple more ideas for stories, so hopefully she will write and publish them.  I just think her books are so much fun and think that everyone should give them a try.  Happy reading!