The beginning was very difficult to get through, but it got a lot better after. ( )

FIC
HAL

I'm a fan of Shannon Hale and a fan of derivative literature, so this was a no-brainer for me to read. Good message at the end about choice, and good solid female protagonists. What I loved most was that in a book about fairy tales, this was about the female protagonists being active instead of passive, and while there are glimpses of romantic connections, they are just glimpses. The story is about the girls' character development, which we don't get a lot of in fairy tales. Good cliffhanger, so I'll be reading the next one! ( )

This review is from the point of view of a mom looking to provide my 9yo daughter who reads at an 8th grade level with quality reading material that will challenge her but won’t expose her unnecessarily to things she doesn’t need to know about just yet.

Along those lines, this is a decent book.
It’s about a high school, and I guess technically there are cliques (royals & commoners); but it’s not given a lot of attention, and doesn’t generate much in terms of conflict. The main character is able to move pretty fluidly among the main groups of students. There’s mystery and excitement, as well as just the slightest hint of romance and the mostly ridiculous notion of high schoolers being in love.

The main theme is not wanting to be stuck in the expectations that you’re brought up with; free will vs. fate, with the added bonus of thinking about how your actions affect others. The storyline is obvious, but fairly interesting, and the writing is pretty good. If you’re well-versed is your fairy tale characters you’ll get a lot of the small references. There were running gags, turns of phrase, word substitutions and silly plot devices (that started out clever and fun, but got a little overused, IMO; plus the use of the narrator to actually advance the plot for the characters seems a little overly simple).

We’ll take the books one at a time. I’d definitely prefer my kids submerged into classics than year old book franchises that are pretty obviously marketing ploys by Mattel to garner interest in their ridiculous toy lines (Ever After and Monster High dolls are sassier and glitzier than Barbie, but less obnoxious than Bratz dolls), but we all like a little frivolous candy with our sensible diets from time to time... ( )

This book is both not as bad and just as bad as you might expect, given how very pink it is. The puns really save it, as does the classic theme of destiny versus free will. The added classism at the end adds promise for future books.

I read it so I could see if I needed to hide it from the kindergarteners. Fear not: utterly G-rated, although I would recommend it for the grade 2-4 crowd. ( )