If You Want to Be a Hero...

Then you need to check out The Hero's Guide To Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy.  Although this may be more of a "what not to do" guide. 

So it turns out that Prince Charming doesn't like to be called Charming.  None of them do.  They have names, you know.  Gustav, Duncan, Liam, and Frederick are the princes from the stories the troubadours tell - the stories named after the princesses.  They're not happy about being religated to a side note in the stories and they're not quite living happily ever after.  In fact, nothing seems to be going their way.  Which is a pity, since an evil witch has decided to cause a lot of trouble across all the kingdoms.  Even though they don't much like each other initially, the princes are going to have to band together and, well, save the kingdoms. 

This hilarious romp through fairy tales is a fun read.  The princes are flawed, but I couldn't help but like them anyway.  They do some growing up on their wacky adventures, but there's no high-handed moral lectures.  And the princesses are well-written characters in their own right - one is down-right bratty, but the rest are seeking adventure and trying to help those around them.  Also, the villians are fantastic, like the best kind of cartoon villians.  I love the Bandit King.  He's deliciously bad, but not in the ways you expect.  If you like this book, don't forget its sequel:  The Hero's Guide to Storming the Castle.  Rumor has it that a third book is on its way as well!

~ Book Ninja

P.S.  Did I mention the fun pictures?  There's fun pictures!

Everything Old is New Again

It's always fun to see a classic story play out in a modern setting.  Briar Rose, by Jane Yolen, offers an unconventional interpretation of the Sleeping Beauty myth that combines chilling Holocaust history with a modern search for identity.  After her beloved byt mysterious grandmother's death, Becca, a serene young journalist, is drawn into a seemingly inconclusive hunt for her family history.  To go on, she has only a few documents and the almost-fairy tales her grandmother told her constantly. 

Are You Going to Scarborough Fair...

I'll admit it. I frequently judge a book by its cover. In the case of Impossible by Nancy Werlin, the premise of the book combined with the cover was too irresistible a combination.

On her seventeenth birthday, Lucy discovers that she, like countless generations of women before her, is under an ancient curse placed by an elfin king. Now pregnant (part of the curse), she has until the baby is born to complete three impossible tasks. If she succeeds? She frees herself and her baby from the curse. If she fails? She descends into madness and the curse is passed to her unborn daughter.

Banned Books Week... continued

It's banned books week, and I love looking to see which books have hit the top ten banned lists of the year, as well as what authors have been challenged. You can find a lot of that information on the ALA website.

This year, I was surprised to learn that Cinderella has been among the banned. One of my favorite Cinderella stories is Ash by Malinda Lo. Ash is our Cinderella, and she grows up intrigued by the fairy realm and the handsome prince who is cursed to love her. But fate has other plans for Ash, in the form of the King's huntress...