Alethea Kontis
Harcourt, 2012
I've been wanting to read this one for a while - look at that cover, and tell me you're not intrigued! - so I was very happy when it arrived at my library. (A signed edition, no less!) Sunday is the youngest of the Woodcutter children, and as the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter, has quite a future ahead of her. Only, she doesn't realize it. All she knows is that what she writes comes true, and her family has had its unfair share of strange "luck." Oh, and she met an enchanted frog in the woods and fell in love - only to have him disappear the day of a horrible storm that wrought changes of untold scope on Sunday's life.
We're all familiar with the story of "The Frog Prince," but Enchanted is a fun, sometimes strange, take on the story - weaving in other stories and elements that are just begging to be built upon in future novels. I fell in love with Sunday's spunk and free-ness, but the whole cast of characters is quirky and personable. Prince Rumbold is endearingly human in his post-frog incarnation, and his faithful friends are colorful persons in their own right. Enchanted ended too soon, and I dearly hope that more of the Woodcutter stories are told!
Book provided by my local library.
Jodi Picoult & Samantha Van Leer
Simon Pulse, 2012
I really, really, really wanted to like this book. The premise was awesome, a true booklover's dream: A favorite character in a book comes to life and interacts with the reader. I mean, come on, who hasn't had the fleeting thought of wishing Mr Darcy or Gilbert Blythe was real? Also, the book itself is gorgeous. It's told in three-parts, with full-color illustrations and different fonts and colors for the three voices (the "actual" fairy tale; Delilah, the reader; and Prince Oliver, the character).
While the development of the story is neatly done, I just had a really hard time getting into it. I'm not sure why either, because the idea was intriguing, and the interweaving of the stories is well done. (I particularly loved Oliver's parts, and the color illustrations). Maybe I just picked it up when I had too many other reading distractions?
Book provided by my local library.
I had a much more positive response to Between the Lines. It was the perfect read for me at the time and I just had fun with it!
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