The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer

 

The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer  352 pages

As boys, best friends Jeremy Cox and Rafe Howell went missing in a vast West Virginia state forest, only to mysteriously reappear six months later with no explanation for where they’d gone or how they’d survived.

Fifteen years after their miraculous homecoming, Rafe is a reclusive artist who still bears scars inside and out but has no memory of what happened during those months. Meanwhile, Jeremy has become a famed missing persons’ investigator. With his uncanny abilities, he is the one person who can help vet tech Emilie Wendell find her sister, who vanished in the very same forest as Rafe and Jeremy.

Jeremy alone knows the fantastical truth about the disappearances, for while the rest of the world was searching for them, the two missing boys were in a magical realm filled with impossible beauty and terrible danger. He believes it is there that they will find Emilie’s sister. However, Jeremy has kept Rafe in the dark since their return for his own inscrutable reasons. But the time for burying secrets comes to an end as the quest for Emilie’s sister begins. The former lost boys must confront their shared past, no matter how traumatic the memories.

Alongside the headstrong Emilie, Rafe and Jeremy must return to the enchanted world they called home for six months—for only then can they get back everything and everyone they’ve lost.

I was entertained. There was a lot of 'telling' vs 'showing' but it didn't really take away from the enjoyment.

 

Fairest, Gail Carson Levine | 326 pages

Aza is an innkeeper's daughter. In a country that sings, she has one of the best voices ever; the downside is she's considered quite ugly. Through a series of coincidences, Aza ends up at court for the wedding of the king and his new queen, and then, because of her voice, the queen chooses her to be Lady in Waiting.

A loose take on Snow White. It's a fun adventure in a fairytale world - I actually think the Snow White elements are weaker than the author's own components. The singing and the gnomes are delightful.

One downside: This was first written in 2006. The body image commentary feels very dated. It ends with a strong message of self-acceptance, but the road to get there was bumpy.

Back To The Bright Before

Back To The Bright Before | Katherin Nolte | 208 page

When your 12yo says you have to read something, you absolutely do it. She doesn't ask that of me often. And oh, how glad I am that I did!

Pet's family used to be wonderful, but her father was badly injured in an accident. Now her mom works around the clock to pay the bills, Dad doesn't get out of bed, and Simon only says "cheese ". Pet, age 11, feels responsible for the accident and therefore responsible for fixing all the problems that have come from it.

Pet and Simon set out on a journey that is either a fairytale or a faith allegory, or both layered together. My only gripe is that we never circled back to Nana and her gifts. It feels like a big miss, but my daughter didn't even notice. Maybe I'm asking a fairytale to be too real and "tidy."

Hunted by Megan Spooner

Hunted by Megan Spooner-384 pages

Beauty knows the Beast’s forest in her bones—and in her blood. Though she grew up with the city’s highest aristocrats, far from her father’s old lodge, she knows that the forest holds secrets and that her father is the only hunter who’s ever come close to discovering them. 

So when her father loses his fortune and moves Yeva and her sisters back to the outskirts of town, Yeva is secretly relieved. Out in the wilderness, there’s no pressure to make idle chatter with vapid baronessas…or to submit to marrying a wealthy gentleman. But Yeva’s father’s misfortune may have cost him his mind, and when he goes missing in the woods, Yeva sets her sights on one prey: the creature he’d been obsessively tracking just before his disappearance. 

Deaf to her sisters’ protests, Yeva hunts this strange Beast back into his own territory—a cursed valley, a ruined castle, and a world of creatures that Yeva’s only heard about in fairy tales. A world that can bring her ruin or salvation. Who will survive: the Beauty, or the Beast?

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer -- 512 pages

(Yes, I'm listening to these again. Don't judge.)

Scarlet knows that her grandmother did not run away. Her grandmother is not crazy, and she most likely was kidnapped. Scarlet is ready to do anything to find and rescue her, and Wolf, a street fighter, might be able to help her.

Meanwhile Cinder escapes from her jail cell with another criminal, Thorne, who stole a spaceship from the American military. So, of course, they escape on this spaceship, but they can't stay in outer-space forever. As soon as they reenter earth's atmosphere, they risk being tracked down.

Emperor Kai is being hard pressed from all sides, but mostly from Lunar Queen Levana, who is furious about Cinder's escape, and threatening war if she isn't found.

Scarlet is the second book of The Lunar Chronicles.

Winter by Marissa Meyer

Winter by Marissa Meyer - 824 pages

Yes! The finale to the Lunar Chronicles! Marissa Meyer did not disappoint in wrapping up the series. Most of this story happens on Luna, including the outer sectors where rebellion and revolution are stirring.

While some say Winter is too weak and soft to be a main character--I remember that she chose to be that way, and that itself is stronger than any of them.

I was thrilled.

Pinocchio, by Winshluss

Pinocchio, by Winshluss, 192 pages

This is a graphic adaptation of the Pinocchio story.  It is definitely for adults.  The story strays quite a bit from the original; for example,  Jiminy Cricket is Jiminy Cockroach, a hard-drinking insect with writer's block who takes up residence in Pinocchio's empty head; The art is fantastic- the author is best known for helping Satrapi to direct Persepolis.

Lies, Knives, and Girls in Red Dresses, by Ron Koertge

Lies, Knives, and Girls in Red Dresses, by Ron Koertge, 88 pages

This is a collection of re-imagined fairytale stories, told in the form of poetry.  The little match girl is a girl selling CDs on the street, and each one she listens to takes her to another land; the dancing princesses dance in order to rebel against their strict father; and little Red Riding Hood likes living dangerously.  The reimagined angle was what got me to read this, but I didn't think the writing was that great, overall. Young adults might feel differently.

The Sleeping Beauty by Mercedes Lackey

The Sleeping Beauty by Mercedes Lackey, 345 pages
(Tale of the Five Hundred Kingdoms)

The Tradition is a force that likes to play with people's lives - weaving them into a story that has been told over and over again (like Snow White, Cinderella, etc.).  The Godmothers are many and guard unwitting souls from being sucked into The Tradition's path, instead allowing the persons to make their own path free of the Tradition's sometimes dangerous leadings. In this story, the Tradition has its sights on Princess Rosamund, a beautiful and young daughter King Thurmond and Queen Celeste of Eltaria. Eltaria is a very rich kindgom, fraught with never-ending battles, and when Queen Celeste dies, many descend upon it to claim Thurmond's hand and become the "wicked stepmother" of many tales. Thankfully, Fairy Godmother Lily steps in and rescues Thurmond from that fate by becoming his wife (as Queen Sable) instead - in name only. This appeases The Tradition until King Thurmond dies and leaves a teen princess quite alone. Determined to keep Princess Rosamund from living a dangerous fairytale story when all surrounding neighbors plan to attack the now "undefended" kingdom, Godmother Lily creates a test and invites all princes from surrounding kingdoms to compete for Princess Rosamund's hand. Unfortunately for Godmother Lily, The Tradition is adamant that it has its way and many troubles will follow. This wasn't as good a read as Beauty and the Werewolf. The storyline seemed to flounder about as if the writer wasn't sure what direction to take the story in.

Beauty and the Werewolf by Mercedes Lackey

"Beauty and the Werewolf" by Mercedes Lackey, 329 pages
(Tale of the Five Hundred Kingdoms Series)

    Bella Beauchamps is the daughter of a wealthy merchant who lives with her father, stepmother and two stepsisters. In a world where "The Tradition" makes everyone's lives follow fairytales, this sounds like the set up for a "Cinderella" story. However, Bella's mother is more loving than cruel and her two stepsisters are very affectionate with their sister. When Bella ventures into the woods to visit "Granny", the town's witch, she encounters a very strange wolf. After she is attacked and bit by the wolf, the king has Bella whisked away to a castle where she discovers she was actually bit by a werewolf. And not just any werewolf - a Sorcerer Duke. With the help of spirit elementals, a quirky witch and a fairy godmother, Bella will soon learn the truth about the werewolf and what will be required of her to help him. Will "The Tradition" push her together with the werewolf for a "Beauty and the Beast Tale" or will it push her with another for an entirely different story? Filled with funny moments, romance, adventure, mystery and suspense, you'll be hard-pressed to put this book down.

Jack of Fables 1: The (Nearly) Great Escape, by Bill Willingham

Jack of Fables 1: The (Nearly) Great Escape, by Bill Willingham, 128 pages

The eponymous Jack, known variously as Jack the Giant Killer, Jack Horner, and basically every Jack who has been in a fable or tall tale, is featured in this spin-off to the original Fables series.  Jack was last seen fleeing Hollywood and a town of angry Fables with a briefcase full of money.  In this first of nine books, Jack finds himself kidnapped by librarians and sent to the Golden Boughs Retirement Village, a not-so-innocent resting place for storybook characters and fables. Obviously an escape is in order, and the adventures have just begun.  This book introduces new fables and characters that might not be as well known as those in the Fables 'verse, but have just as much potential.

Enchanted by Alethea Kontis

Enchanted by Alethea Kontis, 308pages

A retelling of all the classic (and original) fairytales rolled into one, this wonderful teen romance will keep you turning pages. In some ways, I preferred the author's version of the story much more than the originals. Sunday is one of seven sisters born to a woodcutter and his wife. She is the seventh of the seventh and very special. Each of her sisters were gifted with various talents that will help make amends for a terrible wrong of the past. Sunday's happens to be the gift of "Creator".  When she unknowingly kisses a frog prince, she sets in motion a series of events that will ultimately cause her kingdom grief as well as joy. At times the author jumps from story to story and it can get just a little confusing. It's best to take the book one page at a time and try to not guess at the ending or whose story she is telling at that particular moment. Jack and the Beanstalk, The Frog Prince, Cinderella, Snow White, Rapunzel, Faeries, and many other stories blend into one fantastic tale.