The Thirteenth Princess and A True Princess by Diane Zahler



978-0-06-182500-2



978-0-06-182501-9
HarperCollins
Review copies from publisher

As we have mentioned countless times, we love us a good fractured fairy tale. Many of those we have seen lately, however, are more suitable for young adults - great for them, but that leaves out the large number of upper elementary-age girls who love a good fairy tale of any sort.

Both of these by Zahler, fortunately, are perfect for that age group. The traditional fairy tales - The Twelve Dancing Princesses and The Princess and the Pea - are fleshed out enough to satisfy the reader who wants some questions answered (WHY do they have to dance all night?), yet still light and full of enough romance and beautiful dresses to satisfy the girly-girl. Characters tend to be fairy-taleish (we are making up words this week) in that they are either all bad, all good, or have one particular flaw that their character must overcome. In a serious YA historical fiction that would bug the shells off of us, but for these it works just fine.

Recommended for elementary or middle school libraries, we give these a

4 out of 5.

Mini Reviews - Fractured Fairy Tales

Marshall Cavendish
978-0-7614-5793-0

A collection of different takes on the story of Little Red Riding Hood. We love Vivian Vande Velde, but this wasn't her best. The introduction is the best part of the book. That, however, is hysterical, and it is worth borrowing the book just to read it.

Henry Holt and Company
978-0-8050-89684

Loved it! We haven't read Tomlinson's other tales, but we plan to rectify that soon. This one is a retelling of the fairy tales in which the 'good' sister is blessed with jewels falling from her lips every time she speaks, while the 'bad' sister is cursed with toads and snakes. In one of many twists Tomlinson offers, both sisters are actually 'good', and either gift proves to be both blessing and curse.The setting is a somewhat fictionalized India, as might be guessed from the gorgeous cover. One niggling detail about that cover, though: both sisters only had two gold dowry bracelets, not armsfull. Otherwise; vivid setting, interesting characters, perfect comfort-food kind of story.

Retro Tuesday: Diamond Secret by Suzanne Weyn, reviewed by Miss Ami

Have I mentioned how much I like fractured fairy tales? I especially like the ones that make the fairy tale plausibly realistic, as is done in this series from Simon and Schuster. The "Once Upon a Time" series began in 2004, I believe, but there are still new ones coming out - this one is actually from June of last year, so not quite retro. I have found several voracious readers who didn't know the series exists, however, so it's worth plugging here.

"The Diamond Secret" is a retelling of the story of Anastasia - not so much a fairy tale per se, but still an intriguing mystery after all these years. If parts of the explanation for Anastasia's disappearance and rediscovery seem a bit implausible - the convenient case of amnesia being the biggest pill to swallow - their very implausibility is addressed within the story, as the characters discuss whether her grandmother or anyone else will believe it. The ending comes as a surprise only to the main characters, but it is still a fun read. I enjoyed Weyn's "Water Song" (a retelling of The Frog Prince) from the same series more. Other authors in the series include Cameron Dokey and Nancy Holder. A good series to add to your YA collection.

Princess of the Midnight Ball, by Jessica Day George, reviewed by Miss Ami

Our newest reader is establishing herself as a bit of a high maintenance babe. Due to a bout with RSV and a hospital stay, we had another, unintentional hiatus there, but we are back now! For real! For a long time! Are you listening, little miss thing???

One good thing about a long stay in a hospital with NO internet access and a mostly sleeping child, is plenty of forced reading time. We mostly brought YA with us, so we will spend the next few days reviewing those, beginning with:



I am partial to fractured fairy tales, and loved the cover - the kind of dress you love to look at and might want to own, but are very happy you don't actually have to wear. This book got some mixed reviews, mostly from people who had issues with the premise. It's a retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, and attempts to explain my old question of just WHY these girls would go out dancing every night, but then be perfectly happy to have that come to a sudden end.

In George's version, the girls are under a curse, passed on from their mother. They must dance each night for the Kiing Under Stone, until the end of the time period agreed on by their mother, who died before fulfilling her contract. The King wants tthem as brides for his twelve sons, although it is never explained how he plans to force that to happen.

I can see where people had issues with parts of the plot. was their mother really as dumb as she appeared? I mean come on, fool me once shame on you, fool me twelve times...?! And if she's dancing for the king every night, when the heck did she get pregnant? How come the king got to change the contract each time? Why did it pass on to the girls? Since there are twelve of them, wouldn't they get the time done twelve times as fast? What was the point of the Heinrich story? Why did the girls' father keep buying them new slippers? As a mom of three growing boys, that one really bugged me. Why is this just now an issue if they have been dancing for five years? And then there is the convenient part of the curse that prevents them from uttering a word about it. Ever hear of charades? Letting people guess?

Having said all that, I truly did enjoy the story. It is well written, and I liked the characters. i enjoyed the soldier/gardener twist on the old tale. A little suspension of disbelief is a helpful start to any fairy tale, so the things I mentioned really didn't bother me all that much. Not as good as Dragon Slippers, but I would still recommend it to a reader or for a library shelf.

Review copy checked out from the local library, where it can be found under "YA F Geor".

Retro Tuesday (on Wednesday - so sue me): Runaway Princess by Kate Coombs

Like Chains, this one isn't old by any means, but it is old enough to have a sequel out (The Runaway Dragon, which you also need to read). In fact, I read this one, which I had somehow missed, because I saw a review of the second and knew I had to read them both.

Definitely a 'girl book' for the most part, although boys who enjoy the Squire's Tale series by Gerald Morris might give this one a try. Meg is the spirited tomboy princess who would rather catch frogs with her friend than learn to curtsy. Her clueless father offers her hand in marriage and half the kingdom to any prince who can accomplish three tasks (all in the name of economic development), and of course Meg disapproves of the plan, and adventures ensue.

We've seen the basic plotline a million times, but Meg is a very likeable heroine with some great lines, and there are enough surprises and humorous bits in the book to make it quite an enjoyable read. Without giving too much away (I hope), I was pleased with her mother's decision, and while certain twists (like that involving a certain prince) may be a bit predictable for the fan of fractured fairy tales, they are not any less enjoyable. Great pleasure read for just about any girl over the age of 8 (I gave it to my mother to read next!)

Guest Review - Ash, by Malinda Lo, reviewed by Sissy

Ash is a wonderfully written story about a girl who loses her mother at a young age. She dreams of fairies and wishes them to take her away from her life, even if it's only in her dreams. When her father passes away, her step-mother takes her away to live with herself and her two daughters. Ash finds hope and love in places she never would imagine. Ash is a new twist on the Cinderella tale.