Cinder

This week I found another nook in Azuranna's library with more books I haven't read yet. One is a book the mech fairies (and yes, many of my friends, too, hush) have been going on about for awhile now. Now I see why. Cinder by Marissa Meyer was better than it sounded even from the book blurb.

From the B&N website:

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

I read the book yesterday in huge gulps. This Cinderella spinoff provides a believable growing romance between Prince Kai and Cinder. They meet only a few pages in when he brings his broken android to her market stall for repair, jokingly saying it was a matter of notional security, though she suspects it might be less of a joke than he wanted to let on. Each time their paths cross after that, either accidentally or on purpose, they become more familiar with each other.

 

Cinder is one the few people the prince can trust as tensions mount across New Beijing and within the palace over concerns with the plague and the possibility of war with the feared Lunars. And Prince Kai not only treats her with respect, he asks her to call him by name without the title, something that flusters her a lot. Good thing she can't blush. Even more disconcerting, he asks her to be his personal guest at the upcoming ball, an offer she turns down.

 

Even if he really does want her there, self-preservation or not, she plans to escape her stepmother's control that night. Then it won't matter that he hasn't yet realized she's part mechanical, something she can't bear to confess and face his disgust over courting a mutant freak. But to save Kai from the evil plans of Lunar Queen Levana, she'll have to go to the ball anyway, even at the cost of the whole truth about herself being revealed for all to see.

The ending is gripping, not the ending I expected, but a cliffhanger, yet it feels right. The final words are perfect. But...ARRRGGGGG! I want the next book already! Gah!!!!!

Guess I'll have to read this one again before I have to take it back to the library.

An accomplishment for my check-in

I haven't posted a ROW 80 check-in for awhile. I've been a bad writer and blog reader. I got lazy and didn't write much or read other people's check-ins. This past week though I pushed myself to quit messing around and do more work. I decided to pull out my short stories and see what I could finish off for the sake of typing the end to something at long last. (So many WIPs, sigh)

The short story push is partly from reading a bunch of other people's short stories like The Oxford Book of Modern Fairy Tales, The Secret History of Fantasy, and Steampunk II: Steampunk Reloaded. I also have Dragons and Dreams from the library and Happily Ever After from the bookstore waiting for me to read them.

My troll story didn't pull me much. I'm still not sure how I want to tackle the middle. I gave my wolpertinger story a try and on the 26th I wrote 343 new words on it and then cut them off and moved them to the remnant file. The direction it took didn't sit right with me. I added 195 words to my half-orc bard story on the 27th. Those weren't bad, but my brain didn't want to stick with it.

But on Friday, I pulled out my Red Riding Hood story, determined to get something finished. I knocked out 1685 words, one of my top word tallies. (300-500 is more my typical sort of count) And yesterday I came in with 731 words including The End. Ding ding ding! Yippeeee!

Oh, it still needs massive work: a completely redone beginning and an expanding out of noted bits I'd had to skip to keep me from bogging down. But I completed it. I've proved to myself that I really can finish a story. I was totally giddy yesterday when I did it. And then I went through and read several check-ins from Wed to cheer on other folks.

I'm still way behind on reading my blog roll, taking today to work on that, but I want to say thanks to the unspoken pressure to get something accomplished on my goals. Finishing a story wasn't technically one of them, but it is something I've had hanging over me for the past few years. Everyone who has ever said good luck, or hope you make it, or some other variant of encouragement here on my blog or other online places I hang out: Thank you.

My other goals might get tweaked later since by the end of this round, I intend to finish the first round of revisions on the Red Riding Hood story, maybe even come up with a title other than RRH. I'm not sure how I want to break down the revisions into smaller check-off-able chunks yet, but I'll work on that too. I'm also behind on posting book reviews here, so I intend to have 4 books reviews during the month of August. Hope you'll check back for them. I think I already know which one I want to cover first. It'll be up tomorrow (if I write it tonight) or Tuesday (after I get back from the Buffalo Museum of Science).

Hope everyone has a productive week!

10th Kingdom/Mamma Mia crossover

I was going to attempt a blog hop today, but the one I was watching for hasn't posted the topic yet. So, since I still want to offer something for today, here's something I ran across this evening: clips from 10th Kingdom set to Mamma Mia. I'd been trying to find one of those fan vids, but pretty much everything I'd seen gives away too much of the ending. This one didn't; it's just fun. The song is performed by the A *Teens.



If you haven't seen the 10th Kingdom, you should. The story is fantabulous. It's well worth the 417 minutes to sit through the whole mini series. And watching it on DVD will spare you the agony I had when it came out and being forced to wait a week between each segment. Here is the trailer:



The show more than lived up to the promise. If you need more of a teaser, here is one of my favorite songs from it. It's gorgeous and acted as one of the strongest hooks to pull me in at the beginning.

Three great YA fantasies

A couple weeks ago I picked up some crafting books and three YA fantasies. Last week, I made it to the novels. Wonderful. All three of them rang with their own harmonies.

First was Dragon Sword and Wind Child by Noriko Ogiwara. I admit I picked this one because it said dragon. But I really enjoyed how the author used the mythology and setting of ancient Japan to create her world. Saya is thrust into the conflict between Light and Dark and comes to realize that it is not a matter of good versus evil like she'd been taught. She must accept her birthright and figure out the meaning behind an ancient legend regarding the Wind Sword in order to save her world.

For a retelling of a Grimm's fairy tale, Shannon Hale does a great rendition of The Goose Girl. Princess Ani starts off timid, but it's hard to learn confidence or social graces with such a dynamic mother. Nothing is ever good enough. After the king's death, her mother declares her to not be fit as Crown Princess and sends her to their neighboring kingdom as bribe, err, bride to prevent the larger country from carrying out possible plans to invade. But on the journey, Ani's maid stages a coup and usurps Ani's place and her name, sending Ani fleeing for her life. The former princess must learn to both survive and find her strengths in order to save her old home, her new home, the people who've accepted her, and the man she loves. When you wants a cozy fairy tale but with more scope than the typical one, this is a fun read.

Toads and Diamonds by Heather Tomlinson is another fairy tale rendition. This one has the feel of India, something that intrigued me because of my friend Jai. Out of the three, this book was probably my favorite. It has a gorgeous cover: lovely sari fabric and golden bangles above hands decorated with henna tattoos and a large pink blossom cupped between them. In the original tale, one sister is sweetness and light but bossed around and made to do drudge work. One day at a well, she is kind to an old woman who turns out to be magical who grants her the gifts of jewels and flowers dropping from her lips when she speaks. The other sister, in jealousy, goes to the well herself but is haughty to the old woman. As punishment, the magic woman makes toads and snakes to fall from her mouth. The kind sister gets to marry a prince, while the mean sister is driven into the wilderness.

This version is wildly different in how the story happens, beginning with the characters. The sisters love each other, though they each have their unique talents. Diribani isn't used to working so hard, but she tries her best in order to provide for her stepmother and stepsister after her father's death. While fetching water at the well, she is kind to a goddess disguised as an old woman. She is granted the first gift. Tana, her sister, feels unworthy next to Diribani's goodness, so when she meets the goddess herself, she feels she deserves the unpleasant gift. Diribani is taken up by a prince and Tana is forced to leave her home. However, blessings and curses are not always what you expect. A gift may be both. Wisdom, good fortune, or death. Which fate will each girl find?

I recommend all three books, but if you can only find time for one, get your hands on Toads and Diamonds. *mutters* Now to go find Tomlinson's other books.

The Rumpelstiltskin Problem

Last week, Juliette Wade was talking about the "why?" question when it came to stories, especially with first lines, whether they're at the beginning of a story or simply at the beginning of a paragraph. Wanting to know why something happens is our motivation to keep reading. Authors who include plenty of why moments will hook their readers. But if they never answer them, they will disappoint those same readers.

Just look at the story of Rumpelstiltskin. Haven't you ever had question after question when reading the basic story? From the back of The Rumpelstiltskin Problem by Vivian Vande Velde:

Why would a miller claim that his daughter could spin straw into gold? Why would the king believe him? And why would an odd little man that can spin straw into gold do so in exchange for a tiny gold ring? The story is just silly.

In an attempt to make sense of this wayward fairy tale, Vivian Vande Velde provides six alternative versions of the classic account, each of which is far more intriguing and revealing than the original.

These stories are:

A Fairy Tale In Bad Taste
Straw Into Gold
The Domovoi
Papa Rumpelstiltskin
Ms. Rumpelstiltskin
As Good As Gold

Not only are the stories fun, but the author's note in the beginning is a must-read. She begins by comparing the game she used to call Gossip and that I know as Telephone to the way fairy tales have changed over time from oral retellings. Each time the story was told, it was a little different based on time and place. Eventually, so many details would have been changed or lost that the story made no sense anymore. Just like gossip, and just like this story in particular. She goes through the story and elaborates on what doesn't make sense. Her assessments and asides had me chuckling throughout. How many author's notes can you say you've actually enjoyed?

So if you like fairy tales, especially ones that make sense, you should go find a copy of this book. I like to think that even Juliette's daughter would find her why's fully answered.


Quick reminder: if you haven't already, go to Monday's post and enter in my milestone drawing. All you have to do is tell me how you found my blog and what made you decide to follow me. Yes, even if I know perfectly well how we became acquainted. I'm seeing who is paying attention. You have through the end of Friday, so what are you waiting for? ;D

The Tower at Stony Wood

From the jacket flap of The Tower at Stony Wood:

During the wedding festivities of the king, Cyan Dag, a knight of Gloinmere, is sought out by a mysterious bard and told a terrifying tale: that the king has married a false queen--a lie cloaked in ancient and powerful sorcery. Spurred on by his steadfast honor and loyalty, Cyan departs on a dangerous quest to rescue the real queen from her tower prison, to prevent war, and to awaken magic in a land that has lost its way...

To be honest, when Cyan got his quest from the Bard of Skye, he was only asked to rescue the true queen. The false queen tried to warn him off by saying that if the true queen ever left her tower, she would die. That if she ever even looked at the world directly rather than through her enchanted mirror, she would die. So there was no way he could save her. But Cyan fought the false queen's sorcery to swear he'd find a way. Ill-prepared, he set out on his journey.

However, once he is on his way, we are promptly introduced to Melanthos, a baker's daughter in the land of Skye, and then Thayne Ysse, the oldest surviving son of the lord who had once ruled the North Islands.

Thayne's addition is more clear as to why he'd been added; he wants to find a way to take back the islands from the king of Yves, Cyan's king. A dragon and its hoard would be potent resources to that goal. His path crosses with Cyan's fairly early in the journey, so that the knight has more impetus to complete his quest quickly in order to return in time to save his king's life again. But Melanthos, in her tower with an ensorceled mirror of her own and the compulsion to embroider what she sees in it, is more passive, an observer. She is later joined by her mother who is stranger and becomes even more absorbed by the mirror than Melanthos. I often found myself questioning their importance to the story, especially since I couldn't remember how it ended. (I read it several years ago.)

Cyan tries hard to find the tower with the true lady of Skye. He faces setback after setback from being waylaid in the woods, to nearly being killed by Thayne, to finding a few wrong towers. But he persists in his quest even though his heart quails that he will ever succeed. Ultimately, the book is about his quest. It just turns out that there was more to his quest than he'd been told. Melanthos and her mother and Thayne were a part of that. Everything had a reason.

The Tower at Stony Wood is not an easy read. It's like one of those old fables rich in description and ancient magics. However, convoluted and meandering as the plot seemed, it was all carefully planned from the beginning. I thought it really paid off. I still don't want to read it all that often, but it is well worth reading every so often just to study the crafting. I recommend that you read it at least once to study the way she fit the story arcs together and builds her world. Just have patience. It's worth it.

From grumpy to golden

I had plenty of sleep, honestly I did. I got to bed not long after 11 last night, woke up briefly around 6, got up around 7. But dreaming of being shunned/ignored/despised does little for one's mood or confidence. My son didn't notice. He managed to get enough sleep that he woke up on his own at the right time. He didn't even need that much coaxing to get ready. No rushing involved.

But I was still grumpyish and with the dog eating a dead bird (gross and not good for her), I didn't feel like doing anything, not even playing on the computer. So, I laid down on the couch to rest my eyes. Hardly restful since my brain took me back into similar disturbing visions, disrupted only when my hubby got home from work.

But the fresh air (chilly) while doing the weekly garbage dump run helped clear the fog from my brain. Enough that when we got back, I pulled out another one of the library books from my reading list and started reading. (I finished Inkheart last night.)

Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke was wonderful. I just finished reading it a little bit ago. Though Inkheart was good and made me curious enough that I will pick up Inkspell on my next trip to the library, Dragon Rider was even better. It grabbed me from the first chapter where IH took several chapters to pull me in.

Maybe it was the tone and type of threat. IH is more serious. After all, books and stories were in jeopardy. The villains were darker and threatened more than just a limited group; Capricorn and his subordinates were dangerous for the world even though only a small group realized it. Nettlebrand, on the other hand, was created long ago for the single purpose of killing the glorious silver dragons for an alchemist's greed.

After finishing Dragon Rider, I am feeling much cheerier and uplifted. How could I stay gloomy when I could soar with Ben and share his joy? Even with the use of prophesy and other fantasy tropes, the story relied on ingenuity and teamwork to save the day. The prophesy helped them in a few places with supplies, information, and directions, but when it came time to face up to the Nettlebrand, they had to figure out the strategy all on their own, one that had only been possible by the choices and discoveries made along the way by our brave travelers.

Dragon Rider carries some powerful joy within its pages. An uplifting tale to chase away the blues, I give it 5 stars and recommend you go soaring with Firedrake, Sorrel, Ben, and the other friends they make along the way.

A handful of children's fantasy

Instead of four individual posts, I am presenting these books together, two picture books and two chapter books. I thought they were all cute enough to share.

First the picture books.

The Toy Brother by William Steig is charming book about role reversal when the older brother accidentally shrinks himself while their parents are away for the week. My son picked out this book at the library, and we both enjoyed it. (Yes, I'm training him young to appreciate fantasy.)

Yours Truly, Goldilocks by Alma Flor Ada and illustrated by Leslie Tryon has a more complex story, told through a series of letters. Each character uses a different type of paper and handwriting style, with the pictures filling details on setting, mood, and events. In addition to being a cute story, I think it would make a great visual aid to teaching letter writing. Each letter has header, greeting, body, closer, and signature.

Now the chapter books.

Tollins: Explosive Tales for Children is written by Conn Iggulden, author of The Dangerous Book for Boys, and illustrated by Lizzie Duncan. I loved it. From the book: "Tollins are not fairies. Though they both have wings, fairies are delicate creatures and much smaller. When he was young, Sparkler accidentally broke one and had to shove it behind a bush before its friends noticed. Tollins are also a lot less fragile than fairies. In fact, the word 'fragile' can't really be used about them at all. They are about as fragile as a housebrick!" Sparkler is an oddball. He finds humans and their science fascinating. Though it is against Tollin law, his scientific studies may be just what they all need to save them from human encroachment and Dark Tollin takeover. The three linked stories in this book, beginning with "How to Blow Up Tollins," made me chuckle the whole way through. The accompanying illustrations add to the whimsy. Duncan's style goes perfectly with the stories.

Though I've never picked up The Dangerous Book for Boys, I'm interested now to see if Iggulden's non fiction has any of the same style his fiction does. DBB might come in handy as my son gets older.

Harvey Angell by Diana Hendry is a middle grade story and winner of The Whitbread Children's Book of the Year Award. Henry is an orphan living with his stingy Aunt Agatha. When their attic boarder leaves after a row with Aunt Agatha over her penny pinching ways (and banging his head once too often on the sloping ceiling), she interrogates new prospective boarders. Harvey Angell enchants her into accepting him with his small stature, lack of needing breakfast, and his sunbeam smile. Somehow, he begins to brighten the cheerless house. Henry just doesn't know whether to trust this "electrician" who wants to reconnect them to the circuit. Henry is determined to figure out what that means, because this strange man is up to something.

Fantasy really is for all ages. If you have children, you may want to consider these stories.

Princess Bride

One of my favorite movies has to be The Princess Bride. This movie will always be a classic to me. I've watched it so many times, I can practically quote the whole thing right along with the actors. Not only do I have the movie, but I also have the soundtrack, which is excellent background music for writing fantasy. Fantastic!

This story within a story begins with a boy who is home sick. His grandfather visits, bringing his favorite book. With the promise of "fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles," the grandson agrees to listen to the story.

Buttercup falls in love with a poor farmboy. Before he leaves to seek his fortune, he promises that he will always come for her. "Because this is true love. Do you think this happens everyday?" When she hears he has been murdered by the Dread Pirate Roberts, she is devastated. Prince Humperdink chooses her to become his princess though she does not love him. Then she is kidnapped by a trio of odd characters and followed by the Man in Black.

Swordfights, vows, and hilarity ensues. I hope this movie remains a part of popular culture for a long time. With so many quotable lines and references which have slipped into common parlance, I find it "inconceivable" to imagine this story ever being forgotten completely.

Enchantress From the Stars

Sorry for the long break in posting. Between the toothache, car problems, and finally getting past the stumbling block in my story, I haven't been on blogger much at all in the past couple weeks.

So far this blog has weighed rather heavily on the fantasy side of the spec fic. It shouldn't be too surprising since that is what I read the most. But I do enjoy a good sci-fi story from time to time. Right before I dropped out of sight, I made it to our newly renovated library, making sure to pick up some sci-fi to cover here on the blog. Here is one I've read before and need to add to my personal library: Enchantress From the Stars by Sylvia Louise Engdahl.

This story has one of the more unusual point of view setups I've come across: first person and third person. It is primarily told from the perspective of a young woman after the story has taken place in reflective first person. She is retelling the events to a cousin who had asked about the Service, in order to help the person to decide whether to join the Academy. It is also to help put her thoughts and memories in order before writing her official report, which must include the perspectives of the two cultures encountered in the mission.

Since Elana is the one telling the story, it feels natural for her to write about the events from the two men in third person. The switching back and forth work rather well to convey different interpretations of the same events. One person's magic is another person's science. Maybe it is all magic in the end.

In the much advanced age of Elana's world, society has progressed beyond war and suffering. However, not all of the worlds in existence have achieved that level of advancement. Agents of the Anthropological Service work to keep Youngling societies from overwhelming less advanced Youngling societies without revealing themselves. Disclosure would cause great harm to developing cultures. They have a right to grow into their own place in the universe, to realize their own potential. And who knows, that uniqueness might offer some new insight to the Federation. Something that could only have come from being allowed to learn from their own mistakes.

Mistakes happen every step of the way for Elana. To begin with, she was never supposed to have been on Andrecia at all. She was supposed to be studying for her First Phase exams to make up for the time missed at the Academy in order to go to the family gathering. You took the Oath once you completed Third Phase. But Elana thought that the mission to somehow stop one Youngling world from taking over another sounded exciting. She thought of the Younglings as exotic beings, rather than people. Danger was an abstract. So, she hid on the landing craft containing her father, her fiance, and a female agent who resembled the native women.

After Ilura is vaporized by a surprise encounter with two of the invading Younglings, dying in order to prevent disclosure, the danger becomes real. And that is only the beginning. Instead of Ilura doing "magic" to scare off the invaders, who believe in only what their science can measure, Elana's father must use his own daughter in a crucial role of an improvised plan. She doesn't have the features to pass as a native, so she must somehow work through a native to achieve the same result.

To Georyn and his brothers, she is the Enchantress, able to do wondrous magic. She sets them tasks that will help them prepare for their quest to slay the "dragon." Georyn does far better than they expected. The trials unlock innate abilities and ready him for the fearsome sights and sensations he will have once he faces the invaders.

Jarel is a doctor in the Youngling Empire sent down with the fledgling colony and pacification team. The Empire sees the natives as ignorant savages, little better than animals. Jarel feels differently. He wonders if there might be something more to them and questions the decision to occupy an inhabited planet. His values are put to the test. He will have to make a stand on whether his people belong there and who he should aid.

Elana comes to some rude awakenings about what it means to be in the Service and to see suffering and not interfere. It takes every ounce of willpower and ingenuity from the agents, courage from Georyn, cooperation from Jarel, and a heartful of faith from everyone to make the plan succeed.

I found this to be a fascinating glimpse into how space faring societies might develop and what they would do once out in the stars. Maybe some great Federation out there is allowing us to make our mistakes, to grow into our own potential. Even if it means allowing our suffering to continue. After all, suffering is what propels us to improve our lives. It comforts me to think there might be such a Federation out there, studying us, waiting for us to grow up, and allowing us the chance to do so.

The Ordinary Princess

Here is one of my beloved childhood books. As an ordinary girl myself, The Ordinary Princess by M.M. Kaye appealed to my desire to find a fairy-tale ending despite the lack of princessly charms. The cover of my book is now a bit worn, its pages yellowing and smelling faintly of damp basement, but I still find the story appealing after all these years.

Despite precautions taken to ensure a successful christening for seventh daughter Princess Amethyst, the fairy Crustacea proclaims, "You shall be Ordinary."

And from that moment she was. From her mousy brown hair, freckles, and turned up nose, Princess Amy is nothing like her older sisters with their fair skin and golden hair. Ordinary suits her though. Amy has no interest in stuffy princes or boring princess activities. And she's quite willing to seek her own adventure to find happiness.

Sometimes ordinary can be the greatest gift of all. And that truth is the greatest treasure I know of to give a young girl struggling to find her own identity in a world dominated by the glamorous. It may be thirty years old, but this story still has relevance for today's tweens, perhaps more so than ever.

The Serpent's Shadow

Snow White meets Edwardian England in Mercedes Lackey's novel: The Serpent's Shadow, book one of her Elemental Masters series.

Doctor Maya Witherspoon faces many challenges in the land of her father's birth. Daughter of a British physician and a high caste Brahmin woman, she faces discrimination for her mixed blood. She also dares to be a doctor in a male-dominated world. But how could she deny the training begun at the side of her beloved father?

These challenges are small compared to the threat that sent her to this strange land from her native India. Her training was not the only heritage she'd inherited. Her mother, Surya, had been a priestess of Indian magics before becoming outcast for her marriage to one of the hated Englishmen. But despite Maya's burgeoning magic, her mother had refused to train her. With fearful eyes, the only answer her mother gave was, "Your magic is of your father's blood, not mine."

Maya never had the chance to learn what that meant. Before dying in a cholera epidemic, Surya tried to warn her of some danger, but in her fever, the only intelligible words had been the name "Shivani" and to beware the serpent's shadow. Not long after her mother's death, her father had been bitten by a krait hidden in his boot. Only magic could explain how the snake had managed to sneak past her mother's seven pets: a Hanuman langur, a saker falcon, a Eurasian eagle-owl, an Indian ring-necked parrot, a peacock, and a pair of mongooses.

That had been threat enough to send Maya, along with her household, across the seas to England, to hide from her mysterious enemy. However, she knows that it won't be long before she has to face the threat. Only training in Western magic will be able to save her. But who would be willing to train a half-caste woman? And will she master her abilities in time to save her life when the vindictive pursuer catches up to her?

Mercedes Lackey creates rich worlds populated with believable characters. This series is no exception. She captures the flavor of the time period and mixes it with the magic of Earth, Water, Air, and Fire. A world where those with magical ability can see elemental creatures such as naiads, selkies, fauns, and more. A world also containing Dark Path magicians and sinister elementals. And not everything is as it appears.

Be sure to watch for reviews of the other books in the series, each with its own fairy tale theme.

Silver Woven in My Hair

For a slight change of pace, here is a book for the Intermediate reader. Silver Woven in My Hair by Shirley Rousseau Murphy is a charming spin on Cinderella legends from around the world.

Thursey lives with her stepmother and two stepsisters in the small country of Gies. Their inn lies off the high road, the only one in a day's ride that offers shelter to the common traveler. Many a merchant has passed through bearing stories from other places, stories of Tattercoats, Cendrillon, Aschenputtel, and others like Cinderella. If she dreams of herself in that role, who could blame her when her family treats her with scorn and forces her to do the hard labor of maintaining the inn?

She longs to know the fate of her father, missing since he joined the war against the Balkskakian hordes. If he were home, he would make things right again. But no one who has returned knows if he is dead or alive. Her stepsisters claim that he died a coward, running from the Balkskak's troops during the push when the queen and young prince were captured. Only a coward afraid of the mill wheel would have lost two fingers, and such a man could never amount to much. But Thursey remembers how he kept her stepmother and stepsisters in better temper.

The kingdom now has reason to rejoice. Five years since the royal family had been rescued, their recovery from the foreign illness and the prince's wounds was finally nearing its end. Now they were returning home from the Isle of Carthemas to meet their people and reassure them that the prince would be healthy enough to take up his duties as a man. An Easter ball would be held for all to attend.

Thursey longs to go but knows her family would never allow her. And her heart is torn between her dreams and the handsome goatherd who tends the Carthemas goats whose milk is responsible for the prince's recovery. The goatherd who has become her dear friend and encourages her dreams. If the magic of the stories comes true, would it mean leaving him behind?

Even for a younger audience, I still find this enchanting. A hope that you never know when or how magic may find you to make your dreams come true.

Never After

Never After by Rebecca Lickiss is an inventive take on the traditional fairy tale with allusions to at least half a dozen stories.

Prince Althelstan needs a bride, but there is a shortage of marriageable princesses. Lady Vevila is restless and wants adventure, not a husband. Prince Althelstan suckers his cousin into helping him on his quest. All he needs is a princess to kiss the three sleeping princes awake in order for the rest of the castle--and his princess--to also awaken. With the help of three magicians, it should be no problem, right?

Too bad the evil witch wants them all to stay away from her precious sleeping princes. Lady Vevila must prove she is a princess by submitting to a princess test: in her case, spinning straw into gold. Which is, of course, ridiculous. Here enters Rumpelstiltskin with his own agenda, which has nothing to do with stealing her firstborn son and everything to do with her kissing a frog.

Lady Vevila has had it with everyone: the witch for insisting on the silly princess test, the magicians for their greed and adding additional nights of gold spinning, and her cousin for having dragged her into this in the first place. Even Rumpelstiltskin for only swapping the straw for gold instead of getting her out and still charging the unspecified favor for each exchange. What will she do to make each of them pay for her ordeal?

This book kept me entertained all the way through with its fairy tale appeal, distinctive characters, hilarious dialogue, breezy narration, and one strong-willed young woman who does not take kindly to being penned up and having her own desires thwarted.