The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom: A Review

Everyone has heard of Prince Charming. But did you know that Prince Charming isn’t just one guy. True story: There are four Princes Charming. And those dumb bards never even bothered to get their names right in their songs.

Sure, Frederic didn’t do much beyond dancing quite well with a girl named Ella at a ball. And maybe Gustav didn’t come off all that well after his attempted rescue of Rapunzel since she actually had to save him. But Liam is a hero through and through; he had to fight to overcome a lot of obstacles to rescue Briar Rose. Even if his kingdom might not appreciate it. Then there’s Duncan. Maybe he was really just in the right place at the right time with seven dwarves to tell him what to do, but sometimes that is all it takes to save the day and get the girl.

Despite their heroics–or at least their important roles–each prince is relegated to the anonymous title of “Prince Charming” when their deeds are immortalized in song. Worse, the princes might not be so charming as each and everyone of them loses their princess.

Jilted and disgraced, each prince sets off in search of redemption. Along the way they stumble upon each other and an evil plot that will need all four Princes Charming (and some help from some other familiar characters) to foil.

At the beginning of the story these four princes don’t have much in common. Before the story is over Frederic, Liam, Gustav and Duncan might finally become the heroes they were meant to be in The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom (2012) by Christopher Healy (with illustrations by Todd Harris).

The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom is Healy’s first novel.

With a breezy, humorous narrative Healy creates a quirky take on a lot of traditional fairy tales. Healy recreates these heroes, heroines, and villains in a fresh style all his own. Readers familiar with the original texts will find a lot of funny new touches while others will be introduced to the fairy tales in a fun new tale.

While some of the changes to these stories have the potential to frustrate readers* most of them amp up the opportunities for hilarity and action–sometimes at the same time. Because of the silliness the characters sometimes read as younger than they actually are, but with so much humor that’s easily ignored. Filled with adventure, The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom is also a truly funny story sure to entertain readers from start to finish.

Although the ending is rushed in some aspects (perhaps to leave room for a sequel?), the overall journey of each prince is a sight to behold. As Frederic, Liam, Gustav and Duncan each conquers their own shortcomings these unlikely heroes also discover the importance of good friends and that it takes a lot more than fancy swordplay to really be a hero. The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom is an ideal choice for readers who like their fairy tales fractured, their stories amusing, and their adventures entertaining.

*By readers, I mean me. It took me most of the story to get over Healy’s reinvention of the tale of Sleeping Beauty. Before getting into slight SPOILERS explaining my frustration let me also point out that I literally watched the movieSleeping Beautyevery day for at least a year when I was little. My mother was terrified the tape would break. So, I am understandably very invested in these characters. That said, I was dismayed that Sleeping Beauty’s prince was named Liam instead of Philip. Worse, Briar Rose is a truly horrible person. While I greatly enjoyed Gustav and Rapunzel’s updated storyline it was very hard to let Sleeping Beauty go.

Possible Pairings: The Fairy Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley,Rapunzel’s Revenge by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale and Nathan Hale, Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, We Are Not Eaten by Yaks by C. Alexander London, Don’t Expect Magic by Kathy McCullough, The Rumpelstiltskin Problem by Vivian Vande Velde, Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
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Sound good? Find it on Amazon: The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom

Take a Bow: A Chick Lit Wednesday Review

Emme’s never been comfortable in the spotlight. Not that she has to be as a song writer. She’s fine writing songs and having her best friend Sophie sing them while Emme stays in the background. Except Sophie might not be the friend Emme thought she was. And being in the background might not be enough to get Emme what she wants anymore.

Sophie knows she is destined to be a star. Sure, her path to stardom hasn’t gone exactly to plan since she arrived at the New York City High School of the Creative and Performing Arts. But senior year is just starting and she still has time to make a statement. If that means exploiting her best friend Emme and riding on her trophy boyfriend Carter’s famous coattails, so be it.

Carter has been playing parts for his entire life. Next It actor. Former Child Star. Soap Opera Actor. Big Ticket Attraction at CPA school performances. Now that senior year is here Carter realizes it might be time to stop acting and start living. Even if he isn’t totally sure where that road will lead.

Ethan never worries about performances or auditions. Music is the one thing Ethan knows he is good at even when he manages to ruin everything else–especially relationships. Ethan knows having Emme as a friend makes him a better person. He knows he needs her in his life. What he doesn’t know is how to convince Emme that she needs him.

With their time at CPA coming to an end Emme, Sophie, Carter and Ethan are all looking to leave their mark–or at least find there way. At a school where everyone is talented and everyone wants to be famous, these four are going to find out exactly what it takes to shine in Take a Bow (2012) by Elizabeth Eulberg.

Take a Bow is Eulberg’s third novel and perhaps her most ambitious to date. It is also possibly my favorite so far.

This novel has four first person narrators. Chapters rotate between Emme, Sophie, Carter and Ethan throughout the novel with Emme and Ethan taking up the bulk of the chapters as the plot progresses. With a variety of voices and techniques (Carter’s chapters read like scenes written in a screenplay) Eulberg expertly juggles all four characters making sure they each stand out.

Set in a specialized New York City high school, Eulberg captures the unique stress and frenzy of both getting into and staying in a competitive high school. Being grounded in the school and New York City, Eulberg also writes a well-rounded look at the work and passion it takes to be a performer. Sophie’s desperation is especially palpable and sympathetic even when she is at her worst.

Really, though, the star of the book is Emme. Having her narration and also seeing how the other characters perceive her, Eulberg does a phenomenal job showing Emme’s transformation as she moves from the background to the spotlight.While all of the characters ring true, Emme will strike a chord with anyone who is waiting for (or has already found) the way to be the star of their own life. Her fears and hang ups are believable as is her shift as she realizes it’s time to make a change.

One of the best things about Take a Bow is how aptly Eulberg focuses on the changing friendships of the characters going through the full spectrum from toxic friendships that inevitably fall apart to relationships that can survive anything. While there is a romantic aspect to the story it’s really the friendships between all of the characters that make the story stand out.

Filled with its fair share of drama, romance, and of course music, Take a Bow is definitely a book that will have readers singing its praises.

Possible Pairings: When It Happens by Susane Colasanti, A Little Wanting Song by Cath Crowley, Where She Went by Gayle Forman, Fly on the Wall by E. Lockhart, Being Friends With Boys by Terra Elan McVoy, A Map of the Known World by Lisa Ann Sandell, The Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott
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Sound good? Find it on Amazon: Take a Bow

“I hate you. It’s my dress and you can’t have it.”

I am working in a bookstore. A very famous person was signing books at said bookstore last week. A very polite and well-dressed father came in with his 4(ish) year old daughter in a cute dress sitting in a stroller to meet said very famous person.

Miss Print (MP) completes transaction with Very Polite and Well-Dressed Father (VPW-DF) and turns to Daughter in Cute Dress (DCD).

MP: That’s a very pretty dress you have on.

DCD: I hate you. It’s my dress. You can’t have it.

MP and VPW-DF: Stunned Silence

MP: Well . . . it looks very nice on you.

DCD: Turns head away in disgust.

VPW-DF apologizes profusely before wheeling stroller away.

So . . . that happened. I can only imagine what the daughter had to say to the very famous person.

Graffiti Moon: A Chick Lit Wednesday Review

Lucy has been chasing Shadow for years. An elusive graffiti artist, he’s left his mark all across the city and all across Lucy’s life. She knows Shadow is someone she could fall for. Hard. She knows, finally, she is close to finding him.

At the end of Senior Year Lucy’s friends Jazz and Daisy want an adventure. Lucy doesn’t. She wants to find Shadow and tell him how she feels. She doesn’t want to spend the night with Ed–not after she has finally escaped the gossip and rumors surrounding their first and last disastrous date two years ago.

But when the adventure Jazz wants turns into what Lucy wants, she knows she has to go along. Even if Ed is the person who might finally bring her to Shadow.

Ed thought his life was finally coming together after he left school. Instead it’s all falling apart. No job. No girl. And definitely no prospects. Haunted by all of the places he isn’t going, Ed leaves his mark across the city walls as Shadow saying with pictures what no one seems to hear in his words. Doesn’t matter anyway. His best friend Leo is the perfect Poet to his Shadow.

Too bad Leo with words than with life choices. Instead of a night spent working on another wall, Ed is drawn into Leo’s horrible plan to hang out with girls from school before making yet another terrible decision that could get them both in big trouble.

The prospect of spending a night with the girl who broke his nose is bad enough. When Leo offers to help that girl find Shadow and Poet, he knows it’s going to be trouble. But he goes along anyway.

As Ed walks Lucy through Shadow’s art, the night that promised to be a disaster turns into something else. In a city filled with missed connections and opportunity, Ed and Lucy are right where they’re supposed to be in Graffiti Moon (2012) by Cath Crowley.

Set over the course of one night, Crowley takes readers on a journey through Shadow’s art and also through each character’s background. At 257 pages, Graffiti Moon is a deceptively short book. Its length belies the broad range of things Crowley packs into this one marvelous novel.

Crowley uses a dual narrative structure to great effect here (as she did previously in A Little Wanting Song). Chapters alternate between Lucy and Ed’s narrations. Poets from Leo are also scattered throughout. With voices all their own, Lucy and Ed’s narratives sometimes overlap to show both of their interpretations of events and each other.

Filled with art, poetry, and humor Graffiti Moon is an evocative story filled with beautiful writing and characters that are achingly real. Immediately inspiring and refreshingly hopeful, Graffiti Moon is completely engrossing and a brilliant reminder that everyone has time to become exactly who they’re meant to be.

Possible Pairings: Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, When It Happens by Susane Colasanti, Paper Towns by John Green, Before I Die by Jenny Downham, The Piper’s Son by Melina Marchetta, After the Kiss by Terra Elan McVoy, Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins, A Map of the Known World by Lisa Ann Sandell, The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith, The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Exclusive Bonus Content: In addition to loving this book, I loved all of the art it mentions and I loved hunting it down to see what all of the characters were really talking about. If you don’t feel like doing that, you can find what I believe is a comprehensive list of all of the art mentioned below. Click “more” to see it in no particular order.

Lola and the Boy Next Door: A Chick Lit Wednesday Review

Lola Nolan’s New Year’s resolution was to never wear the same outfit twice.

She wants to attend the winter formal dressed like Marie Antoinette, but not quite. She wants a wig so big a bird could live in it. She wants a dress so wide that she’ll need to enter through a set of double doors. She also wants everyone to see that she’s punk-rock tough under the frills when they notice her platform combat boots.

She wants her parents to approve of her boyfriend, Max. Sure, Max is twenty-two and Lola is seventeen. But so what? Her father Nathan was significantly younger than her other dad, Andy, when they started dating. Isn’t that further proof that Max is the one? Not so much according to Nathan and Andy.

Lola also never ever ever wants to see the Bell twins ever again. Ever.

When a moving truck rolls up next door, Lola realizes she isn’t going to get what she wants. Not where the Bell twins are concerned anyway.

After steamrolling through Lola’s life two years ago, Cricket Bell–aspiring inventor and snappy dresser–is back along with his talented, figure-skating twin sister Calliope. While Calliope chases an elusive spot at the Olympics, Cricket is starting college and seems to be chasing . . . Lola.

But Lola doesn’t care about Cricket anymore. She wants different things now. Things like her boyfriend Max and her Marie Antoinette dress. And that’s enough.

Except it really isn’t. After years spent wanting to never see the boy next door ever again, Lola is starting to wonder if she’s been wanting all of the wrong things in Lola and the Boy Next Door (2011) by Stephanie Perkins.

Lola and the Boy Next Door is a companion to Perkins’ debut novel Anna and the French Kiss.* (Readers of both books might recognize some characters from the first book in this one but it’s most definitely a standalone if you want it to read this one first.)

As much as I enjoyed Anna and her story, I loved Lola so much more. With her vibrant outfits and quirky personality Lola is all win. With their witty banter (not to mention having style in spades), Lola and Cricket shine as a couple you’ll want to root for–even when Lola’s own feelings are mixed at best. Perkins vividly recreates San Francisco in the pages of Lola and the Boy Next Door with well-realized settings that complement her dimensional characters.

Without revealing too much, Perkins takes what could have been a conventional romantic story in a different direction with the pacing and structure of the story as well as some clever diversions with other characters. Combined with Lola’s obvious transformation throughout the story all of that makes Lola and the Boy Next Door a book well worth checking out.

*The final companion Isla and the Happily Ever After is due out in 2013 and if it goes the way I think it’s going to go–it is going to be soooooooo awesome!

Possible Pairings: North of Beautiful by Justina Chen, Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley, When It Happens by Susane Colasanti, Alice, I Think by Susan Juby, Don’t Expect Magic by Kathy McCullough, After the Kiss by Terra Elan McVoy, Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins, Vibes by Amy Kathleen Ryan, The Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott
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Sound good? Find it on Amazon: Lola and the Boy Next Door

Friends With Boys: A Graphic Novel Review

After years of homeschooling, Maggie McKay is starting high school. She’s kind of freaking out.

She can’t get a ride from her dad, the new chief of police, but does that mean she has to walk to school alone? Sure her big brothers will be there to watch her back, but will they have time for her with all of their other friends? Being friends with her brothers used to be enough. But now that their Mom left, it’s not the same. At all.

Luckily, Maggie meets Lucy and her older brother Alistair right away. Lucy and Alistair keep to themselves but soon they start eating lunch with Maggie. Together they even go on some small-town adventures.

All in all, things seem to be on the up and up for Maggie. At least, they are if she ignores the ghost that’s haunting her in Friends With Boys (2012) by Faith Erin Hicks.

Friends With Boys is an awesome graphic novel. Happily for all of you who don’t have access to the actual book through a store or library, it is also available online as a webcomic at friendswithboys.com! So cool.*

It’s always hard to decide where to start when I review a graphic novel and determine what is more important to the reading experience. This is doubly hard with a book like Friends With Boys which works so well on every single level.

Hicks’ drawings are filled with details and bring her characters to life with her beautiful black and white illustrations. The story is filled with charming tidbits about Maggie and her family as well as tantalizing additions to the plot.

I really enjoyed Friends With Boys it’s a guileless novel that is sweet and just filled with fun. With hints of a mysterious past for the McKay family, strong secondary characters, and a subtle supernatural twists Hicks leaves plenty of room for a sequel. I, for one, hope we get to see a lot more of Maggie and all of the boys she’s friends with (and Lucy too, of course).

*That is to say most of the story is available online. I didn’t check but I think it’s intact except for the last few pages.

Possible Pairings: Dramacon by Svetlana Chmakova, Sea Change by Aimee Friedman, Clarity by Kim Harrington, Alice, I Think by Susan Juby, A Tale of Two Castles by Gail Carson Levine, Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough, Library Wars by Kiiro Yumi and Hiro Arikawa
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Sound good? Find it on Amazon: Friends with Boys

Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick: A Review

Perry Stormaire had no intention whatsoever of attending his senior prom. Not when his band had their first ever actual gig in an actual club in New York City.

Unfortunately his parents have other ideas when the foreign exchange student staying with Perry’s family expresses her wish to attend prom before going home to Lithuania.

Why Gbija Zaksauskas wants to attend prom is anyone’s guess. Frumpy, quiet, not to mention epileptic it seems like Gobi’s entire mission as a foreign exchange student was to blend into the background.

All of that changes on prom night.

As Gobi embarks on a night-long mission of vengeance, Perry is dragged along–sometimes literally–for the ride. A week ago Perry’s biggest problems were choosing a college and working up the nerve to defy his father. Now, Perry isn’t even sure if he’ll make it through his prom night in one piece in Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick (2011) by Joe Schreiber.

Though completely improbable and often needing a lot of suspension of disbelief, Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick remains a fast exciting read of pure escapism with refreshing humor and oddly authentic characters for such an outlandish story.

Schreiber has created a fun blend of unlikely adventure and the more usual coming-of-age story. Structured with college essay question at the start of each chapter, Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick perfectly captures the panic and scrambling so often associated with the college search and application process.

Possible Pairings: Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynne Barnes, White Cat by Holly Black, Heist Society by Ally Carter
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Sound good? Find it on Amazon: Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick

Fashion Kitty and the B.O.Y.S. (Ball of Yellow String): A Chick Lit Wednesday Review

What do marshmallows, yellow string, the Eiffel tower and Super Sticky Spray have in common? Not much really, except that they all have a key role in Fashion Kitty and the B.O.Y.S (Ball of Yellow String (2011) by Charise Mericle Harper.

Fashion Kitty and the B.O.Y.S. is Fashion Kitty’s fourth adventure, but it is my first experience with the fashion forward cat whose family has two secrets: (1) they have a pet mouse and (2) Kiki Kittie is now a superhero called Fashion Kitty.

Although the content is necessarily different, this book follows the tradition of Jeff Kinney’s Wimpy Kid books (and even Brian Selznick and other books that I’m not as familiar with) in combining a written story with illustrated segments interspersed throughout the text.

The really nice thing about this book, being part of an established series, is that Harper does a good job bringing readers up to speed quickly. It was easy to read this book as a standalone without the earlier installments.

Apparently the earlier books in the series were more traditional graphic novels and some readers miss that format. I can’t comment on that since I haven’t read the other books, but I liked the text/image format. This could also be a good stepping stone to more text-based books for readers who are growing with the series, but it’s really a matter of personal preference.

Harper’s writing is clever with a bit of fairy tale quality–it’s easy to imagine sitting around a story hour being told this story by the author instead of reading it as a book.

I like the emphasis on helping friends here and the illustrations are a lot of fun. Really, the whole premise is fun–a cat who is a superhero and helps cats with fashion emergencies? What’s not to love? I was also happy to see the inclusion of a lot of boy characters instead of keeping the book girly and fashion-centric. Fashion does, obviously, play a role but it’s also just a vehicle to help people out.

T-shirts and marshmallow art  play a role in the story and Harper even provides craft ideas at the end of the book making this one the full package. With the humor, short chapters, and illustrations Fashion Kitty and the B.O.Y.S. is a great choice for fans of the series, reluctant readers, and anyone in between.

*A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher/author. (This is totally unrelated to the review and did not impact my opinion of the book, but thanks to Dema Neville for the lovely packaging of the said review copy which included the book as well as some marshmallows and yellow string–which as it turns out tie back to craft ideas at the back of the book.)

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Sound good? Find it on Amazon: Fashion Kitty and the B.O.Y.S.: (Ball of Yellow String)

Drink, Slay, Love: A Chick Lit Wednesday Review

Pearl is like a lot of sixteen-year-old girls. She likes to steal cars and drive too fast with her handsome, dangerous boyfriend Jadrien. She wears a lot of black. She is extremely flammable in direct sunlight.

Okay. Maybe Pearl isn’t exactly an average teenaged girl. But she is an average vampire. Completely ordinary and almost completely evil; Pearl is the perfect predator at the top of the food chain in her Connecticut town. And she is fine with that.

With the vampire king of New England coming soon for the annual fealty ceremony that marks the start of a vampire’s adulthood, it’s a good time to be a young vampire. Since her Family has been given the honor of hosting the king’s feast things are especially good for Pearl.

At least until the unicorn comes along and stabs her in the heart with his stupid sparkly horn.

But instead of dying a quick death, Pearl survives the attack. Not just that, she can now withstand sunlight. No one in her Family believes her about the unicorn (they are mythical creatures after all–even vampires know that), but even they can’t ignore her new resistance to daylight.

Within the king’s feast looming and no volunteers in sight, Pearl’s Family decides to take advantage of her newfound ability by enrolling her in high school. Securing the king’s feast should be easy with an entire high school of students to choose from, right?

Wrong, as it turns out.

Blending in among the human students is harder for a vampire than Pearl expected. Some students, like Bethany seem overly eager to befriend her. Others want to prove their dominance (unlikely). Then there’s Evan. The deliciously cute boy who Pearl can’t decide if she wants to bite or . . . not.

Torn between what her Family needs and what she actually wants, Pearl finds that after the unicorn incident nothing is black and white anymore. Maybe, just maybe, it’s time for things to change and maybe, just maybe, Pearl is the one to bring about those changes in Drink, Slay, Love (2011) by Sarah Beth Durst.

Filled with twists and turns, Drink, Slay, Love is fun new spin on vampires (and, of course, unicorns too). Durst stays true to traditional vampire mythology (Pearl does not sparkle) while also adding her own unique spin to these familiar mythical monsters.

Viewing high school through Pearl’s eyes brings a level of humor to the story as she evaluates teachers as potential threats and brings her predator mentality to cafeteria politics. (Think Katniss Everdeen walking the halls of Sweet Valley High.) What results, in addition to a satisfying urban fantasy, is a dryly fun commentary on the ins and outs of high school.

Durst aptly demonstrates her range as readers follow Pearl’s journey from scary vampire to something else entirely. There are, in fact, enough drastic changes throughout the course of the story that the opening for a sequel is very wide indeed. Drink, Slay, Love is a clever, entertaining book complete with a winning heroine readers will want to cheer for–albeit from a safe distance.

Possible Pairings: White Cat by Holly Black, Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins, Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough, Rampant by Diana Peterfreund, The Demon’s Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan, Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters by Natalie Standiford, Companions of the Night by Vivian Vande Velde

You can also read my exclusive interview with Sarah Beth Durst about Drink, Slay, Love starting October 27, 2011

**This book was acquired for review through the publisher/author

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Sound good? Find it on Amazon: Drink, Slay, Love

Wisdom’s Kiss: A Review

Princess Wisdom, known as Dizzy, does not much care for the staid and boring life of a princess. Tips does care much for the life a miller’s son with his brutish brothers in their small bucolic town. Fortitude, more often Trudy, could be perfectly content if only her foresight would let her.

When these three souls venture out to seek their fortunes their lives entwine in unexpected ways that could save the kingdom. Or bring it to ruins. With the help of a singular cat, Dizzy’s cunning grandmother, and just a tiny bit of magic everyone might get everything they never knew they always wanted in Wisdom’s Kiss (2011) by Catherine Gilbert Murdock.

Wisdom’s Kiss is an epistolary novel or sorts. Chapters alternate between play scenes, encyclopedia entries, excerpts from memoirs, diary entries and even letters (with cross-outs, misspellings and all).

Writing a novel in letters is a tricky thing. It offers the option to include many different writing styles as well as a variety of viewpoints. Sometimes it can also create a distance between the readers and the characters as the book  never, really, lets readers see the inner emotions of the characters. Such is the case here.

While Trudy and Ben were delightful characters with engaging storylines, it was very difficult to connect with Dizzy or Tips who are largely selfish and impulsive throughout the novel. Given the direction of the plot it was particularly frustrating to watch these two take the leading roles in the story. Other aspects of the book also seemed to enter the narrative far too late while also being abrupt–at which point Trudy really became the saving grace of the whole plot.

Wisdom’s Kiss is still a clever story with many fun twists on fairy tale characters (including Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and a certain boot-wearing feline) that will appeal to fans of fractured fairytales and retellings alike.

Possible Pairings: Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock*, The Game of Triumphs by Laura Powell, Sorcery and Cecelia by Patrica C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer, A Well-Timed Enchantment by Vivian Vande Velde

*Wisdom’s Kiss is a companion/follow-up to Princess Ben. Dizzy’s grandmother in Wisdom’s Kiss is the protagonist of Princess Ben which is about Ben’s own youth.

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Sound good? Find it on Amazon: Wisdom’s Kiss