I was excited about this book because of the huge popularity of Alex Flinn's previous fairy tale book, Beastly, which had boys and girls clamoring for it at my middle school. This one is the story of Sleeping Beauty set in modern times. The princess Talia has been asleep for 300 years when a modern slacker teen named Jack finds the hidden kingdom of Euphrasia and decides to kiss the beautiful girl he finds there. Of course, she wakes up in the 21st century to a lot of problems—mainly that her father the king is furious with her. She runs off to Florida with Jack, who doesn't actually like the spoiled princess, and there suddenly becomes diplomatic and kind and brings out a new side in the formerly unmotivated Jack. Normally I can suspend my disbelief and just enjoy fairy tale stories, but I never got into this one. I thought both Talia and Jack changed rather suddenly and their romance seemed forced. And the return to Euphrasia seemed like a tacked on ending that didn't fit with the rest of the story. It wasn't a terrible book—I'm sure that some fairy tale fans will enjoy it—but I didn't find it as satisfying as Beastly or some of my other favorite fairy tale novels. And one more complaint—I am tired of middle school fiction containing scenes of wild drunken high schoolers partying. It's fine in a book like Speak where it's integral to a serious plot, but I just don't think it's necessary in every story about teenagers.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn
I was excited about this book because of the huge popularity of Alex Flinn's previous fairy tale book, Beastly, which had boys and girls clamoring for it at my middle school. This one is the story of Sleeping Beauty set in modern times. The princess Talia has been asleep for 300 years when a modern slacker teen named Jack finds the hidden kingdom of Euphrasia and decides to kiss the beautiful girl he finds there. Of course, she wakes up in the 21st century to a lot of problems—mainly that her father the king is furious with her. She runs off to Florida with Jack, who doesn't actually like the spoiled princess, and there suddenly becomes diplomatic and kind and brings out a new side in the formerly unmotivated Jack. Normally I can suspend my disbelief and just enjoy fairy tale stories, but I never got into this one. I thought both Talia and Jack changed rather suddenly and their romance seemed forced. And the return to Euphrasia seemed like a tacked on ending that didn't fit with the rest of the story. It wasn't a terrible book—I'm sure that some fairy tale fans will enjoy it—but I didn't find it as satisfying as Beastly or some of my other favorite fairy tale novels. And one more complaint—I am tired of middle school fiction containing scenes of wild drunken high schoolers partying. It's fine in a book like Speak where it's integral to a serious plot, but I just don't think it's necessary in every story about teenagers.
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2 comments:
Couldn't agree more about the high school partying. Don't forget the gratuitous sex, either. And good girl goes nuts over bad boy -- I read on another blog today a wish for a good BOY going for a bad girl! That would be interesting. A middle school daughter of a friend of mine loves all kinds of fantasy fiction and has loved "Sea Clearwater," by Selene Cardenas. Not a bad boy, but of course some evil creatures to spice things up, as well as more gentle ones, good vs. evil, wizards, fairies, etc. The author is at work in the next one, and my friend's daughter can't wait.
Forgot to mention that I'll have to check with my friend about the two books you talk about, especially "Beastly!"
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