"Entwined" Literary Review

Entwined by Heather Dixon
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I don't really know where to begin on this review, simply because this book didn't really affect me that much. Which is the most tragic thought concerning a book! I'd rather hate a book because it has evoked correlating emotions, instead of just having a blah or "okay" feeling.

Let's compile a list:

1) Azalea, our protagonist, is the eldest, aka the leader, of her twelve sisters... And they ALL happen to be too whiny for my taste.

2) Why do they all have awkward names? Azalea, Bramble, Clover, Delphinium, etc... WHY?!

3) There's a family drama issue that I won't reveal for fear of spoilers, but this issue is remnant throughout the book and never seems to be resolved until the actual resolution. I felt like that young adult readers would absorb this issue and could even entice rebellion within readers themselves. As a teacher, I want students to discover lessons from literature, and even though the primary idea would be to detect that there is an issue, some readers may not grasp this.

4) The plot is quite simple, but does introduce complicated twists that don't seem to be delivered fluidly... Keeper is our antagonist, and we don't fully realize that he's a bad guy until it's too late... (SURPRISINGLY, much like the princesses themselves).

5) The original fairytale is one to encourage love, yet the love story is dismal. I definitely wanted more!



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"Princess of the Midnight Ball" Literary Review

Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What an interesting and delightful take on a traditional fairytale! At first, I vaguely remember the story of the Twelve Dancing Princesses (often who go just for sport), but George's tale made me delve into a fantasy that was so enjoyable that I didn't want to put it down.

Galen is a soldier who has just returned home from war and is a new employee at the castle where twelve young princesses live. In the gardens he is tending, he meets Rose, the eldest princess, who just conveniently happens to take his breath away. But Rose and her sisters have a secret.... Why do they have worn out dancing slippers every morning? Furthermore, why are strange things beginning to happen in the kingdom? Galen is the only one who wants to figure it out in order to save Rose, her sisters and their kingdom.

I loved this book simply because not only did I feel like I was living through a fairytale, but rather a young adult adventure that had fairytale affiliations. I was constantly wondering about the curse that the princesses were under, as well as the development of the characters and the magical plot that surrounded them. Finally, there was a well crafted love story, that even if you knew the fairytale beforehand, you were still entertained at how it played out.

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