fairy tales – Page 3

Marshmallow reviews Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

Marshmallow enjoys reading stories that take familiar fairy tales and twist them in various ways to see what will happen. See her reviews of School for Good and Evil: Quests for Glory and School for Good and Evil: A Crystal of Time by Soman Chainani, and A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz. Below she reviews another such book: Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, first published in 1997 and awarded a Newberry Honor in 1998.

Marshmallow’s quick take: If you like books that twist classic fairy tales like Cinderella and Snow White, then this might be the book for you.

Marshmallow’s Summary (with spoilers): Ella of Frell has a big secret. She has to do everything that everyone tells her to. Lucinda, the fairy, gave Ella the “gift” of obedience when she was a baby. The “gift” of obedience makes Ella do everything that anyone tells her to do. If someone told her to cut off her own head, she would have to do it.

Anyone could control me with an order. It had to be a direct command, such as “Put on a shawl,” or “You must go to bed now”. A wish or a request had no effect. I was free to ignore “I wish you would put on a shawl,” or “Why don’t you go to bed now?” but against an order, I was powerless. If someone told me to hop on one foot for a day and a half, I’d have to do it. And hopping on one foot wasn’t the worst order I could be given.

But soon her mother dies and she is left without a mother and with a father who she thoroughly dislikes. During her mother’s funeral, she meets a prince named Charmont. They become friends. Then Ella meets Dame Olga and her horrific daughters. And even worse her father marries Dame Olga whose two daughters, Hattie and Olive, start treating Ella badly. Hattie soon discovers that Ella needs to obey orders and so then Dame Olga, Olive, and Hattie start treating Ella like a slave. (Sounds like Cinder-Ella, with her evil stepmother and step-sisters, doesn’t it?)

The rest of the story intertwines parts of the standard Cinderella fairy tale (she does lose her slipper at a palace ball) with some new ideas (the fairy who “gifted” her with obedience, for example). In the end there is love and happiness, so there it is quite like a fairy tale. But I won’t tell you how things get resolved. You just might have to read the book (or watch the movie, I guess…)

Marshmallow’s Review: This is a very good book that makes you think about how we are so lucky to be able to say no. If a fairy had given me the “gift” of obedience, it would be very bad if I could not say no to an order such as to cut off my head. It must have been scary to be in constant danger. If someone found out that you had to listen to any thing that anybody tells you to do. (Now that I’m thinking about it, maybe Ella could have asked someone to order her to not listen to commands unless she wanted to. I wonder if that would have worked.)

Ella Enchanted is a great book that makes you think about how we can just say no. Ella is a fifteen year old who acts normally and is not as flawless as in the fairy tale Cinderella. The characters, Lucinda, Hattie, and Olive are really quite despicable and are easily disliked. (I really disliked Hattie and Lucinda sometimes.)

Marshmallow’s rating: 95%

Marshmallow rates Ella Enchanted 95%. — Marshmallow rates *Ella Enchanted* 95%.

Marshmallow reviews A Crystal of Time by Soman Chainani (Book 5 of The School for Good and Evil series)

Last week Marshmallow reviewed Quests for Glory, the fourth book of Soman Chainani’s School for Good and Evil series. Today she writes about her thoughts on the fifth book: A Crystal of Time.

Marshmallow reviews The School for Good and Evil: A Crystal of Time by Soman Chainani. — Marshmallow reviews *The School for Good and Evil: A Crystal of Time* by Soman Chainani.

Marshmallow’s quick take: If you like books about fantasy, twisted fairy tales, and Soman Chainani’s books, then you will enjoy this book! If you haven’t read the first four books of the School for Good and Evil series though, then you might want to read them first.

“In the forest of primeval
A school for Good and Evil
Twin towers like two heads
One for the pure
And one for the wicked
Try to escape you’ll always fail,
The only way out is
Through a fairytale.”

It all began in The School for Good and Evil, Soman Chainani’s first novel. This was a school of fairy tales, where witches and princesses, warlocks and princes were trained. In the end a select few would become the heroes and the villains of future storybooks. The tales would be recorded by a magical pen, The Storian. We learn about this whole world through the eyes and experiences of Agatha and Sophie, two friends whose destiny takes them to different places and brings them back together.

The first book is followed by A World Without Princes, where witches and princesses are friends, and warlocks and princes become accomplices. The dividing line now becomes gender, instead of good versus evil.

The third book of the series, The Last Ever After, reorganizes the world of the School, and Sophie and Agatha have many new adventures.

The fourth book, Quests for Glory, started the Camelot Years. If you want to learn about the book, see my review from last week.

This review is about the fifth book of the hexalogy.

Marshmallow’s summary (with spoilers): When “King” Rhian puts a bounty on her head, Agatha is on the run. With her true love about to be executed, her best friend forced to be the “king’s” queen at the tip of a knife, and everyone else who could help her in prison, Agatha has nowhere to go. That is, until she meets her wild-haired canary-like Beautification teacher who takes her on stymph to the School for Good and Evil. (A stymph is a ginormous bird with no skin or flesh. It is practically a skeleton that is alive.)

The students there are all first years and have barely unlocked their finger glows. (Every student at the School for Good and Evil has a finger glow that is a unique color. For example Agatha and Tedros’ finger glows are different shades of gold, while Sophie’s is hot pink.) In other words, they are not very good at magic yet, but they are still eager to help Agatha rescue Tedros and the rest of the rebels.

Agatha and her accomplices are eventually able to save their friends, but some people are left behind, including Sophie. The rebels go back to save them and do so, but at a cost. Clarrisa Dovey, the dean of Good, who was Agatha’s godmother, dies, and is finally reunited with her true love, Lady Lesso, the deceased dean of Evil. (Lady Lasso was murdered by her blood-thirsty son, Aric, in The Last Ever After.)

But during the time Sophie was at Camelot, she discovered that Rhian and his twin Japeth are not only trying to be the king of Camelot but of the world. They plan to do this by destroying the Storian’s hundred rings that secure the very life of the Endless Woods. By the time the whole rebel team learns about this, there is only three left and time is running out. Will they be able to stop Rhian and Japeth before it is too late?

Marshmallow is studying the crystal of time.

Marshmallow’s Review: The longest of the series so far (624 pages!), this was a great read! My new favorite character is Nicola, a first year, who saves the lives of Agatha and her friends many times. Agatha’s cat is pretty cool, too. He’s funny. And if you’re wondering, Sophie is not as bad in this book as she used to be, but she’s still annoying.

This book answered some open questions from previous books, and posed a lot more new ones. Can’t wait for the sixth and final book!

Marshmallow’s rating: 100%

Marshmallow rates A Crystal of Time 100%. — Marshmallow rates *A Crystal of Time* 100%.

Marshmallow reviews School for Good and Evil: Quests for Glory by Soman Chainani

Before digging into the fifth book of the School for Good and Evil series by Soman Chainani, Marshmallow reviews the fourth book: School for Good and Evil: Quests for Glory.

Marshmallow’s quick take: If you like twisted versions of fairytales or books by Soman Chainani, then this might be the book for you. If you did not read any of the first three books in the School for Good and Evil series, you can still enjoy this one, but I would definitely recommend reading the previous books before reading this.

The third book of the series, The Last Ever After, reorganizes the world of the School, and Sophie and Agatha have many new adventures.

This is the fourth book in the series.

Marshmallow’s summary (with spoilers): After graduating from the School for Good and Evil, Agatha and Sophie think that their story is finished. Sophie as Dean of Evil and Agatha as the future queen of Camelot seems like the perfect ending. But their story is not over, the Snake has yet to strike.

We learn about the story of the Lion and the Snake from Agatha:

“Once upon a time there was a beautiful new kingdom without a king.” The Lion and The Snake stepped up to be the king. To decide who would be king, there was an election. Those who thought that a king should be clever voted for the Snake and those who thought a king should be strong voted for the Lion. It was a tie. “And so the Eagle was brought in to make the final choice, since he flew high above and saw the world in a way no one else could.” The Eagle asked them a question, “If you were king, would the Eagle be subject to your rule?” The Lion said yes, the Snake said no. The Eagle chose the Snake.

That night the Snake with his minions ambushed the Eagle and his clan and killed them all. The Lion and his comrades were too late to save the Eagles. As the Lion was about to kill him, the Snake uttered the following:

“You dare not kill a king. The Eagle chose me because he wanted freedom. He got that freedom. What happened after does not change the Truth. The throne is mine. I am your king. Just because you do not like the Truth does not mean that you can replace it with a Lie. And if you kill me, your new king will be a Lie. Kill me and I shall return to take my crown.”

Tedros, whose destiny is to be the king of Camelot, can’t pull the sword Excalibur out of the stone. His faithful knight Chaddick lies on the shores of Avalon, betrayed by the Lady of the Lake and killed by the Snake. The Quests of all the fourth years fail seconds after Chaddick’s death; there is now a new Quest: Defeat the Snake. Once they begin the new Quest, the Storian begins writing a new story.

Marshmallow’s Review: The plot, as you can see from the above, is kind of complicated. But once you get into it, the story is captivating. The author is extremely successful in evoking strong emotions from the readers about the characters (I hate Sophie sometimes!) If you read the first three books, expect a surprising ending!

Marshmallow’s rating: 100%

Marshmallow rates Quests for Glory 95%. — Marshmallow rates Quests for Glory 100%.

Marshmallow reviews A Tale Dark and Grimm, by Adam Gidwitz

In her third review Marshmallow shares her thoughts on A Tale Dark & Grimm, by Adam Gidwitz.

Marshmallow reviews A Tale Dark & Grimm, by Adam Gidwitz. — Marshmallow reviews *A Tale Dark & Grimm*, by Adam Gidwitz.

Marshmallow’s quick take: This is the story of Hansel and Gretel but not the version we are accustomed to. Though it is a scary book, it is a great read. Definitely not for younger kids though; too bloody!

“Reader: beware. Warlocks with deadly spells, hunters with deadly aim, and bakers with ovens retrofitted for cooking children lurk within these pages. But if you dare, turn the page and learn the true story of Hansel and Gretel — the story behind (and beyond) the breadcrumbs, edible houses, and outwitted witches. Come on in. It may be frightening, it’s certainly bloody, and it’s definitely not for the faint of heart, but unlike those other fairy tales you know, this one is true.”

Marshmallow’s summary (with spoilers): After having their heads cut off by their father, the king of Grimm, and coming back to life because someone puts their heads back in their places, Hansel and Gretel run away in fear that their father will decapitate them again and next time they may not be so lucky. Their escape turns into a failure; they face problem after problem and they seem to be cursed. (They are actually cursed.)

They travel from town to town and village to village in search for good parents. While in search for good parents, Gretel and Hansel go through many challenges. like losing a finger and nearly being killed by a warlock (Gretel) and being gambled away to the devil and disguising as the devil’s grandma (Hansel).

But when they hear rumors about a dragon wrecking the kingdom of Grimm and hiding in a human body to stay unseen, they decide that it is time to go home to Grimm. They have to save the kingdom! But someone very close to them has been taken over by the dragon. Someone who they had known for their whole life. Should they kill the infected person or not? Save the kingdom but lose one of their closest family members? You can find out in A Tale Dark & Grimm.

Marshmallow’s Review: This was a great read, but it is not, I repeat, it is NOT for children younger than seven. The narrator says himself many times not to let younger children read it.

The author writes little notes that foreshadow what will happen, like in Chapter 5: A Smile As Red As Blood. (A Smile As Red As Blood is about how Gretel falls in love with a man, who turns out to be a warlock, who invites girls to his house and kills them and after that eats them for supper. I already told you the book is really bloody!)

“No, of course it can’t. The moon can eat children, and fingers can open doors, and people’s heads can be put back on. But rain? Talk? Don’t be ridiculous. Good thinking, Gretel dear. Good thinking. ”

Though this is a scary book it is a great read. It is the original story of Hansel and Gretel, plus extra added. Instead of killing the witch who lives inside an edible house, they find a baker inside, who tries to eat them. There are gambling dukes and talking ravens that see the future and warlocks who like to cook young women.

Marshmallow’s rating: 90%.

Marshmallow rates A Tale Dark & Grimm 90%. — Marshmallow rates *A Tale Dark & Grimm* 90%.