Book Review: Princess of the Midnight Ball

Princess of the Midnight Ball
by Jessica Day George
Returning from the war, a young soldier named Galen meets an old woman who asks for help. After Galen shares his meager food with her, she gives him gifts: a cloak that renders the wearer invisible, and two balls of wool: one white and one black. Galen has been a soldier his entire life, having grown up on the front, but now that the war is over he's headed to Bruch, the capital city of Westfalin, in hope of finding work with his mother's family.

In Bruch, Galen becomes an under-gardener in the palace. Galen soon learns that all is not well with the royal family: something is going on with the King's twelve daughters. They don't appear well, and every night their dancing slippers are worn out, in spite of being locked into their rooms. After a chance encounter with the oldest princess, Rose, Galen is determined to try to do something to help. But what can a lowly gardener possibly do against the supernatural forces threatening the princesses?

Princess of the Midnight Ball is a lovely retelling of the fairy tale of The Twelve Dancing Princesses. Jessica Day George doesn't break much new ground here - it follows the original fairy tale pretty closely - but she fills in the details nicely, making for an enjoyable read. Princess of the Midnight Ball is peopled with some interesting characters, most notably, the knitting soldier/gardener Galen. Day George explains in an afterword that far from being women's work, knitting used to be the exclusive province of men. In a fun twist, Day George also provides the knitting patterns for two of the items Galen makes in the story. I also liked that, rather than idly waiting to be rescued, the princesses did what they could to contribute to saving themselves.

With twelve princesses, creating distinct characters for each one is a difficult task, and I had trouble keeping them all straight. A few of the princesses stood out in my mind, but many of them blended together. Day George did an admirable job of giving them each individual personalities given the number of princesses and the short length of the book; I think the only way to really solve this problem would be to reduce the number of princesses, as Juliet Marillier did with Wildwood Dancing.

Overall, Princess of the Midnight Ball is a fun read that will be enjoyed by fans of fairy tale retellings.

Princess of the Midnight Ball will be released January 20, 2009.

Book Review: Out of the Wild

Out of the Wild
by Sarah Beth Durst

Twelve-year-old Julie Marchen’s home of Northboro, Massachusetts is still recovering from being taken over by the Wild, a mass of vines that is the withered remnant of the fairy tale world. Centuries ago, Julie’s mother Rapunzel led a rebellion against the Wild and helped all the fairy tale characters escape from the tyranny of being forced to live the same story over and over. After that, the Wild was reduced to a mass of vines that usually resides under Julie’s bed, until recently, when someone made a wish at the Wishing Well that helped the Wild to escape. Julie was able to defeat the Wild, but Northboro is still repairing the damage, and its residents are healing from the trauma they experienced while imprisoned in The Wild. Julie is glad that things are back to normal, but she can’t help feeling guilty about leaving her father in the Wild, and wondering if she did the right thing.

Then the Wild does something unexpected: it releases her father, with no warning and no explanation. Julie and Rapunzel are thrilled to have him back, but they can’t help being suspicious. Why did the Wild release him? It’s unlike the Wild to be generous; is this a trap?

Julie’s father is everything that she had dreamed, a real hero. Perhaps too much of a hero: when Sleeping Beauty (who is still asleep from her time in the Wild) is kidnapped, he sets off on a quest to rescue her, without concern for the consequences. As the situation gets worse and the Wild grows in strength, it becomes apparent that someone is behind it all. But why would anyone want the Wild to grow?

Out of the Wild is another great sequel that does what good sequels should do: it turns the assumptions from the first story upside-down, and provides a new and fresh perspective. We’ve seen the tyranny and the horrors of The Wild in Into the Wild. But is it possible that not everyone sees it that way? I don’t want to say too much and spoil the surprises, but this is a fresh and fun sequel that’s every bit as good as the original, maybe better.

The plot is exciting, engrossing, and well-paced, with a dash of humor for good measure. It’s touching watching Julie try to connect with the father she’s never known, except for a brief encounter, as the two of them learn how to relate to each other, and how to adjust to the difference between expectations and reality.

Out of the Wild will be published next Thursday, June 19.

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Sarah Beth Durst takes on Snow White and Rose Red

Sarah Beth Durst, author of Cybils Fantasy and Science Fiction finalist Into the Wild, has an ongoing feature on her blog where she posts obscure fairy tales with humorous commentary. Last week she posted a hilarious version of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale, Snow White and Rose Red. If you want a good laugh, check it out!

Book Review: Book of a Thousand Days

Book of a Thousand Days
by Shannon Hale

Book of a Thousand Days is a 2007 Cybils finalist.

On Dashti's first day as a Lady's maid, she finds herself bricked into a tower for seven years. Her Lady is sealed into the tower as punishment for refusing to marry her father's choice, and Dashti is sealed in with her to take care of her. At first, life in the tower isn't too bad. The tower is stocked with enough food to last seven years, which is supplemented by fresh milk brought by the guards. Dashti has known real hunger, so the prospect of plenty of food to eat for seven years is a good one. Dashti finds parchment and ink, so that she can write down her thoughts and keep a journal. And even though their only link to the outside world is a small flap for emptying their waste, they soon receive a visitor at the flap: Khan Tegus, a suitor for Lady Saren's hand.

Dashti is loyal and steadfast, and determined to do right by her Lady. But something is wrong with Lady Saren, and all the healing songs that Dashti knows can't seem to heal her. As Lady Saren sinks further into depression, rats invade the tower, food is running out, and something strange is going on in the world outside the tower. Things are getting desperate, but Dashti is just a simple mucker and a Lady's maid. What can she possibly do? In order to take care of her Lady, Dashti will have to make hard choices and find within herself the courage to do things that she never imagined she could do.

It's been a long time since I stayed up too late finishing a book, but I couldn't put this one down and I finished a little before 1 AM last night. Yes, it's that good. Why have I never read any of Shannon Hale's books before? Her writing is amazing, her use of language beautiful, her metaphors fresh, her characters engaging. I liked the way that the metaphors sometimes refer back to something earlier in the book. For example, when she compares thinking about something to chewing on tough meat, it recalls the earlier passage when they really were chewing on tough meat. In fact, that's true not only of the metaphors; I felt as if every passage in the book was carefully tied to every other passage.

Dashti narrates the book through a series of journal entries, and her voice is distinct and likable. She's just about the most selfless person you can imagine, and yet it's a genuine selflessness, not at all contrived. She's capable of anger and resentment, yet even when she feels those all too human emotions, she chastises herself. She knows her place; she's a commoner and her duty is to serve the gentry. And yet she's not a dishrag; she has an inner strength, and as the book progresses, she learns more and more to stand up for herself.

Lady Saren is everything Dashti isn't: selfish, weak, and fearful. She requires a lot of care. And yet, she, too, develops as the book progresses.

There's a lot of subtext about classes here. When Dashti first comes to the Lord's house to serve Lady Saren, she's a little afraid of meeting the gentry because she thinks the glory of the Ancestors will be so bright inside them that it will burn her eyes. But her encounters with gentry leave her wondering if they really are all that special. Yet, not all the gentry are evil or stereotyped, either.

There's romance, too. Oh, is there romance, with a nod to Cyrano de Bergerac, as Lady Saren orders Dashti to pretend to be her and talk to Khan Tegus through the flap. Dashti can barely admit her growing feelings for Khan Tegus even to herself; not only could they never be together even if he knew it was she and not Lady Saren he was talking to, but her life would be forfeit for impersonating gentry if he ever found out.

Book of a Thousand Days is based on one of Grimm's fairy tales, Maid Maleen, about a Lady and her maid sealed in a tower because the lady refused to marry a rich king. Shannon became interested in the maid and wanted to know more about her, yet she disappeared from the Grimm's story. So Shannon kept mulling it over and eventually wrote what become Book of a Thousand Days. She also imbued it with a lot of the culture of Mongolia, a region which she became interested in. You can find more background about Book of a Thousand Days on Shannon Hale's web site.

Book Review: Wildwood Dancing

Wildwood Dancing
by Juliet Marillier

Jena and her four sisters have a secret: every month at the full moon they travel to the Other Kingdom through a secret passage in their room. There, they spend the evening dancing and socializing with the various Folk of the Other Kingdom. It's a welcome release, but Jena knows that the Other Kingdom carries its own dangers, too. The girls keep themselves safe with a strict set of rules, and Jena is always on her guard.

Although the girls live in a world where women have little power, their father is unusual in his attitudes and treats the girls with respect and equality. Jena helps him keep the books for the business, and her sister Paula studies with the village priest. But when Father becomes ill, things are about to change for Jena and her sisters. Father must spend the winter in a warmer climate or risk death, and he leaves the girls, and particularly Jena, in charge of the home and business. But Jena finds herself in conflict with her cousin Cezar, who lives nearby. Cezar doesn't think that women should run a business or study intellectual pursuits, and he gradually begins to take charge of their affairs. Without Father to stand up to Cezar, the girls have no recourse.

Cezar blames the Folk of the Other Kingdom for his brother's death in the forest when they were children, and he is determined to destroy the forest and though it, the Other Kingdom. Meanwhile, Jena's older sister Tati is falling in love with one of the Night People, and Jena doesn't trust him. Jena is caught in the middle as she tries to save both Tati and the Other Kingdom and keep the girls' secret safe.

Wildwood Dancing got off to a slow start, and I wasn't sure that I was going to be able to read it. But by the time I was a couple of chapters into it, I was hooked and pretty much read the rest of it straight through. Although it's based on the story of the "Twelve Dancing Princesses," Wildwood Dancing is no fairy tale: it's a rich, complex story which explores themes of power, perception and forgiveness. Jena is a fascinating character with a complex personality. Although she is intelligent and strong-willed, she also makes mistakes, and those mistakes could have dangerous consequences. I wanted to slap her throughout most of the book, because I figured something out early on that it took her most of the book to find out. Cezar is also an interesting study in conflicts. Although you grow to detest him as the story progresses, you also feel sympathy for him. The other girls are less well developed and tend towards archetypes: the brainy one, the dreamy one, etc.

The book draws on Transylvanian folklore as well as some well-known fairy tales, and Marillier attempts to portray the Night People more in line with the traditional folklore rather than the modern conception of vampires. The book also touches on Transylvanian history and culture.

Wildwood Dancing is a beautifully written, exciting book that will appeal to teens who like exotic worlds, strong heroines, and a touch of romance.

Book Review: Into the Wild

Into the Wild
by Sarah Beth Durst

Julie is just an ordinary teen, except for a few tiny things. Like the fact that her mother is Rapunzel, her brother is Puss in Boots and her grandmother is a Wicked Witch. And where most teens might have dirty clothes under their bed, Julie has The Wild - a tangle of vines which is all that remains of the fairy tale world after the fairy tale characters escaped. The Wild may be confined, but it's not tame - it constantly seeks to find a way to escape and grow and take over. So when someone makes a wish, The Wild escapes, and chaos and mayhem ensue. Julie's mother and grandmother are missing in the Wild, along with many of the residents of the town. Julie ventures into The Wild to rescue her family. Julie has to try to find a way to defeat The Wild before she, too, becomes trapped in a fairy tale forever.

Into the Wild is an amazing, wild, romp of an adventure. There have been a spate of fairy tale related YA novels in recent years, but Into the Wild is a truly unique entry in the genre. Like many of the others, Into the Wild, is humorous: imagine Cinderella as a bottle-blond named Cindy, who drives an orange Subaru and wears clear plastic jelly shoes. But the humor isn't what distinguishes Into the Wild. What really sets it apart is that Durst truly gets - and truly conveys to the reader - the darkness in the old fairy tales, not only the obvious darkness of having to dance in red-hot iron shoes, but the darkness of happily ever after. Imagine being trapped in a destiny that you can't change, of being unable to determine your own course no matter what you do. It's that destiny that makes marrying the prince as horrifying a fate as being cooked in an oven. Into the Wild makes clear the difference between true happiness and happily-ever-after.

Julie is a wonderful protagonist. She's likable and spunky, smart and brave. She comes across as a real teen, which is crucial to set the contrast with the two-dimensional fairy tale world.

Durst is a talented writer and I think she has a bright future ahead of her (but hopefully not happily ever after!) The book has already received rave reviews from numerous other sources. I'll be looking forward to other books by her in the future.

Into the Wild will be released on June 21, 2007.