Book Review: The Princess Curse by Merrie Haskell

 Title: The Princess Curse by Merrie Haskell

Genre: Fantasy/Fairytale retelling

Length: 300+ pages

General Set Up: Reveka is an herbalist's apprentice in a castle with a curse - this book is essentially a retelling of the 12 Dancing Princesses, but with a spunky heron and a few twists and turns thrown in along the way.

Plot: At first Reveka's motivation for untangling the curse on Castle Sylvain revolves around the reward that would enable her getting her own personal herberary. However, as more things come to light about the curse, her motives shift and change (yay for character growth!). One downside to this is that it takes a little while for the action to get going. But once it does, the pay-off is well worth it.

Characters: I can't talk in depth about all the characters because *spoilers,* but I will say that Merrie Haskell does a great job building a dynamic cast. Less time is spent on physical appearances, but more on the character's actual personality and perspective on the world. I would say it's a fair trade. Reveka herself is an entertaining and capable narrator for the store. As she is an herbalist, the reader also gets her input on 15th century herb lore, which is a fun touch.

Ending: As I said, once the action gets started, the payoff is worth the wait. The ending of "The Princess Curse" does well to resolve most of the problems by the last page. There are still a few (okay, a lot) of questions I have unanswered, but then at least I get to come up with my own answers.

Things to Watch For: The book sets an interesting dynamic for it's moral compass. Reveka was raised in a convent and has a background in the church. There is also instances of herbal folk lore, a little witch craft, and mentions of a fractured Underworld with Greek mythology/Universalistic undertones.

Other Media: Merrie Haskell has written other books, but none others that I know of set in Reveka's world.

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Book Review: Fairest by Gail Carson Levine

Book: Fairest by Gail Carson Levine

Genre: Fantasy/fairytale retelling

Length: 300+ pages

General Setup: Aza is a girl with a beautiful voice, but a not so beautiful face in a kingdom where both are highly valued. She grows up as an innkeeper's daughter, but life soon changes when, through a chance happening she attends the King's wedding and is blackmailed into becoming the new queen's lady in waiting.

Characters: The book is told through Aza's limited perspective. The characters are well fleshed out, but some intrigue is kept - sometimes I wonder what other characters are thinking. I liked (and also hated) the main antagonist. The author does a good job of making you hate them, but also feel sorry for them because they have to live with themselves.

Plot: The book is based loosely on the tale of Snow White, although the world and culture are entirely the author's. I say based loosely, because while all the main characters of the story are present (a girl with raven hair and red lips, a queen, a magic mirror, a prince, a huntsman, and dwarves, or in our case gnomes) the story of the book less follows the plot of Snow White and more incorporates it's elements while adding other devices and structures to tell a unique story. One of the elements the book relies on to set itself apart are the songs written in the book (no music, just lyrics). These add to the world building and help the reader to imagine the setting the author is working to create. One of the main themes of Fairest is how it touches upon body image and beauty standards. 

Ending: The ending of Fairest ties the book up pretty well. I appreciated the small, but adequate glimpse into the future the epilogue gives the reader. Not everything is divulged, be we get enough to get a picture of what will happen. The falling action of the book itself had a few sudden events that I was not expecting, but I have nothing to complain about.

Other Media: Gail Carson Levine has written many other fairytale-esque books (even a book on how to write books!). All of them are worth checking out, especially "Ella Enchanted," a companion book to "Fairest." 

Similar Books: If you are interested in fairytale retellings where the heroine defies society's standards, check out "Golden" by Cameron Dokey. It is a retelling of Rapunzel, expect Rapunzel has alopecia and no hair!

7 Reasons to Watch "March Comes in Like a Lion"

1. The show doesn't shy away from tough subjects.

2. The character growth!!

3.The quirky style.

4. Focus on character relationships vs. 'sports'

5. The characters don't win every time.

6. Great use of metaphors.

7. Stellar OP's and ED's

Go watch "March Comes in Like a Lion!"

Let us know in the comments if you do watch it, and what other anime recommendations you might have.

 

Anime Review: March Comes in Like a Lion