Bout of Books!!

So, as some of you might know/remember, I'm a bit of a read-a-thon junkie. I totally love them and when I have time, I do awesome. But in January, I started a new job, one that takes up a significantly larger portion of my time and energy than any other job I've had before (and the fact that I have to drive for 40+ min just to get to work doesn't help much). So, I'm still trying to figure out how to balance job with fun with books with life with not coming home and crashing the second I walk through the door.

I haven't participated in a read-a-thon in ages. I almost cried when I realized in the middle of a Saturday that it was the Dewey 24 hour read-a-thon, I had had no idea it was happening, and I still had to work. It was pretty tragic. So, I'm *hoping* that this week, I will be able to successfully participate in the Bout of Books Read-a-thon!

Normally, for a week long read-a-thon, my goal would be in the double digits. (I mean, seriously. I've read 10 before for the Dewey Read-a-thon in one day.) BUT. I'm being realistic here. Considering that I've only read 18 books this whole year (2 of which are picture books, 2 are Calvin and Hobbes and 2 are graphic novels I read standing up in Barnes and Noble while on a lunch break) I think I'm being plenty ambitious hoping for one book a day (and even that might be a stretch right now).

The Read-a-thon goes from Monday to Sunday, so I'm hoping to read 7 books. And, I'm really going to have to try and push. So any words of encouragement here or on Twitter are greatly appreciated. I definitely need some extra mojo to get me back into the habit of reading! (and blogging, but that's a different post...)

My potential read-a-thon reads:

After the Snow by S.D. Crockett
Freshman Year and Other Natural Disasters by Meredith Zetlin
The Photo Album by K.B. Dixon
Karma by Cathy Ostlere (verse novels FTW)
Triangles by Ellen Hopkins (see above)
Lexapros and Cons by Aaron Karo
In Honor  by Jessi Kirby (see- reading funk... I've been dying for this book for ages but haven't read it yet. :( )
Black Juice by Margo Lanagan (Printz Honor book)
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
The Dirt by Lori Culwell
Liar by Justine Larbalestier

Hopefully, I will remember to come update my progress. Well, really, hopefully there will be progress! :P

Anyone else participating? I'd love to hear from you! Good luck to you! (And to me! :) )

Review: The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy

Ever wonder about who Prince Charming really was? What his story actually is? In so many of the classic tales, we hear very little about who Prince Charming really is. We know the basics of their actions- fought his way through a massively huge hedge to kiss a sleeping princess, stumbled across a chick in a coffin & stole it, climbed up lots of hair, only to be tossed out of the tower, etc. but we really aren't given very much information about the actual prince. Fairy tales tend to focus on the evil and the maiden and the deeds of the prince, but very little else.

The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy is that story. Who are these princes? What are their names? Their personalities? Healy has taken those bare boned details and created a delightfully entertaining story about who these princes really are and what happens after the "happily ever after".

This is the perfect middle grade book and if I had read this when I was a kid, I would have inhaled it. Which is not to say that I didn't like it now. On the contrary! I found it to be perfectly entertaining. The story itself wasn't without it's flaws (mostly that some of the princes real personalities totally annoyed me...) but the book was just... so perfectly readable and entertaining.

Even when they drove me crazy, I loved seeing a real side to these heroes who had previously often been demoted to nothing but a kiss and a title. My favorite was Prince Liam and that's all I'm going to say because I think these are characters that are best discovered on your own. Each of the characters in this novel start in one place and end in another that demonstrates growth as a person, but doesn't take away from who they actually are. I love that. I love seeing characters learn from their mistakes and the mistakes of others, sacrifice what they want for what's best for others and just become better people.

The princesses aren't exactly what they appear to be in the original tales either. They are also given their own unique personalities and attributes (some good, some most assuredly not...) The side characters were also a lot of fun. I loved Liam's little sister Lila, the bounty hunter, the Bandit King and his group of bandits and the Trolls. Oh my goodness, the Trolls! They might possibly be my favorite part of the story. Seriously.

The book is told by a narrator, talking directly to the reader, who already knows the whole story and sometimes gets ahead of him/herself. I'm not normally a fan of that body-less/nameless narrator talking at me from the pages, but in this story, it worked. I never felt annoyed or pulled out of the story because of the narrator and I actually loved his little hints and nudges and secrets that the heroes really should know, but didn't.

I am so not doing this book justice. This review is all over the place, for which I apologize, but there is just so much going on in this book and it's just so fun and funny and charming (ya, I said it. So what). But really. You need to go out and read this book. If you like fairy tales, read it. If you like the funny and absurdly ridiculous, read it. If you know a kid (boy or girl) who likes action and bumblers and heroes and fun and awesome princesses, then go buy it/read it/share it. It's a book that I think has something to offer to everyone. Not everyone is going to love it, but I'll wager most everyone will definitely enjoy it.

It's the beginning of a new series. But it ends well. There is no cliffhanger, no annoyance when you turn the last page. If you wanted this novel to be it, you could read this one as a stand alone and be happy. But let's be honest. It's me we are talking about. I'm for sure going to be eagerly anticipating the next installment of these heroes Princes. And, I fully intend to pass this book along to my little brothers who I definitely think will just love this one!

Oh ya. And also... The illustrations? Fabulous. Like, seriously. Ashley is in love.

Check out the awesome guest post from Christopher during Fairy Tale Fortnight!
And here is a link to an excerpt with illustrations I posted!

*Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the awesome folks at Walden Pond Press in exchange for an honest review. And it is.

FTF Giveaway from author Regina Doman!

Alright Fairy Tale fans! My last giveaway comes from author Regina Doman! She has generously offered a copy of any one the books in her fairy tale series to one lucky winner!

Her series, A Fairy Tale Retold, covers several different fairy tale favorites. With five books in the series, Regina's stories retell the  1001 Tales, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Snow White and Rose Red and The Twelve Dancing Princesses. 

These books have been on my wishlist for a long time. I haven't read any of them yet, but I've been eyeing them for over 3 years now.

These books are each set in the modern world and use modern teenagers to tell these fairy tales.

Regina has been generous enough to offer the book of choice to one lucky winner within the US, UK, Europe, or Australia. And, if the winner is from the US, the book of your choice will be signed!

To enter- Leave a comment with which book you would pick if you are the winner! And, why not tell us which fairy tale you would love to see a retelling of next!

AND head on over to The Book Rat for an interview with Regina!!

FTF Review! The Sweetest Spell by Suzanne Selfors

The Sweetest Spell by Suzanne Selfors is a book that I hadn't even heard of until Misty and her magic fairy tale fortnight fingers managed to get a copy sent to my house. I read the synopsis and thought it sounded super...weird (escaped death because of a cow?! Churns milk into chocolate?! Chocolate conquers all?!) but then, I noticed at the very top, where it says "re-telling of The Ugly Duckling" and I was like, Oh! WIN!

This is quite a charming little book and I was actually quite impressed with much of the writing and the imagery and the feel of the story. It didn't quite have that magical something that makes you feel a fairy tale, but it was close and I found myself enjoying the story immensely.

Without giving too much away for fear of spoilers, I will say that the villian and the climax of this book were a disappointment to me. I don't think we need a detailed back story from our bad guy to make us understand why/how they are in a fairy tale retelling. But they do need a motive. Even if that motive is just- I'm evil and I know it... But in this book, I never really got the motive. I mean, I understood the superficial motive, but it didn't really... fit right to me. (It's really hard to explain this without just spoiling everything.)

There were a also few moments that felt rushed and a few characters that seemed to change halfway through, like the Peddler. Some of him I understood, but I felt like the author tried too hard to allow him to make an about face that wasn't really there. (You don't grin maniacally when you stab someone if you are really just a good person at heart...)

But other than wishing for a bit more character development in certain places and a slightly more sensical ending, this was definitely a book I enjoyed reading. Once I started reading, something about the writing was compelling enough to make me want to keep turning pages. There was never that insane rush to get to the end of the story because the action is so intense you just have to have to have to know what's going to happen next. Instead, it was just a gentle pull that kept me turning the pages, reading along. Which, considering how important cows are to this story and the way that cows move, feels like the absolute perfect pacing for this story.

I thought that most of the interactions involving Emmaline were done very well. The author really shows how deep rooted and damaging prejudices are and Emmaline has to face a lot of them, from the people in her village who scorned her, to the people in the rest of the kingdom who despise her and her people, to those so overcome with greed they see nothing of her except her magical ability to create chocolate, the thing they desire and crave more than any other. She is a strong character, one determined to remain true to herself no matter what happens and no matter what she's up against. And I loved watching her sense of self and purpose grow.

The story itself is full of the usual fairy tale fare- a damsel in distress, a quest, crimes again the King/Queen, lies, betrayal, false reports, true love, and etc. but Selfors always managed to infuse her own spin and her own touch to every part of the story. The basic fairy tale predictability was there, but nothing about this story felt like I was reading the same old thing. The fairy tale was buried underneath an original story and I truly enjoyed it. Is it the best book I've ever read? No. But it's definitely one I enjoyed and definitely one that's going to need to sit it beautiful hardcover on my fairy tale shelf.

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FTF Post- Fairy Tales and Scenic Design

As I've mentioned on the blog a time or two before, I come from a theater family. I'm pretty sure if you cut certain family members open they would bleed drama. My dad has been involved in every facet of theater but his real passion is technical design. His current job allows him to design sets, costumes and lighting designs. He's also a phenomenal artist and painter. I'm talking about him today because a few years ago, he was involved in the set design for Into the Woods, which is one of my favorite fairy tale mash-ups. It's what happened to all these beloved characters after the "Happily Ever After" that apparently, wasn't so perfect as it seemed.

He recently started a blog talking about his theater designs. He posted about his set design for Into the Woods, which I'll link here, because there is no way I can adequately summarize that, but I wanted to post a few pictures from it because it's a fairy tale, it was a fabulous set, and I totally helped paint it :)


 If you are interested in reading more about how he designed this (and other) sets, you can definitely check out his new blog- The Theatrical Designs of Gary Benson and you can also check out his webshots portfolio. 

FTF Review! Enchanted by Alethea Kontis

Enchanted by Alethea Kontis was my absolute most anticipated release for 2012. I saw the cover on Goodreads and left that window open for days so that I could stare at the cover and quietly covet this book in the comfort of my own home. And then Misty and I started talking about Fairy Tale Fortnight part duex and she was just as crazy excited about this book as I was. And I can't tell you how happy I am that not only did we both manage to get our hands on a copy to review for FTF, but Alethea also participated in the greatness that is FTF. (Check out her awesome giveaway pack!)

I haven't been reading anything lately for a lot of reasons, but I read this book in a day and was reminded why I love reading so much. This wasn't a perfect book, but it was just so delightfully... delightful that I can't stop smiling every time I think about it.

Seriously. There was so much fairy tale awesome packed into one book! I mean, really. From the very first chapter you stumble into so many different allusions and hints and blatant discussions of so many different fairy tales, some well known, some not so well known, that it fair to made my heart sing.

Before I get into more of what I thought of the book, I wanted to make one point. There is a lot in this book that could potentially be annoying or aggravating to some. During last years Fortnight, I posted about Why I Always Forgive My Fairy Tales. And that applies very much to this story here. There are parts of the story that are predictable, parts of the story that happened too fast or too symmetrically to be fully realistic or believable (magic numbers 3 and 7 pop up a lot in this story). But I didn't care. Because it's a fairy tale and that automatically means I will love it just for existing, just for being what it is.

Sunday is our main character and she loves stories and words and writing (girl after mine own heart, no?) She always carries with her a magical diary (a name day gift from her Fairy Godmother) that never runs out of pages. But Sunday generally sticks to the past because what she writes has a tendency to come true and she recognizes that this sort of power is not something to be played with. (And how refreshing is it to have a young character that nevertheless understands responsibility and the importance of power).

Sunday has a large and varied family and I loved that there was so much importance placed on family and relationships in this story. The characters aren't perfect and some of them make poor decisions or let old hurts fester, but there is still this deep bond, this strong assurance of love and affection and loyalty that runs through the entire family and I loved that this was a family, not without their problems, but that was still warm and loving.

There were some moments when I felt that the author was trying just a little too hard to be mysterious and keep us from figuring out the secrets too soon. It made the passages confusing rather than intriguing and I thought it to be a bit overdone. But even with that and the previous warning aside, this was pretty much the perfect book for me to read right now. It was delightfully fun and I spent almost the entire time reading this book with a smile on my face. It's pretty clear from where the book went and how it ended that the author is hoping to write sequels with the other Woodcutter sisters (not to mention that she said it in her interview). And that's totally fine by me! Monsueir et Madame Publishers, if you choose to publish more of Kontis's Woodcutter family drama, you've got a guaranteed reader right here.

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FTF Interview with author Alethea Kontis!! AND GIVEAWAY!

Today's Fairy Tale Fortnight interview totally makes my day. Because it is with the author of my number one most anticipated release of 2012 and will be followed by a review of the book! I cannot even begin to describe how happy I am that Alethea, author of the soon to be released Enchanted agreed to be part of Fairy Tale Fortnight! So check out her awesome interview and then enter the giveaway of WIN that she is donating!

What do you make of the resurgence in popularity for fairy tales? (Once Upon a Time, Grimm, Mirror Mirror, Snow White and the Huntsmen, all within a very short time)? Do you see it as a trend that will sort of peter out, or is it just getting started?

J. R. R. Tolkien once said (and fairy tale scholar Jack Zipes agrees) that fairy tales were 100% guaranteed moneymakers. In these times of extreme economic crisis, doesn't it make sense to bet on a Sure Thing? Even Mama wouldn't disagree with that.

I believe this is a trend that started once upon a time in sixteenth-century Italy. We're definitely on the crest of a fairy tale tidal wave right now. I hope that wave continues for a very, very long time...or until we all live happily ever after. Whichever comes first.

What impact do you think fairy tales have on society (especially with the same tales popping up in various forms in every society)?

Over the years, fairy tales as a whole have been both teaching tools and "urban" legends at the same time. They are typically pro-cleverness, anti-laziness, and sometimes even end more realistically than happily. I think the more unadulterated fairy tales that children are read as part of their growing-up process, the more traditional values they will have, and the better off our society would be.

But we live in a world now where children are protected from such terribly, bloody things. Fairy tales are neutered and spoon-fed by Disney, and our children are reading Facebook news links before bedtime. Because THAT seems like the best way to mold our future society. *rolls eyes*

Book in a Tweet: Your fairy tale in 140 characters or less?

Every beloved fairy tale originated with the Woodcutter family. Enchanted is Sunday Woodcutter's story.

Favorite fairy tales: "The Goose Girl" and "Snow White & Rose Red."

Most underrated fairy tale? Every one that hasn't been made into a Disney film: "The Foundling," "Master Maid," "The Seven Swans," "The Little Match Girl," "Tom Thumb"...

Most overrated fairy tale? "Snow White." Every retelling of this tale concentrates so much on the evilness of the queen and not really Snow White herself. (The jury's still out on OUaT, but it's decidedly Regina-centric.) At the end of the Grimm tale, Snow White invites the queen to her wedding and makes her dance in red-hot iron shoes. Doesn't exactly fit the Lily White Mary Sue Princess she's always portrayed as, does it?

Last year we asked everyone’s fairy tale hero/heroine name; this year, we want to know your fairy tale villain name:

According to the online Fairy Tale Name Generator, I am EVIL STEPMOTHER. Ha! Is that even possible?

Using that name, give us a line from your villainous fairy tale:

"Once Upon a Time, a fairy godmother married a widowed prince with two lovely daughters. While the sun shone she was loving and kind, but when the sun set, she locked herself in the tower room and became THE EVIL STEPMOTHER."

If a genie granted you 3 wishes, what would they be?
1. That the Enchanted series continue on long enough for me to tell the stories of all seven Woodcutter sisters
2. That we all be doomed to a happy life
3. The genie's freedom (I am no fairy tale dummy!)

Best way to read fairy tales?

In bed, to a child. Fairy tales are all the more magical when told.

If one of your books was being turned into a movie and you could cast 1 character, which character would you cast and who would play them?

It's funny you should ask! I am a huge movie buff and a fan of many actors, not the least of which is Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje. I was writing the last half of Enchanted right about the same time they killed the character of Mr. Eko on the TV show Lost. I was furious! So furious, in fact, that I immediately resurrected him in my book...and thus, Jolicoeur was born. I would be tickled pink if someday a production company 1.) turned Enchanted into a film and 2.) cast Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Jolicoeur.

P.S.-- I kind of come off like I hate Disney in this, but I really don't .Well, okay..I sort of don't.
PPS -- I didn't really get to mention THE WONDERLAND ALPHABET -- it would be cool if perhaps you could find a way to sneak it in somehow. Stories like Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan are very much fairy tales to today's generation, I think.

What a fabulous interview! Seriously! LOVE! And would that I were a genie that I could grant your first wish! I would love to read more of the Woodcutter sister's stories! I absolutely loved the allusions to the various fairy tales!

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Alright! GIVEAWAY TIME!!

Because Alethea is MADE OF WIN she has donated an awesome gift basket full of Enchanted goodness and Fairy Tale win.

She has donated a finished, signed copy of Enchanted to one lucky winner along with other fun swag and surprise gifts.

TO ENTER: Use the Rafflecopter form below. There are extra entries available for commenting on Enchanted related posts on Ashley's blog- Basically Amazing Books, Misty's blog- The Book Rat and Bonnie's blog- A Backward's Story. The Rafflecopter widget is the same on all three blogs. You can enter through any of our blogs, but you must visit and comment on each individual post for the extra entries.

Giveaway is US only. Ends May 7th.

Visit:

Ashley's Blog          Misty's Blog          Bonnie's Blog