Princess Annabelle's older sister, Gwendolyn, is given the magical gift of beauty while Annie has been made impervious to magic of all kinds, a gift that proves to be quite valuable in the end, though Annie can't help but feel like the plain little sister next to Gwennie's overwhelming beauty. She lives with her family and many pets in Maryland.I found one review from Kirkus Reviews:Ī clever twist on a selection of fairy tales from "Sleeping Beauty" to "Rapunzel" shines a realistic light on these classics, questioning whether magic is always a good thing. " Baker is also the author of Wings: A Fairy Tale. Baker is the author of The Tales of the Frog Princess series, including The Frog Princess, which was in part the inspiration for the December 2009 Disney movie " The Princess and the Frog. and perhaps even find a true love of her own.Į. She must find Gwen's true love to kiss her awake.īut who is her true love? The irritating Digby? The happy-go-lucky Prince Andreas, who is holding a contest to find his bride? The conniving Clarence, whose sinister motives couldn't possibly spell true love? Joined by one of her father's guards, Liam, who happened to be out of the castle when the sleeping spell struck, Annie travels through a fairy tale land populated with characters both familiar and new as she tries to fix her sister and her family. When Gwennie pricks her finger and the whole castle falls asleep, only Annie is awake, and only Annie-blessed (or cursed?) with being impervious to magic-can venture out beyond the rose-covered hedge for help. In this new stand-alone fairy tale, Princess Annie is the younger sister to Gwen, the princess destined to be Sleeping Beauty. Baker was released earlier this month, which has actually been a relatively full month for fairy tale related releases.
They should come away with a much more nuanced understanding of a variety of experiences girls may inhabit in the world and root for the level-headed, kind girl at the center of the action.The Wide-Awake Princess by E.
Though Unlocking the Spell must reinforce some stereotypes to challenge them - sister Gwendolyn uses a flash of hair and a glowing smile in a pinch to get her way - readers are encouraged to consider the limitations of such traits. In the end, readers will see it's not necessarily better to be blessed with good looks beauty isn't exactly an easy ride, either.Īlso instructive are the book's romantic relationships, which feature respect, admiration, healthy boundaries, and innocence while warning of the troubles of getting swept away. The book is especially clever in working through the pros and cons of being born beautiful (or being helped to become beautiful) versus living in the world as an ordinary person who must work at skill building.
In this second book in the series, Princess Annie again takes the lead to keep challenging assumptions about gender, beauty, and love, while clever side plots feature old fairy and folk tales.
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