Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

I enjoy fairy tale retellings, but when it comes to Beauty and the Beast, there has just been a ton that at this point something has to be pretty cool to catch my attention. Well, Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge is pretty cool, and I am so glad it caught my attention as my friend Ambur and I decided to buddy read this book together.

How much did I love this book? Well, after finishing Cruel Beauty I posted this to my Goodreads account: UGH SO GOOD. I don't usually give books stars, but this needs five.

Cruel Beauty is the story of Nyx, a girl promised to marry the Gentle Lord, basically the Demon King, and since birth she has known she will marry him, and that it is her job to kill him and break the curse he has put on her people. But when she turns seventeen and enters his castle, she finds that the Gentle Lord, Ignifex, is not what she expected. And he has secrets. Secrets that may be the key to doing what she promised to do-- but doing so may also destroy the one she loves. 

I love a lot of things about this novel, including, most importantly, the writing. Hodge brings magical rooms to life, and creates realistic and flawed characters. Nyx isn't perfect, but she's strong, sometimes to the point of being stubborn. There's also some complex mystery involved, although I did see the final twist coming, I really enjoyed getting there. There were also enough secrets that I didn't know to keep me satisfied overall.  

All of Hodge's worldbuilding and history just felt natural, it flowed easily and it never felt like an info-dump or unnecessary detail. Overall, Cruel Beauty was a smashing success for me and I am definitely going to pick up whatever Hodge writes next.  

Release Date: January 28th 2014 Pages: 342  Format: Egalley
Source: Edelweiss  Publisher: Blazer + Bray  Buy It: Book Depository

Poisoned Apples: Poems for You, My Pretty by Christine Heppermann

 Poisoned Apples: Poems for You, My Pretty by Christine Heppermann is a really short book--like a hundred pages of poetry including plenty of pictures--which is kinda fun to read once in awhile because it makes me feel like a super fast reader even though I'm not at all because I can finish it so fast. But I actually didn't rush through Heppermann's debut, because I really loved it. These are retold fairytales, modern and sharp, with twisted fantastical photos to go along with them. The poems themselves reminded me a bit of Anne Sexton Transformations as any well-done, realistic fairytale poem retelling is liable to. However, Poisoned Apples is definitely an original collection.

Heppermann's writing is sharp and full of metaphors. The poems may be short but her turns of phrases leave an impact, and this book is bigger than its page count. I feel like there are so few poetry books for teens and I really loved all the important issues that Poisoned Apples tackles, while not dumbing down the imagery either. These may be fairytales, but they are real. I think Hepperman's writing will also be appealing to people who don't like poetry because of how well it dissects life and emotion. Her words slice things apart and then put them back together again. Poisoned Apples was gorgeous and the photographs included (although some were missing in my advance copy) all matched perfectly and added to the impact. I will easily be reaching for anything Heppermann writes next, and encourage everyone to pick this up when it publishes in September!

Release Date: September 23rd 2014 Pages: 128  Format: Egalley
Source: Edelweiss  Publisher: Greenwillow Books  Buy It: Book Depository

Kill Me Softly by Sarah Cross

It was interesting picking up Kill Me Softly almost immediately after Enchanted by Alethea Kontis, because while both have fairy-tale retellings with a twist in common, they could not be more different. Unlike the sweetness of princes and princesses in Enchanted, Kill Me Softly is just as dark and twisted as the title and book cover would imply. My gut instinct is to describe it as if Dexter wrote a fairytale– but maybe Mary Poppins stopped by to make a few changes.

In Kill Me Softly, Mira runs away from the home where she lives with her two godmothers a week before her sixteenth birthday. Her parents died when she was a baby, and she has never visited their grave or her home town, Beau Rivage. However, when Mira gets there she discovers exactly what her godmothers had been hiding– it's a place where Grimm's fairy tales come to life, and Mira cannot avoid her fate.

I loved almost everything about Kill Me Softly, by which I mean, I loved it at its core but I have certain complaints with the execution (pun fully intended). One issue was that, for all that the reader is told that Mira has certain gifts, that she is beautiful and graceful and lovely, it wasn't really shown– which made the posse of boys she had chasing after her seem unrealistic, even for a fairytale. As a person though, I could definitely find myself relating to Mira, and I loved the elaborate plan she had for running away, but somehow her specialness didn't come through.

Unfortunately, Kill Me Softly was also one of those stories, like Prized by Caragh M. O'Brien, where I felt there were too many love interests. Only, in this case, it was especially obvious from the beginning who was Mr. Right, which made all the fluttering around Mira did annoying. In particular, her actions near the end made her come across as flimsy and frustrating. There's just too much insta-love, even for a fairytale. I just wanted a little more from Mira.

What I adored about Kill Me Softly was the dark, creepiness it has. It is when that darkness is at the center of the story that Cross is at her best, those Dexter-esque moments. Occasionally, it veers too much into the Disney happy endings– that's what I mean about Mary Poppins stopping by– and I wish it hadn't. The ending itself has me a bit conflicted because I didn't think it was as terrible or dramatic as it was intended to be, but I did appreciate that not everything got tied up perfectly.

Cross' writing is wonderful, she really brings Beau Rivage to life, especially the casino. There is also a large cast of secondary characters, but I felt like I could picture every one, and that each of them was unique and interesting, which I loved. The story itself was also incredibly original, and I loved the twist on the traditional fairytale. Cross has a definite talent at storytelling, and even if there were a few missteps for me I'd definitely pick up other books by her. There were a few moments in Kill Me Softly where I wanted things to be darker, or Mira to be stronger, but despite that Cross has written a rich and layered story filled with intriguing characters that surprised and delighted me.

Release Date: April 10th 2012  Pages: 336  Format: Hardcover

Source: Random House Canada  Publisher: EgmontUSA  Buy It: Book Depository

Lies, Knives, and Girls in Red Dresses by Ron Koertge

Lies, Knives, and Girls in Red Dresses by Ron Koertge
(Illustrated by Andrea Dezso)

Release Date: July 10th 2012
Pages: 96
Format: E-galley
Source: NetGalley/Publisher
Publisher: Candlewick
Buy It: Book Depository

Once upon a time, there was a strung-out match girl who sold CDs to stoners. Twelve impetuous sisters escaped King Daddy's clutches to jiggle and cavort and wear out their shoes. And Little Red Riding Hood confessed that she kind of wanted to know what it's like to be swallowed whole. From bloodied and blinded stepsisters (they were duped) to a chopped-off finger flying into a heroine's cleavage, this is fairy tale world turned upside down.

This isn't a book I disliked, but there wasn't anything that special about it either. If a writer is going to revisit fairytales, especially in verse form, I feel like there should be something really exciting and original about their execution. Unfortunately, even though there were passages and poems I enjoyed in Lies, Knives and Girls in Red Dresses, when I finished the book I was left thinking Transformations by Anne Sexton is so much better. Not exactly the thought I was hoping to have.

There's a nice bit of snark and contemporary wit to Koertge's writing, and it was one of the things I did enjoy about this collection. In "East of the Sun and West of the Moon", he writes "Don't you just / love a curse with an escape clause?" a sentiment that rings true for the fast majority of fairytales,  at least once Disney gets its hands on them.  In "The Ogre Queen", Koertge quips, "Sleeping Beauty? Just another narcoleptic with a pretty / face if you ask me."

Then there are poems that are less successful, ones that seem more like snippets then the full story. "Little Match Girl" was an unpleasant surprise because it rhymes, but there were others that simply didn't make an impact at all.

In addition, the illustrations in this book as done by Andrea Dezso, at least the e-copy I had, are beautiful. I'm pretty sure they are made using paper cut-outs, which is a unique and enchanting technique, perfect for what Lies, Knives and Girls in Red Dresses contains. However, my favourite illustration is actually featured on the cover, while many of them seemed to tell stories more interesting than the poems themselves.

Even though I wanted more from this book, more to the poems, more to the story, more than its slim 96 pages, there were still moments that left an impact. In "Wolf", Koertge writes:

"we take him out, leaving just a few
bones so the message is clear:

This is our forest. Perfect before you came.
Perfect again when all your kind is dead."

Is Lies, Knives and Girls in Red Dresses worth picking up? If it interests you, sure, though I'd test out a library copy first. But if you're looking for the real genius of fairytale retellings in verse, I can't help once again recommending Anne Sexton's Transformations- it's everything I wanted from Koertge's Lies, Knives and Girls in Red Dresses but didn't quite manage to get.

Enchanted by Alethea Kontis

Enchanted by Alethea Kontis

Release Date: May 8th 2012
Pages: 305
Format: Hardcover
Source: Publisher
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Buy It: Book Depository

Enchanted was a very, well, enchanting story. Unlike a lot of fairytale retellings being published these days, like Beastly by Alex Finn, this isn't set in contemporary times and it isn't, strictly speaking, a retelling at all. In fact, it's more like Finn's Cloaked in the sense that Kontis combines half a dozen traditional fairytales into a unique story.

Enchanted is the story of seven sisters, each named for a day of the week and each 'blessed' with their own gifts. Sunday is the seventh sister, born to a seventh sister, and that makes her especially blessed. Sunday loves telling stories, the problem is whenever she writes them down they tend to come true, and not in the way that she intended. When Sunday befriends a frog in the woods, she feels like she's finally fallen in love– but after giving him a kiss she leaves before she sees his transformation, back into the prince, a man that her family abhors.

Back at his castle, the prince wants to make Sunday fall in love with him again, but he keeps his frog-identity a secret. However, his quest won't be easy, and there are curses and fairies to consider as well.

I really liked the traditional style of writing for Enchanted and the interesting way that Kontis combined the fairytales. The problem, for me, was that many of the fairytales she pulled from have pretty weak female characters and she didn't do a lot to remedy that. At times Sunday came across as not nearly as interesting as her sisters like the feisty pirate queen Thursday and the hardworking Saturday– and I'd love to read a novel from either of their perspectives, because of they weren't so predictably princess. It felt like Kontis tried to remedy this at the end it a haphazard way involving Sunday going barefoot, which really felt like much more of an afterthought because as far as I recall, she'd never gone barefoot earlier in the story, so I didn't get why she was starting now.

In the end, this is a story about balls and beauty and transformation, but I wanted Sunday to have a little more fight in her. Also, I know this is a fairytale, but I really felt like love came too easy in Enchanted. That said, it was clear Sunday cared deeply for her family and in spite of all the difficulties she faced she managed to remain positive, which was a pretty big accomplishment.

Enchanted is a busy story, but Kontis manages to keep it moving along quickly without getting muddled. The world she creates has a lot of interesting backstory, usually pulling from various fairytales, and is filled with a massive cast of characters. Despite having at least a dozen significant characters, I never got confused about who was who, except maybe with some of the prince's wait staff. That's because Kontis gives each character their own unique personality and quirks, so that even though there are so many characters, they don't blur together. 

The traditional aspect of Enchanted was what I both loved and disliked about it, I wanted something a little less quintessentially princess, a more realistic love and a stronger Sunday, but I loved the cleverness and the large cast of interesting characters. Ultimately, Kontis has written a complex and exciting story that manages to take fairytales that the reader is probably familiar with, and combine them in a way you'd never expect.

Review Elsewhere: A Long, Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan

"Sheehan’s writing is lyrical and strong, the symbolism is beautiful, and the character struggles are raw and emotional. Her teenage voice felt genuine, and many of the issues Rose faced could be applied to contemporary times as well. "

Click here to read the rest of my review.

Noah Barleywater Runs Away by John Boyne

Noah Barleywater Runs Away by John Boyne beings, unsurprisingly, with young Noah Barleywater running away from home. Noah heads into the forest, on an unknown path, walking away from his problems. He is eight years old and ready for adventure. Noah ends up at an extraordinary toyshop with a very unusual toymaker, and that's when things begin to get strange. Both Noah and the toymaker have stories to tell, and as they travel with each other on the journeys that lead them to meet, each may have a valuable lesson to teach the other.

Noah Barleywater Runs Away is a whimsical novel, and this time, unlike when Boyne dabbled in historical fiction with his bestselling (but not well received by me) novel The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, it really suits the story. Although both books have moments of happiness mixed with sadness, in this instance it felt natural instead of contrived and melodramatic.

Although I initially mistook Noah Barleywater Runs Away for YA, this is definitely a children's novel that an adult with a longing for magic can enjoy as well. There are also a few pictures throughout the book and I thought they were cute and suited the story well. This is the kind of book you could read out loud to a child, or if they were a bit older they could begin to read themselves. The language and the story are not complex, but Boyne's writing is rich and filled hidden magic that brings it to life. As a note, at times it can be a little dark, and so it may not be appropriate for very young children, that is something a parent would have to read and decide. 

I loved how Boyne made everything come to life in Noah Barleywater Runs Away, from the one door that the toymaker can afford that is forced to run up and down the stairs when it is needed, to the floorboards that move when a person walks across them, this book is full of ordinary and mysterious magic. Noah felt like a believable eight year old boy, and although his story was an unfortunate one, it is far too common and there are many children who are bound to relate. Running away from our problems is a longing many people have no matter how old and so in that way Noah Barleywater Runs Away is universal in its simplicity and message.

Noah Barleywater Runs Away is a twist on an old fairytale, and although hints are dropped throughout it is still wonderful when Boyne finally reveals the inspiration and the pieces come together. The story is told like a fable, and so the style is slightly traditional, but I thought Boyne's language and description was perfect for it. On the surface, Noah Barleywater Runs Away is a children's fairytale, but beneath that there are layers of metaphor that an older reader can uncover and appreciate as well, resulting in magical story tinged with sadness and redemption.

Release Date: September 30th, 2010
Pages: 240
Source: Publisher
Buy the Book

Beastly by Alex Flinn

"You are ugly now, on the inside, where it matters most...you are beastly."

Beastly is my second read from Alex Flinn, which I picked up after enjoying Cloaked but not quite finding the magic in it that Flinn has become known for. Since Beastly is her most famous book, and also due to the upcoming release of the film version, I decided to give it a try.

As the title would indicate, this is a retold contemporary version of the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, told from the perspective of the Beast. In this case the Beast is Kyle Kingsbury, a attractive and overly confident ninth grade boy transformed by a witch attending his highschool when he plays a cruel joke on her. When Kyle's father, a news anchor, is unable to find a cure for his son's new ugliness he sends him away to a Brooklyn mansion with blinds on all the windows and cameras at the doors. Exiled, Kyle's only companions are a housekeeper, Madga, and a blind tutor, Will. The only chance Kyle has of breaking the curse is kissing a girl who he loves, and who loves him, before two years have passed- but it's hard to find true love when you look like a beast.

Flinn's writing is straightforward but enjoyable to read, and I felt she did a realistic job of letting the reader into the teenage world, particularly when it comes to the unfortunate meanness with which popular kids can sometimes treat outsiders. I particularly enjoyed Kyle's internal dialogue, especially at the beginning of the book when he is still attractive and Flinn lets you in on his cruel thoughts. Unfortunately there were a few aspects of the story that didn't work that well for me. The idea of a girl imprisoned by a beast might work in traditional fairytales but when you put a contemporary spin on it, oftentimes it just came across a little creepy for my taste. It also got pretty strange when Kyle begins to speak like he's in an Austen novel, although even he recognizes it,

"Who dares disturb my roses?"
Why did I say that"

And although I realize Kyle, who renames himself Adrian because it means darkness, is pretty isolated from the world for most of the book, he still speaks to Madga, Lindy and Will and I would have thought that would be enough to keep him speaking normally especially since it doesn't seem to happen to any of the other characters.

While Cloaked weaves together many different fairy tales, Beastly focuses on one, which allows Flinn to tell that story well. Kyle isn't totally alone in his transformation though, as at several points throughout the book Flinn includes excerpts from a chat group for individuals who have been transformed, including such familiar beings as the Frog Prince and Little Mermaid. These chats were a great way to add to the contemporary spin on the story, and I enjoyed reading them. However, the novel as a whole doesn't really add a whole lot that new to the fairytale and it really is just an updated version of it. Even the one aspect that Flinn does change is really predictable from the beginning of the book so that I wasn't at all surprised when it was revealed.

Overall, Beastly provides a cute, easy-to-read story, and although like Cloaked, I would tend to recommend Flinn's simplistic writing style for younger readers, there is some innuendo involved in the book as well as darker themes that make me wonder who exactly the intended audience of the book is, but personally I'd mostly recommend the novel to young teens. Ultimately, though, Beastly is an enjoyable light read with an important message and although it doesn't provide the original take on the story I was hoping for, it is a fun contemporary telling of a classic love story.

Release Date: October 1st, 2007
Pages: 300
Overall: 3.5/5
Source: Publisher
Buy the Book

Crazy Beautiful by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

"Some minutes, it’s possible to forget how much has changed. And in my dreams, I always have real hands."

Crazy Beautiful by Lauren Baratz-Logsted is a retold fairy tale loosely inspired by The Beauty and the Beast. In this case The Beauty is Aurora Belle, a girl who everyone judges and immediately accepts based on her outwards beauty, never stopping to notice the hurt that lurks beneath after the recent death of her mother. The Beast is Lucius Wolfe, a young man who blew off his own arms in an explosion of his own making. Going for the cheapest, most obvious option, Lucius choose hooks instead of prosthetic hands. Lucius is prepared for the world to be reject him, be repulsed by his deformity, but when he meets Aurora he begins to want more for himself, he begins to want her.

It was definitely curiosity about the premise of Crazy Beautiful which drew me to the book, but unfortunately as interesting as the initial premise was, the novel's flaws far exceeded its merits. Crazy Beautiful lacks the rich and believable characters that make exciting, and since you recognize from the beginning that Aurora and Lucius are likely going to end up together (at least if you've seen the Disney film) then what becomes more important is how they get to that stage. I also thought the names of the characters were absolutely terrible and obvious choices. The narrative of the story switches from Aurora's viewpoint to Lucius', but even though the reader gets inside the character's head there just isn't much there. Baratz-Logsted tells the reader that Aurora is heartbroken from her mother's long struggle with cancer, but you never really feel it. Similarly, Lucius apparently hated life at his old school, but the back story is vague and incomplete. There are also a lot of flaws when it comes to making this book believable from a teenage perspective. Everyone in the novel are either very good or very bad, with no room for the middle ground, and this is especially true of Aurora.    

Crazy Beautiful is a short little wisp of a novel, not even two hundred pages, and it felt more like an outline than a complete book. There was just so much more that could have been done with the story, but instead it is rushed to the point that it almost entirely lacks character development. A few bright moments exist, I really enjoyed the relationship between Lucius' and his little sister especially when she took him shopping and I appreciated the concept of showing how normal a teenage boy Lucius is despite his disability, and how it is still possible for him to find love. Ultimately though, a positive message and an intriguing premise aren't enough to save Crazy Beautiful from becoming a predictable story with one-dimensional characters.  

Release Date: September 7th, 2009
Pages: 193
Overall: 1.5/5
Source: Ebook
Buy the Book