Books

Books : reviews

Alethea Kontis.
Enchanted.
Harcourt. 2012

rating : 3.5 : worth reading
review : 18 June 2013

Sunday Woodcutter is the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter, and is doomed to a happy life, being blithe and bonny and good and gay. So when one day a frog asks her to kiss him, she knows what to expect. But it doesn't quite work out that way.

This is a fun retelling of just about every fairytale in the book. Frog princes, fairy godmothers, giant beanstalks, magic slippers, enchanted spinning wheels, you name it, it's in here, all woven together to produce a fresh take on each of the stories, as Sunday pines for her lost frog love.

Alethea Kontis.
Hero.
Harcourt. 2013

“You’ve got a sword and a destiny. That’s more than most people get.”

For rough-and-tumble Saturday, it’s no fun being the only one in the family without any magical talent. Too tall, too strong, too normal, that’s her lot in life—until the day she accidentally creates an ocean in the backyard.

Suddenly things are looking up. With her sword in tow, Saturday sets sail on the sudden sea, only to find herself kidnapped and whisked off to the mountain at the top of the world. Held captive by a blind witch who gives her a series of impossible tasks, Saturday is aided by a very appealing young man who knows all the witch’s tricks. But he turns out to be under a spell that Saturday alone can break—and that will happen only when this seemingly normal girl digs deep enough to find her own hidden talents.