Ratings44
Average rating4
I have a secret passion which makes me happy and that is the wonder of fairy tales, I love the innocence and joy they bring and absolutely adore Once Upon A Time the TV show and one of my favourite mini-series of all time was The 10th Kingdom. Therefore the idea of a book set in the land of fairy tales intrigued and excited me.
Written by Glee actor Chris Colfer I was intrigued to find out how good the book was. I knew it had to have some merits as there have been 2 others in the same series released since and the general reviews seemed good. Also it's important to remember that it is a children's book, therefore I would not have expected it to be a challenging read.
It's the story of twins Alex and Conner who find themselves travelling to a magical ‘Land of Stories' via a book of fairy tales their grandma gives them for their 12th birthday. Suddenly they find themselves in a land full of famous characters they've only read about in the book -Cinderella, Snow White, Red Riding Hood and an Evil Queen. In order to get home they must track down 8 magical and very iconic items to make a wishing spell that will allow them to wish their way home and they get into lots of scrapes and adventures along the way.
The actual story of the book is well put together and engaging and I did like the way it was constructed. However, as an adult reading the book I did find myself becoming a little frustrated with Colfer's lack of descriptive narrative. At times the story felt very clinical. It is constantly wanting to move on from events without taking time to savour them. It read a bit at times like a child's story at school. “This happened and it was bad but never mind this happened next and it was good and then something awful happened but no time to stop so let's move on”
I wanted to revel in the characters and get to know them instead we move through all the fairy tales at breakneck speed. I would have liked more descriptive text and more background to their thoughts and emotions but perhaps that is because I'm an adult. Maybe I crave more than the readers for whom this was intended.
It was an okay read for me but I suspect my 8 year old daughter will absolutely love it and that's great because she is the target audience and now I've read it I can share the story with her.
I would read the second in the series, perhaps next time knowing what to anticipate and also because as a child at heart there is great joy in sharing time with the world of magic and fairy tales.