Review: Ivy's Ever After by Dawn Lairamore

Dawn Lairamore's website [n/a] // $11.53 from {amazon}

Publisher: Holiday House (May 15, 2010)

Hardcover: 320 pages

Summary: from {goodreads}

Once upon a time in the kingdom of Ardendale there lived a spirited princess named Ivy, who had no interest in being rescued by Prince Charming, and an undersized dragon named Elridge, who was better at solving word puzzles than breathing fire. Sailing into this world on a ship made of whale bones came Romil, a handsome prince with dastardly designs on Princess Ivy and her kingdom. Ivy and Elridge, both disappointments to their families, join forces to try and thwart Romil's evil plot. In the process these traditional enemies become fast freinds, discover hidden strengths, and earn the respect of all who know them. Full of humor and high adventure--and plenty of slightly skewed fairy-tale motifs--this frothy fractured fairy tale is sure to delight young readers.

Rating: View my rating system.

My Thoughts: Ivy’s Ever After was surprisingly better than I expected, especially considering it’s intended for elementary to middle school students. Hey, the premise doesn’t lie when it promises a brave heroine with her cute sidekick, the mini-dragon.

The beginning of the book was incredibly SLOW. Dawn Lairamore’s writing sticks true to the standard fairytale style with third-person, straight-forward writing, and clean images. However, her writing frequently grew elaborate to the point where my interest was rapidly dwindling in the middle of a paragraph, making me doubt how well it will keep a fourth grader’s interest. There’s very close attention to detail, but it often distracted me from the main plot and tempted me to skip a few paragraphs ahead... but no, I prevailed! Take for instance:

“[Princess Ivy] dug her way through the trove of clothing. The light-weighted frocks and flimsy underthings would tear too easily, but she pulled out the thicker cloaks and the heavier of the winter dresses and tossed them into a pile on the floor. She added the bed linens as well. That done, she set about tying the lot into one long chain, using a sturdy knot called the Lover’s Embrace, which Boggs had taught her long ago. She knotted sheets to sleeves and skirts to necklines, not caring how roughly she handled the fine material. (Tildy would have a fit!) She worked feverishly, and by the time she was done, she had a length of fabric so long it coiled around the room like a colorful sea serpent.”

-pg.89

I enjoyed the small touches like the “trove of clothing” and the “colorful sea serpent,” but the specifics on exactly what type of clothes and what not were toilsome to trudge through, considering the previous 88 pages were essentially like that as well. And Boggs, in addition to other unnecessary details, is just sort of thrown in there, though he plays no significant part in the story. General consensus: Dim down the vocabulary and extraneous details to make younger children want to read it more.

However, if you’re willing to brave through the beginning, Ivy’s Ever After presents an unique, interesting adventure. Ivy travels to the land of the trolls, a haunted swamp, the land where faeries live, and more. I definitely saw Lairamore’s originality shining through instances like the troll chief’s giant spider hat – very creepy cool. There were also scattered tidbits of humor that made me smile as I read. :)

With the progression of the story and the increasing action, the writing became less stylistic and more concise and I found myself slowly being drawn into the story and actually caring about Ivy and Elridge, her dragon’s outcome. For me, sympathizing with the characters defines at least moderate success in the character department and Ivy and Elridge were certainly enjoyable, admirable, and reasonably developed, though they lacked any particular, special quality that would differentiate them from the characters of other books.

Ultimately, Ivy’s Ever After teaches some solid lessons about courage and self-confidence, regardless of one’s outer appearance. They’re definitely lessons that I would like my little cousins to grow up knowing, and I will be suggesting this book to them (that is, after hinting that Ivy’s Ever After starts off a bit slow). The only thing I’m sad about is that the handsome, cold-hearted ice prince couldn’t turn out to be some swoon-worthy good guy inside (aka reference to Ash from The Iron King)! But all’s well that ends well, and Ivy’s Ever After ends the grand adventure with an efficiently wrapped-up, and not rushed, ending that gives the satisfying promise of a happy future.

Romance: n/a. Practically non-existent.
Cover: 3.0. The art is very appealing and the cover is formated nicely but it doesn't really stand out. Perhaps with less muted colors?
Writing: 3.5
Characters: 3.0 - I could have used more development on all of the characters (even Ivy and Elridge, who I still felt were a bit flat), but, then again, this is a younger book and a fairytale remix.
Plot: 4.0 (Graded a bit favorably with consideration of younger children.)

Bottom Line: Ivy's Ever After is an empowering, intriguing debut on the helpless princess that offers strong lessons to young children, and I'm just sad that this ride on the dragon's back had to end so soon. Bring it on, swamp sprites! ;)

**Sidenote: Though it was still enjoyable for me to read, I think younger audiences will enjoy Ivy's Ever After much more that I did.

Thank you to Barbara from BlueSlip Media for the copy!

Review: A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn

Publisher: HarperTeen (April 28, 2009)

Hardcover: 384 pages

Price: $11.55 from Amazon

Summary: Talia fell under a spell . . . . Jack broke the curse.

I was told to beware the accursed spindle, but it was so enchanting, so hypnotic. . . .

I was looking for a little adventure the day I ditched my tour group. But finding a comatose town, with a hot-looking chick asleep in it, was so not what I had in mind.

I awakened in the same place but in another time—to a stranger's soft kiss.
I couldn't help kissing her. Sometimes you just have to kiss someone. I didn't know this would happen.
Now I am in dire trouble because my father, the king, says I have brought ruin upon our country. I have no choice but to run away with this commoner!
Now I'm stuck with a bratty princess and a trunk full of her jewels. . . . The good news: My parents will freak!
Think you have dating issues? Try locking lips with a snoozing stunner who turns out to be 316 years old. Can a kiss transcend all—even time?

Rating:

Review: A Kiss in Time was actually my first modern fairy retelling; I’ve read many fairytale retellings but none set in the current time so I wasn’t sure what to expect. The premise of the book was interesting, though not entirely original, and I thought the plot was fairly average, nothing too exciting or too dull. However, I had a really hard time first getting into this book because the princess, Talia, is such a bitch at the beginning. I shouldn’t be saying that, but I really couldn’t stand her. She’s incredibly spoiled and constantly whining, and that’s in addition to being amazingly dense. While I understand that the author is using Talia’s earlier personality to show development later in the story, her behavior really made me want to put the book down.

Fortunately, once you reach bottom you can only go up. After the first half of the book, I was able to get more into the story. Talia matures very quickly, too quickly to be realistic, but I liked her much better once she started showing that she had a brain and a heart. Jack, the other main character, seemed extremely superficial to me at the beginning, and, though I didn’t actually grow to like him, he was tolerable.

Like I said before, this was my first modern fairytale retelling, and I really liked how Sleeping Beauty was incorporated into today’s world. It seemed a little cheesy at times, but I thought that the carrying out of the idea was fairly good overall, main plot-wise. This book uses two perspectives, and I loved reading Talia’s centuries-old take on things.

Bottom Line: A Kiss in Time is a very light, quick read, and I liked it. That being said, it’s not a book I would be spending my money to buy because nothing really stood out to me; there isn’t anything amazingly good or horrifyingly bad. I did find the modern take on Sleeping Beauty very new and creative, and it was interesting how the author interpreted the events that occurred in the fairytale (and used them in today’s world). This book has definitely opened my eyes to modern fairytale retellings! Crazy Beautiful, anyone? :)

Review: Aurelia by Anne Ostertund

Publisher: Speak (April 17, 2008)
Paperback: 256 pages
Price: $8.99 from Amazon
Summary: Aurelia, the crown princess of Tyralt, wants control over her own life. Robert, her former classmate, wants Aurelia. And someone wants her...dead. There have been several narrowly escaped attempts to assassinate the princess, but the king has no desire to incite panic by making the information public. Instead, Robert, the son of the king's former royal spy, is allowed into the inner circle to secretly investifate and watch over Aurelia. Robert is determined to help, if only Aurelia would let him! But the princess will not heed the danger around her, and she does not need Robert to save her. Just as their friendship begins to grow into something more, the threat on Aurelia's life becomes paramount. WIth everything possible on the line - her life, her kingdom, her heart - Aurelia must take matters into her own hands, whatever the cost.

Rating:

Review: Aurelia is a stubborn crown princess of Tybalt, and she’s taken over the people’s hearts just like she’ll take yours. I really liked Aurelia’s character: she’s head-strong and determined at times, while at others she’s insecure and hurt. She comes off the page, and I felt myself wishing I could be as independent as Aurelia and empathizing with her through her family troubles. Anne Ostertund did a very good job showing how Aurelia is about to become a mature woman, but is partially still a young girl.

I really loved how the author depicted the setting; she went into just enough detail to make me feel like I was actually there experiencing the sights while not feeling weighed down by the excessive amount of words. And it had a princess, danger, and a charming prince, exactly the way I like it! I also liked reading one chapter from Aurelia’s point of view, then one chapter from Robert’s point of view. Not exactly an original idea, but it was good all the same. However, it did annoy me a little when Ostertund would use phrases like a “jaunty” tilt of the head.

The beginning is a bit slow as the author introduces the characters and setting, but once the plot started heating up as more clues were revealed, I really couldn’t put the book down! I think the mystery part was incorporated very well, and it made me want to keep reading to see what more Robert and Aurelia would discover. I had a pretty good guess of who the assassin was earlier on, but there was an unexpected twist at the end.

However, I was very dissatisfied with the ending, especially with the fact that nothing is done to punish the person arranging the assassination attempts. I felt it wrapped up pretty quickly and there is an open ending, one of my worst pet peeves. I was also very disappointed about the lack of romance. I know this is a young adult book, but Robert and Aurelia only kiss once throughout the entire book. I really liked them together and wanted to see more physical contact (though their romantic relationship is very evident throughout the book). Major points off for both of these areas!

Bottom Line: I would say Aurelia was a pretty solid book and a great debut novel for Anne Ostertund. Admittedly it isn’t an original idea, but Ostertund brings a fresh voice to an old idea in the form of a girl named Aurelia. If you want to read some light mystery with a very, very little bit of romance mixed in, go for this book (though I would mainly recommend it to teens/pre-teens). The only part I really dislike is the open ending which has me hoping for a sequel that I searched up and couldn't find, but please correct me if I'm wrong.