Spelled
by Betsy Schow
Sourcebooks Fire (June 2, 2015)
Audience: Young Adult
IndieBound | WorldCat
"Fairy Tale Survival Rule #32: If you find yourself at the mercy of a wicked witch, sing a romantic ballad and wait for your Prince Charming to save the day.
Yeah, no thanks. Dorthea is completely princed out. Sure being the crown princess of Emerald has its perks—like Glenda Original ball gowns and Hans Christian Louboutin heels. But a forced marriage to the brooding prince Kato is so not what Dorthea had in mind for her enchanted future.
Talk about unhappily ever after.
Trying to fix her prince problem by wishing on a (cursed) star royally backfires, leaving the kingdom in chaos and her parents stuck in some place called "Kansas." Now it's up to Dorthea and her pixed off prince to find the mysterious Wizard of Oz and undo the curse...before it releases the wickedest witch of all and spells The End for the world of Story."
Carolyn's thoughts on the book:
Any of you familiar with YA Fridays know that I like fantasy, especially retellings of fairy tales; as putting a spin on a classic tale has become more and more popular, I'm excited to see that some of the less popular bedtime stories are being retold as well. I really like different interpretations of the Wizard of Oz, from the fantastic musical Wicked to the miniseries Tin Man, but I had yet to find a book retelling of the Wizard of Oz that I enjoyed. Spelled is a fun book, set in world of different kingdoms of various fairy tales; Dorothea is the princess of Emerald who has been confined to the palace her entire life by her parents in an attempt to prevent a curse placed on the family from taking effect (because that always works so well - just ask Sleeping Beauty's parents about how that whole burning of spinning wheels went for them). Faced with an impeding forced marriage, and unsympathetic parents, Dot mistakenly trusts a witch and accidentally ruins everything. Her fiancé is turned into a chimera, her parents are sent off to Kansas, and she discovers that there's not just one but two witches that want her dead. Better yet, the magic she accidentally released has screwed up all other magic, and she soon finds that the curse her parents had been trying to prevent has come true in addition to the destruction she has already wrought. Dot, along with a sassy palace servant and her fiancé-turned-chimera set off to undo all the ensuing chaos and anarchy, encountering some pretty colorful characters along the way (literally). Let's just say that Dot isn't exactly a good person - she's selfish, narcissistic, and mean-bordering-on-vindictive - but throughout the story she learns to step outside of herself and become a better person. Ultimately, Spelled is a comedic fairy-tale romp, and is very enjoyable if you go into reading it with that expectation. While the book is technically YA, it would be a good book for older middle grade readers as well as younger YA readers.
Carolyn is a teen blogger who shares her favorite YA reads and favorite book related finds with readers on Fridays.