Into the Wild/ Out of the Wild

The book Into the Wild follows Julie who is the Daughter of Rapunzel.  Julie's mom and her fairy tale friends escaped from the wild years before and the wild has remained safely contained underneath Julie's bed.  When someone makes a wish at a magic wishing well the wild is released and townspeople are forced to reenact it's famous stories.  Julie must find her way through the wild, acting out pieces of fairy tales to rescue her mother and save the town from the wild and allow them to get back to their regular lives.

Into the Wild is a delightful mix of fairy tales.  It introduces readers to a large mix of fairy tales and the reader is made aware of the differences between the real versions and the Disney versions.  Julie is a spunky independent girl who is able to think and work independently and cares about her family and friends.

Appropriateness:  Aside from a little scariness this book is appropriate for all middle grade and young adult audiences.  Julie is twelve and her adventure would appeal to kids in the 9-13 year old range.  The lexile is 530 putting it at a third grade reading level making it a good book for reluctant readers.  

The sequel Out of the Wild follows Julie on another adventure fighting to save the world and it is also very good.
 

My Unfair Godmother

My Unfair Godmother by Janette Rallison is a companion book to My Fair Godmother.  The story features the same fair godmother Chrissy that as in the companion book who gets her charges into terrible fairytale situations.  The books can be read in any order.  This book stars Tansy who has felt torn apart and neglected over her parents divorce.  When Tansy's little sister gets a job singing in a touring musical Tansy has to go and live with the father whom she has felt abandoned her.  Tansy's rebellious boyfriend gets her into some minor trouble with the police and she is visited by Chrissy a Fair Godmother who offers her three wishes.  Tansy then has to deal with Robin Hood and his men and is thrown into the Rapunzel story.

This is a delightfully fun romantic comedy.  Tansy's growth as a person was fun to read as well as was the romance that slowly builds between her and the police chief's son.  The fairytale stories were carefully interwoven and presented in an entertaining and original way.  Rallison is one of my new favorite authors.  Her stories are consistently entertaining and present the reader with strong girls and smart guys whose relationships develop in realistic and healthy ways.

Appropriateness:  There's no adult content in this book.  Chrissy begins the story as a rebellious teen.  She has a horrible boyfriend who gets her in some minor legal trouble.  She grows up throughout the story and is able to repair the relationships in her life.  The romance is limited to some minor kissing.  I would recommend this book to teens 12+ and there is nothing in the book that is inappropriate for younger readers.

The False Princess

The False Princess follows Sinda, a girl who is kicked out of the castle after it is revealed that she is not really a princess but a girl taken from her family to take the princesses place because of a prophecy that the princess would be murdered before her sixteenth birthday.  Sinda returns to live with her aunt who is not happy to have her there and then moves by herself to the city where she must solve a mystery with the help of her best friend Kiernan.

This is a delightful fairy tale of a story.  The author does a fantastic job of building a world full of magic and royalty that readers will enjoy.  The plot developed slowly but in a way that allowed readers to become invested in the character and the romance.  Sinda starts off as a fairly spineless girl who doesn't make a bit of a fuss when she is forced to leave her life and everything she knows.  She slowly grows as a character and becomes strong both physically and mentally and is able to stick up for not only herself but those that she feels have been wronged.

Appropriateness:  This is a delightful book that will be enjoyed by readers of all ages.  The romance involves just a bit of kissing and there is no substance abuse.  There is a bit of magical violence but not enough to scare even the youngest of readers.  I would recommend this to readers aged 10 and up (with the main audience being middle school girls) with it being appropriate for younger advanced readers who can handle the length or who are listening to the audio book.

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George is a beautiful retelling of the Norwegian folk tale East of the Sun and West of the Moon.  An ice filled fairytale of a girl who lives in an ice castle with a polar bear and has to fight the troll queen.

This is a beautiful retelling that fills in the holes in the original story. I was unfamiliar with the fairy tale when I read this book and fell in love.  The princess is smart and crafty and strong and has to save her prince from the evil troll queen.

Appropriateness:  This is a book that will speak to all ages.  The content is G rated (the prince does sleep on the other side of the bed with the girl but it is innocent) and the tale is so sweet that I checked to see if they had the audio version at the library for my six year old daughter to listen to.  On the other hand when my English teacher father was here for Christmas he read the book and declared that he enjoyed it very much (which is a lot for him).    The lexile is 810 which puts it at a mid fifth grade level which is perfect for middle school readers and the content makes it acceptable for upper elementary school advanced readers who would like a little romance (and a strong princess for once!).