Enchanted by Alethea Kontis
Sunday Woodcutter is the youngest of seven sisters, all named after days of the week. Sunday loves to write stories, but is sad and a little lonely because no one will listen to them. One day she meets an enchanted frog named Grumble who begs to hear her stories. Soon Sunday and Grumble fall in love. After a kiss goodbye, love’s true kiss, Grumble is transformed back into Prince Rumbold.
Things are not as happy as they seem, though, because Rumbold’s and Sunday’s families hate each other. To make matters even worse, how is the prince supposed to tell the girl he loves that he was a frog? Rumbold decides he will host three balls for all the girls in the kingdom and make Sunday fall in love with him all over again. But even if they fall in love will the magical secrets of their families and their pasts keep them from having their happily ever after?
Enchanted is the perfect title for a book that will enchant and captivate readers of all ages. It will inspire the imaginations of the young and bring back the fairy tale magic to adults. Enchanted is a mash-up of everyone’s favorite tales woven together to create an original and intricate new fairy tale.
Each of the seven sisters has a unique power. Sunday’s is bringing life to her words and writings. She is frightened of her power at first because things do not always have the desired outcome, but she learns to control her power and it grows under the tutelage of her fairy godmother, Joy. While we get glimpses of the other sisters’ powers, the focus is mainly on Sunday.
Sunday is the perfect fairy tale heroine, sweet and loyal with a humble life, desiring adventure and love. Young readers will find Sunday to be a fun and engaging character right along with the rest of the cast of characters.
There are a few threads in the story that are difficult to follow, for example how Rumbold ends up on the pirate ship and what the significance of that event is. Also, there are references to Rumbold’s past, the horrible things he has done, yet no mention of them is made. Although some of these plot lines are not fully explored and are confusing I hope that the author will write another book and more fully explore these events. I, for one. will be the first in line to buy that book.
Kontis creates a world filled with magic and wonder and readers will have no trouble believing they are in a world inhabited by fairies, giants, golden geese and kings and queens. The way Kontis weaves the different tales together is exciting, and while they are all familiar she blends them in a way that is both original and exciting.
Book Stats:
- Hardcover: 320 pages
- Publisher: Harcourt Children’s Books; 1 edition (May 8, 2012)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0547645708
- ISBN-13: 978-0547645704
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