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Shadow Spinner by Susan Fletcher is set in Ancient Persia and it is a retelling of 1001 Arabian Nights. The original tale is the story of Shaharazad, the young woman who tells stories each night to the Sultan, ending before the climax is complete in order to remain alive one more day. Over and over she does this, for 1001 nights. The original tale is where we get such beloved stories as Aladdin, Sinbad, and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. I have not yet read the original tale, partly because there are so many translations available and I am unsure which is best, but as far as I know, there are a lot of questions that the original tale doesn't answer.

What happened after 1001 nights that the Sultan decided Shaharazad could live without telling more stories? Why was 1001 somehow the magical number? Where did Shaharazad get enough stories to fill 1001 nights? What would have happened if she started to run out?

Shadow Spinner answers these questions and more. I was surprised and intrigued but this book when I learned about it, because Shaharazad is not the main character as one would expect from a retelling of 1001 Arabian Nights. Instead, our story is narrated by Marjan, a crippled young serving girl who gets drawn into the lives of those in the palace. She goes with her mistress to sell baubles in the Sultan's harem and stops to tell a group of young children a story. Her voice and her ability to tell a story are one of her most valued and prized 'possessions' and her hero is Shaharazad. No one believed that an ability to tell stories could change your life until she stepped up and offered to marry the Sultan. Shaharazad's sister overhears Marjan telling her story to the young children and she takes Marjan to meet Shaharazad, because she is beginning to run out of stories and she doesn't know what to do next.

And so, Marjan comes to live in the Sultan's palace as a serving maid to Shaharazad. But there is much more to live in the palace than plush fixings and plenty of food. Even after almost 3 years of storytelling, every morning there is an air of tension when Shaharazad leaves the Sultan's rooms. The Sultan's mother also hates Shaharazad and wants to see her fail, which means a hatred for anyone close to her, or trying to help her.

I love this book. I mean, really, honestly and truly, I love this book. Marjan wants to be a great storyteller. Every where she goes, she collects stories and collects information that could be used to create and weave her own tales. Each chapter begins with section titled "Lessons for Life and Storytelling" and the lesson within would often foreshadow the events to come withing the chapter.

Watching Marjan grow and develop as a person and as a storyteller felt like a gift. In the beginning, Marjan is holding onto some deeply rooted anger and bitterness, although it takes a while for the reader to realize this. I think it takes Marjan herself a while to realize the extent of the anger she is harboring. She also learns about a solid core of goodness within herself. She is fiercely loyal, willing to do whatever she can to protect and shield those she cares about.

Shadow Spinner is a completely unique tale that takes us into a world of palace intrigue, danger, love and hope. It is everything a fairy tale should be. There is no magic in their world but there is magic in their story. And their story teaches us that there is magic within ourselves.

We all know that there are myriads of great (and not so great) books that have been turned into movies, plays, animated cartoons, TV shows and etc. etc. etc. I always roll my eyes at people who respond to the question — How did you like that book? With some variation of, "Oh ya, I loved it! The movie was so great!" Gag. Really?! You just said that?! You just smeared the name of literature by telling me a book was great because you liked the movie?! (Ahem...) Well, the other day I shamefacedly realized that I was guilty of this myself. (Insert horrified gasp here) One of my fondest memories of Christmas, most beloved childhood memories and in my top 3 favorite Christmas stories was missing something...

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is one of the most recognized, well known, and cherished Christmas stories in existence. There are numerous versions and adaptations for both children and adults, in animation, live action or produced live on stage. You can find it serious or slightly comical or even as a musical. Some follow the original script closely while others use only a loose interpretation of the story. Whatever versions you've seen, most people are very familiar with the plight of the Cratchit family and Tiny Tim, the cold, miserly heart of Ebenezer Scrooge, and the eerie spirits who visit him during the night of Christmas Eve.

However familiar we are with the story, how many of us have actually read the book? I imagine not very many. It's included on BBC's The Big Read and I wonder how many people include it because of the story rather than the book itself. So, to avoid this horrible reader faux pas, I decided to pick up this favored story and read it for myself. It's a short book, more of a novella than a novel, and I already knew that I loved the story.

I did really enjoy reading this book and I'm glad I can now say that I've actually read it. However, I must admit that I am more in love with the idea of this book than its reality. It's a wonderful story, with a wonderful message and wonderful characters, but I didn't have the same emotional connection to the written story that I do to the various productions I've seen. I know that this is more due to past experiences and the relationship it has to my childhood than anything negative about the book. I loved the book and will definitely reread it in the future, but it's just not the same as watching Scrooge, the Musical or The Muppets.

The book places more emphasis on the characters and the realizations they make than just the story of Scrooge. Most movie or live productions emphasize Scrooge's discovery of the Christmas Spirit, and becoming a more generous person. I love that, and it is a very important part of the story. However, I love that reading the book offers more insight into why Scrooge became the way he did and the relationships he had with those around him.

It is a great story to invite the Christmas spirit and remember the true meaning of Christmas, but it is also a cautionary tale. Be careful the emphasis you place on money and things. It is usually more important to focus on the people in your lives than the things in your life and this story, no matter how you experience it is a great reminder of that.

Photos courtesy of Gary Benson, a scenic designer. For more images and more information, you can find him on Webshots here and he also blogs at Bascombe Mania. If you are interested in his photography, please contact him through one of the links provided.

With us today, we have Alex Flinn, author of both contemporary YA (Breathing Underwater, Breaking Point, Diva ) and modern fairy tale retellings (Beastly, A Kiss in Time, Cloaked )

To paraphrase the beginning of her official bio: No, Alex Flinn was not born in a log cabin in the Big Woods of anywhere, although Laura Ingalls Wilder is among her list of favorite childhood authors. She was born in a small town on Long Island, New York. At the age of five, her mother told her she should become an author. She must have given some form of assent, because her mother took every poem written in school to submit to Highlights of Cricket magazine. Which means she was collecting rejection slips at seven!

Lucky for us, she kept writing! Here's Alex

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
You've written both Contemporary novels and fairy tale retellings. What inspired the shift in genre?

I didn't really think about shifting genres. If anything, I was nervous about it, as I already had a following in realistic YA. However, I really wanted to write about the Beast.

How does the writing differ between the two? Which do you prefer?

It's still all about story in both.

Can you give us any information about what we can expect from you next? Another fairy tale? More contemporary?

My next novel, Bewitching, will be released in Winter, 2012, and it revolves around the escapades of a certain 300+ year old witch.

As I mention in my review of your Beastly, it is one of my favorite Beauty and the Beast retellings, because it is told from the perspective of the beast. Too often, B&tB stories seem to be about Belle learning and applying the knowledge that beauty is only skin deep when in reality, the beast is the one who is being punished, and should be learning something. I love that we get to see the learning in Beastly. What made you decide to tell the Beast's side of the story? Was that challenging?

What attracted me to the story was the Beast's loneliness, the fact that he's a prince but seems to have no family. I was very lonely as a teen, and my stories are mostly about loneliness. This was just a different kind of loneliness.

I also loved that in A Kiss in Time, the two main characters didn't immediately fall in love. There was physical attraction, but they were definitely not in love. Was that a deliberate choice on your part, or something that just happened?

What made me want to write the story was how strange it seemed, in Sleeping Beauty, that the prince and princess would simply live happily ever after, when she'd been sleeping 100 years and she was awakened by someone she didn't know. I wanted to explore how it would really happen, which definitely wouldn't be love at first sight.

Fun/Silly questions:

~Best fairy tale villain and why?
The stepsisters from Cinderella. I'm sorry, but I really understand where they were coming from. Who wouldn't be jealous of such a perfect girl, coming to live with you?

~Favorite tale from childhood? Favorite tale as an adult? Least favorites?
Sleeping Beauty or Rapunzel. Ditto. Snow White doesn't excite me.

~ If you could be any fairy tale character, or live through any fairy tale "happening," who/what would it be?
I don't know a woman who wouldn't choose Cinderella.

~ Rapunzel is named after lettuce; what odd thing would you be named after if you were in a fairy tale?
A spice

~ Using that name, give us a line from your life as a fairy tale:
When you name a girl Cinnamon, you have to expect her to be out-of-the-ordinary. And, of course, spicy.

~Would you rather:
- — eat magic beans or golden eggs?
Hmm, both sound like they'd have their disadvantages. I guess I'd take the beans, as long as I could cook them first, so they wouldn't grow inside me.

- — style 50ft long hair or polish 100 pairs of glass slippers?
Definitely the hair.

- — have a fairy godmother or a Prince Charming?
Fairy godmother. They can do more.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Thank you for being with us Alex! We loved having you!
Readers, don't forget to check out the reviews of Beastly and A Kiss in Time on Ashley's blog, and stay tuned for more upcoming reviews from Misty and our guests! And, make sure you stop by The Paperback Princesses for your chance to win a copy of Beastly!

Today we are pleased to have joining us Marissa Meyer, author of Cinder, a futuristic retelling of Cinderella. Guys! Be excited! Cinder is a 2012 debut, and a little birdie on the inside tells me (Misty) it's fabulous! Make sure to stop back on Friday for a guest post from Marissa!

Now let's get down to business. "Serious" Questions:
~Can you tell us a little bit about Cinder and the series?Gladly! CINDER is a young adult futuristic retelling of Cinderella. In it, Cinder, a 16-year-old cyborg mechanic, must piece together her mysterious past in order to protect her country from an impending war. It's the first in a four-book series, each of which revolves around a different fairy-tale-inspired heroine (Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and Snow White), as they join forces to save the world and find their happily-ever-afters. CINDER is scheduled to release in early 2012.

~Why fairy tales? What is it that calls to you, personally, as a writer, and why do you think readers connect to them the way they do?
I’ve always loved fairy tales. When I was growing up, I loved them for the romance, the magical kisses, the dresses, the princes in their fancy castles. Now I’m drawn to them for their timelessness—these are story archetypes that have been retold and recycled in 8 billion different ways, yet authors and artists and movie directors are still coming up with new ways to tell them. And because they still relate to issues that every society deals with, whether it’s childhood neglect a la Hansel and Gretel or just wanting to improve your social status a la Cinderella—these stories hold as much meaning for us now as they did in the time of the Grimm Brothers.

~What’s your favorite scene you’ve ever written? EVER ever? Gosh, that’s a lot of scenes. Can I say every single kiss? I’m a big fan of kissing scenes. The fun part of writing a four-book series with four different heroines who have four different romances is that there’s lot of opportunity for great kissing! Book 2: SCARLET (Little Red Riding Hood) will have some particularly smoldering ones.

Quickfire, Silly and Random stuff:
~Rapunzel is named after lettuce; what odd thing would you be named after if you were in a fairy tale? I love this question, because I was tempted at one point to call my Rapunzel character “Arugula”! I ended up settling on “Cress” though, which is also a type of lettuce. If I were in a fairy tale, I think my odd name would be something geeky and literary, like maybe Pencil or Comma.

~ Using that name, give us a line from your life as a fairy tale: The fairy godmother waved her magic wand and Pencil found herself with this a real live book deal—a dream come true! She was about to retire to Hawaii and do nothing but lie on the beach and drink fruity cocktails for the rest of her happily ever after... when it occurred to her that she still had to write the rest of the books. And back to work the princess went.

~Best fairy tale villain and why? I’m partial to Rumpelstiltskin. He’s sly, crafty, can actually spin straw into gold (quite the feat!), and goes after what he wants. I also love that the story leaves open a big mystery: why does he want the queen’s firstborn at all? It could be very cruel and awful (maybe he plans to eat it!) or more sympathetic (maybe he just wants a family).

~Favorite tale from childhood? Favorite tale as an adult? Least favorites? I always loved The Little Mermaid—it was my favorite Disney movie as a kid, and I only fell in love with it more once I read the Hans Christian Andersen version and learned how truly tragic the story was. It has so much depth to it (pun kind of intended). As for now... it’s so hard to choose! Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty are probably neck and neck for my all-time favs. As for least favorite... I don’t know that I really have one, although something about the end of Hansel & Gretel always bugged me. I felt like the dad got off way too easy in that tale!

~If you could be any fairy tale character, or live through any fairy tale "happening," who/what would it be? Cinderella’s ball! I love big beautiful dresses and dancing and food!

~Would you rather:
- — live under a bridge with a troll, or all alone in a high tower? Tower, definitely! Just think how much reading you’d get done.

- — ride everywhere in a pumpkin carriage (messy) or walk everywhere in glass shoes (uncomfortable)? I’ll take the carriage, with hopes that the fairy godmother had the sense to scrape all the guts out of it.

- — have a fairy godmother or a Prince Charming? Between getting engaged and getting my book deal for CINDER both in the past few months, I think I already have both!

Thanks so much for the fun interview, Ashley and Misty! Oh course! We were happy to have you, and can't wait for Cinder! Thanks for stopping by! So who else is super excited for Cinder? *raises hand* Stop back on Friday for a special guest post from Marissa Meyer. And don't forget to leave her some love in the comments!

Girl Saves Boy by Steph Bowe is a hard book for me to review. I want to start by saying I did honestly enjoy this book, and I will definitely be watching for what Steph Bowe comes out with in the future. And, there is nothing that I can pinpoint as to why I didn't love this book. But, something wasn't quite there for me. Let me try and explain myself.

Jewel and Sacha are the main characters, and each have their own unique set of problems that basically means they are both pretty messed up.

Jewel watched her older brother drown when she was 8 years old. Her father blamed her for his death, and told her she should never have been born, right before walking out of her life. Her mother, unable to cope, ODed several times on pain killers and anti-depressants, and finally sends Jewel from Australia to Canada to live with her grandparents, because Mom just can't deal. 10 years later, Jewel's grandparents have both died, and because she has no where else to go, she comes back to her childhood home to finish her final year of school.

Sacha was diagnosed with Leukemia as a child, and spent all of his elementary years in and out of the hospital. The Leukemia did finally go into remission, but his parent's marriage was never quite... solid after that. Desperate to regain the attention of her husband, Sacha's mom starts down a path that will eventually kill her. One year later, Sacha is still trying to deal with the death of his mother, his guilt over not being able to help her, the fact that his father is now dating his male art teacher, oh ya... and the Leukemia is back, and the prognosis is terminal.

Sacha decides life is no longer worth living and tries to drown himself in the lake where Jewel's brother died. Jewel often walks near there at night to clear her head, and she sees s boy in the water. Desperate to undo the mistake of her past, she jumps in and saves Sacha's life, something he's not so sure he's grateful for yet.

After Jewel saves him, their paths cross, and they realize they have an awful lot to offer each other. They start spending time together, and each

Now that Sacha has had a little more time to come to terms with his prognosis, he has an interesting view on life. He knows he's going to die, so he desperately wants to use the time he has left living. He struggles with whether or not it's worth it to keep going to school. He wants to tell the people he's closest to about everything, but is scared and doesn't want to be a burden to them. It's shown him that he needs to live life to the fullest, and he tries to do that. Things move faster between him and Jewel than they probably would otherwise, and he seems desperate to get in as much time with her as possible.

Although both Jewel and Sacha are supposed to be the main characters, and the story is told in alternating view points, I really felt it was Sacha who carried the story, Sacha would is most likely to touch my heart and teach me something. There is a lot to learn from a boy living out what may possibly be his final year of life.

Jewel does learn a lot during the week or so we spend with them. Her only goal in life is to be homeless in New York or London, and draw. She doesn't want to sell her art, or even show anyone. She draws for herself and that's enough for her. She decided a long time ago that she is going to be alone forever, and aside from periodic moments of staggering loneliness, she is content with the path she has chosen for herself. Until she meets Sacha. And then everything she has thought about herself and her future begin to change.

There were a few side 'issues' in the book that felt odd to me, and I think this is where my main disconnect from the book comes in. In the interest of avoiding any more spoilers than I've already given, I won't go into details, but there were some issues that felt like they were brought up, just to be issues, or additional conflict that didn't really go anywhere, like the phone call for her mother that Jewel answers at the end of the book. And, how easily Jewel resolved her conflict with her mother. I honestly felt that it was a 'kiss (or hug) and make-up' moment. Nothing was resolved, but life is suddenly grand.

Perhaps my favorite thing about this book, aside from the great characterization present in Sacha and Jewel was the ending. It's like a big question mark at the end of a page, but not in a bad way. The story resolved what needed to be resolved, but didn't spoon-feed us all the answers. It left much to the imagination and decision of the reader, and I think that was a wise way to let their story end.

Have any of you read this book? Did anyone else have a similar or completely different reaction? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff is the story of Mackie. Mackie is in high school, and he desperately wants to fit in, and live his life, but he has a secret, one that, if anyone found out, would likely mean the end of him.

He lives in Gentry, a quiet, unassuming town that hides a secret beneath the ground. Every so often, a child will disappear in the night, to be replaced with a child who looks similar but is, somehow, not quite right. Those children generally die soon after, and although the family grieves, no one acts like anything out of the ordinary has happened.

Until Tate's younger sister Natalie disappears, and Tate knows that what died in the crib was not her little sister.

The town of Gentry seriously creeped me out. Not because they have fairy like (evil) creatures living underneath their streets, but because no one ever talked about it, or acted as if it was anything out of the ordinary. I don't understand how people can live in a place like that, and do nothing about it. I would move. I especially don't understand why Mackie's mom stuck around. She hates the fey creatures that inhabit the underground, and is terrified of them, but (and this is a pretty big but) she stayed there. Why?!

Anyway, this was such a great book. The writing was wonderful, and I really felt like I could believe that these things were happening. It made me think about what I would do in a similar situation, which makes me think of Tate. I pretty much think she is like, the greatest teen heroine character I've read in a very long time. She's hard-core. She knows that what died in place of her sister wasn't really human, and she refuses to accept that everyone is just going to turn aside. She knows something isn't right, and she does something about it. I would like to feel that I would react like Tate in a similar situation. I've always been really close to my family, and I'm pretty sure that if you vanished with one of my little brothers, or my nephews I would raise hell to get them back and bring you down. Tate just made me really happy in that little angry place inside.:)

Mackie is also a great character, and I was amazed at how well he was crafted. (I feel weird saying crafted about a character that's so realistic to me.) High school is a hard time for everyone. It's when you are learning who you are, and trying to find and create your place within your surroundings. Everyone has those moments when they feel like they don't belong. How much harder would it be for someone like Mackie who wants to fit in, but knows that he really doesn't belong.

I loved watching Mackie learn more about himself, and why he is unique. Most of the replacement children die soon after being left in the human world, but Mackie has lived topside now for years (although he is sick all the time...) Anyway, watching Mackie learn that there were people who knew him, and understood him (more or less) but still loved him and wanted to be around him. It warmed my heart, because he's such a great character. He's a guy I'd like to run into in 10-15 years just to check up and see how he's doing.

*Disclaimer: I received this book through Star Book Tours.

The Swan Kingdom by Zoë Marriott is one of my favorite fairy tale retellings of all time. I love it. Zoë has taken the old tale, The Wild Swans and made it completely her own. She wrote us an absolutely lovely guest post that talks about the book far better than I could, so I'm going to link it here.

Alexandra is the young daughter of a distant and disappointing father and a warm, loving and magical mother. Her father is disinterested in her life, preferring to spend his time and attentions on his three sons, all older than Alexandra. Her mother teaches her about the enaid, the life magic that flows through the land, the growing things and Alexandra herself. The kingdom of Alexandra's family is rich with the magic and flourishes, while outlying kingdoms have destroyed theirs. But then tragedy strikes, madness and evil take over and Alexandra must find strength within herself. She is no longer able to rely on her mother or brothers for strength, support and protection. Now, it is up to her to save everything.

Alexandra is one of my very favorite heroines in all the fairy tale retellings I have read. She is so real. She is strong, brave, intensely loyal, and loving. But, she also begins the story meek and accepting. She is told what to do, and she does it. Sometimes, this is a good thing. But not always. And definitely not when the great evil you believe killed your mother has taken on the form of a beguiling female, betwitched your father, destroyed your beloved brothers, ensnared the entire kingdom, and is now shipping you off to a neighboring kingdom to live with an aunt you barely know exists.

In her defense, Alexandra was drugged, poisoned and unconscious while she was being shipped off to a neighboring country, but still. Once there, she accepts that this is now the place for her, and she does nothing. She does not search for her brothers, waiting instead for them to come find her, she does not question her aunt's rule beyond sneaking out to the beach each night, and she does not try to return home to stop the evil Zella whom she knows is destroying her kingdom and her people.

While living with her aunt, Alexandra feels stifled. The enaid is not strong her, as it is in her kingdom and being indoors all the time wears her down. So, each night she slips out her window and walks along the beach, and each night she meets up with Gabriel, a young man vacationing on the coast with his family. They talk and laugh each night until dawn, learning of each other, and filling the empty spaces life has left within. Alexandra is one of my favorite heroines and Gabriel is one of my favorite love interests. He never tries to steal the show, never upstages Alexandra. This is her story, and she must live it, but her is there for her. He is her friend in a troubling time when she has no one, and they slowly grow from friends into the hope of something more while walking along the beach. When the day comes he must leave, and return to his home, your heart weeps with Alexandra's and cracks with Gabriel's. And you hope, oh you hope that they will be able to meet again soon.

The time spent with her aunt is somewhat a state of limbo for Alexandra. She knows that something must be done, but is content to wait for her brave and strong brothers return. But then Zella, her evil step-mother, sends people to collect Alexandra and bring her home. On the way, Alexandra realizes that she is enchanted and dying, and to return home would be to go to her death. And so, she escapes and begins the struggle to rescue her brothers and save her kingdom. And she leaves behind the meek Alexandra who follows orders blindly.

There is so many amazing sections of this book. There is so much to say about the enaid, the circle of the ancestors, the curse Alexandra discovers on her brothers, Zella, and, of course, Gabriel. I don't have the space here to tell you everything that I love about this book. There is so much awesome in this book that it would be impossible to fit it all into one review. I know that my review isn't doing the book or the characters justice, but I want you to know that it is truly a book worth reading. It is all the standard 'review' words (compelling, captivating, magical, stunning) but it is more than that too. It is a book that fills you up, that gives meaning to the mundane.

Do not all of us wish we were like Alexandra? That we had power far greater than even we understand? There is a scene in the book where Zella confronts Alexandra at the base of the mountain of the Circle of Ancestors. Zella is there to kill Alexandra and it is the first time we see Zella without the pretense of innocence and fragility. But Alexandra defies her. And in so doing, she realizes that she has power and that if anyone is to save her kingdom and her brothers, it shall be her. Watching her grow and mature, both in life and in magic is empowering, heartening and wonderful.

Do not let my lack of eloquence deter you from reading this book. Ignore my stumbling attempts to express how much I love this book and grasp the love and delight that is beneath them. And, then, go read this book! (in my blog for a chance to win a signed copy, along with a signed ARC of her upcoming novel, Shadows on the Moon!)

Up for grabs today is a whole lot of awesome! Feast your eyes on these beauties:

Misty says: I'm not going to lie (and it wouldn't do any good, because everyone already knows) I am a sucker for a good cover. These are two that I want to just display prominently and treat like art. So beautiful! Both have been featured on The Book Rat before:
Friday Face Off | TBR Tuesday | First Pages: Extraordinary
You can check out our reviews, too:
Misty: Impossible | Ashley: Extraordinary | Misty: Extraordinary (coming soon!)

Want to win one of these delicious lovelies for yourself? We have 3 prizes to offer up, which break down like this:

• 1 person will win a paperback of Impossible!
• 1 person will win an ARC of Extraordinary!
• 1 person will win a prize pack of both books!

• Must answer at least 1 question in detail* to enter (at least 2 to enter for the prize pack); each additional question earns you another entry *ie no 1 word answers
• Make sure we have a way to contact you
• If you have a preference on which book you win, leave it with your answer
• +1 for tweeting
• US only
• Ends May 5th May 8th!
• HAVE FUN!

Where She Went by Gayle Forman is the highly anticipated sequel to If I Stay , one of the best books I read last year. (click to read my review)

If I Stay was amazing. If I let myself, I could go on and on about that book, but I've already written that review, so I'm going to limit myself to one adjective. If I Stay is one of those books with characters that seriously move you and become real to you. You hurt with them, feel with them, love, cry, and bleed with them. So, I'm not even a little embarrassed to admit that when I found out Gayle Forman had written a sequel from Adam's POV 3 years later, I made some really interesting noises, jumped up and down a little bit, and had to take a break from my computer because I couldn't get my heart rate down. It shouldn't surprise anyone that this is/was my most highly anticipated novel of 2011.

Antony John, the author of Five Flavors of Dumb hosted a giveaway on his site for a copy of his novel and his ARC of Where She Went. Not gonna lie — I freaked out a little bit. I got my #1 most anticipated book along with a book I've heard nothing but good things about and had been interested in reading. Made of Awesome! So thanks Antony for giving me a copy, and thanks Gayle for writing such great stuff. Now, I'm going to tell you why I loved it. Also — I'm going to assume, if you are reading my review, that you have already read If I Stay, and this review is full of spoilers for If I Stay. (Actually the existence of a sequel is a spoiler, but I digress.)

Although this was my highly anticipated book, I was a lot scared of it. I loved If I Stay, and I thought the story was perfect as it was. I didn't think it needed anything else. What if the sequel wasn't as good? What if it ruined the way I viewed Adam and Mia?! The synopsis tells us that they aren't together anymore, and that Adam has a girlfriend. Who is not Mia. After I got this book in the mail, I stared at it for a few days, scared to open it in case my expectations and hopes were dashed into the dirt. How can you top a story like If I Stay?!

The answer? You don't. You just finish the story. Where She Went is Adam's story. On the outside, Adam's life is perfect. He's got the rich and famous rocker lifestyle, complete with gorgeous girlfriend, but he is miserably unhappy and suffers from some serious anxiety about crowds. He hasn't talked to Mia in years, and everyone knows better than to bring her up around him. This is the story about what happens when fate gives them a possible evening together, and they decide to take it.

Where She Went does not have the emotional impact of If I Stay. It can't. If I Stay is Mia trying to decide if she is going to live or die, and Where She Went is dealing with the aftermath of that decision, and Mia and Adam's break-up. But the magic of both these books is not the situation our characters find themselves in, but the characters themselves. The connection I shared with them as a reader was so strong I knew how they would react or feel as they did. I felt with them.

It was so interesting being inside Adam's head this time around, and I feel like that is the real strength of the novel. He is still struggling with his role in bringing her back, only to lose her. He promised her that if she would live, he would let her leave him if she needed to, as long as she was alive in the world, somewhere. But, I don't actually think that he believed she would. So when she does, he takes it really hard. Which is, ironically, when he wrote the music that made his band such a success.

Where She Went is told in the same style as If I Stay. We only hear what Adam is thinking, the story takes place entirely in one evening, and a lot of the details are supplied by relevant and revealing flashbacks. This is how we learn why Mia left and what their lives were like after the accident. And, it's not really a pretty picture. Things have been rough for them.

Mia's story was scary in it's simplicity. Everything in her story pivots around one crucial event, one major decision — My family is gone, do I stay, or do I go? Adam's story is more complex. Outwardly, his life should be perfect but he's a mess. And people are not quite as understanding or empathetic that you miss your high school girlfriend as they would be about missing your entire family. Although, as I mentioned before, this story can't have the same emotional impact as If I Stay did, the emotion is definitely there, and the story is more complex, more layered. Adam has more he has to deal with than Mia did, and he handles stress in very different (often unhealthy) ways.

I could talk your ear off (or eyes...) about this book all day long. But, to at least appear/pretend that I know how to be concise, I'm going to leave you with the knowledge that this book is wonderfully brilliant and the perfect follow up to If I Stay. Nothing else would have worked for Mia and Adam. Love it or hate it, this was undeniably their destiny and I loved being there to watch them fulfill it.

This awesome interview comes to us courtesy of Bonnie from A Backwards Story. We've already mentioned Bonnie and the sphere of awesome she inhabits — she's really gotten on board with Fairy Tale Fortnight, and on top of posting scads of awesome reviews on her blog during the event, she's also sending some pretty terrific content our way, to share with you.
For today's post, Bonnie sat down to talk with Heather Dixon, author of the debut fairy tale Entwined, based on Misty's childhood favorite, The 12 Dancing Princesses.
(Yay!)

Heather Dixon’s debut novel, Entwined, is a re-telling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses. The novel is lush and fleshes out the classic tale in a beautiful, descriptive fashion. For a review of Entwined, please visit A Backwards Story or Books From Bleh to Basically Amazing

Heather was kind enough to not only sit down and take the time to answer some questions, but scrounge up some awesome Disney trivia for everyone! Thanks so much, Heather!

1) What were your favorite fairy tales growing up? What drew you to them?
I really loved Disney’s Cinderella, and, of course, The Twelve Dancing Princesses, for the same reason: the visual aspect! I loved watching Cinderella’s rags transform into a beautiful dress, and I loved going through The Twelve Dancing Princesses picture books and seeing all of their dresses, and the sparkling forests. Call me shallow…I like pictures.

2) Was it hard coming up with your own spin on The Twelve Dancing Princesses when you began world-building for Entwined? How did you bring everything together?
The early-early drafts of Entwined were horrendous. It was much closer to the original Grimm fairy tale, took place in the medieval time period, and there was a lot to do with witches and blood magic. But it was so dark; I didn’t enjoy how I felt when I worked on it. It wasn’t until I established the theme of the story—forgiveness between the princesses and their father—that it started to take off. The Victorian time period, with its rules and mourning, was the perfect backdrop. Not to mention the dancing with waltzes and balls, and the courtships! Like magic, everything unfolded after that.

3) What are some of your favorite fairy tale inspired novels and/or authors?
I like all of them, from Ella Enchanted to Beauty! My favorite though is Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavitt. It is a beautiful story with so much depth.

4) If you could live out any fairy tale, what would it be and why?
Yikes, I don’t know if I’d want to live one out. They’re all kind of Grimm. (Ber-dum ching!) I wouldn’t say no to Sleeping Beauty. She has a pretty cushy life and gets to sleep for 100 years. I could handle that.

5) Will you be writing any more fairy tale novels? Can you tell us anything about your upcoming work?
Right now I don’t have any fairy tales in the novel pipeline, but I can see myself doing a princess comic or picture book, or a long rhyming fairy tale. (A fun one: a retelling of Undine, but with the princess trapped in reflections rather than water.) I’d also love to do a novel of The Nutcracker or Candyland.

6) What’s your favorite Disney rendition of a fairy tale? What makes it so special?
I love all the Disney fairy tales. They do a tremendous job with their adaptations. I feel a real kinship with Disney’s Sleeping Beauty though because of the spectacular art. The beautiful Eyvind Earle backgrounds/art direction and the Tom Oreb character designs are so inspiring. I find it very touching.

And, because I'm a sucker for animation, here are a couple of tasties about Disney's fairy tales:

-Disney's Cinderella is based off of the Charles Perrault version, not the Brother's Grimm (Nearly all the versions of Cinderella I know of have been based off of Perrault's).
[Misty says: That's because Perrault is awesomesauce. Hands down fave.]

-The backgrounds in Disney's Snow White are muted and soft because the artists were unsure people could handle brighter colors in a feature-length film.

-Disney's new movie, Tangled, was originally meant to have a rococo look, but when the project switched direction, the makers chose Disney's Cinderella and Disneyland's Fantasyland (!) as inspiration for their new look.

-Some little-known fairy-tale adaptations Disney has done: The Tin Soldier (from Fantasia 2000) and The Little Match Girl (a short at the beginning of The Little Mermais’s re-release). They've also been working (off and on) with Hans Christian Anderson's The Snow Queen.

-The tall, vertical trees and square bushes in Disney's Sleeping Beauty were based off of medieval tapestries.

-Right now Pixar is working on Brave, a fairy-tale story about a girl archer.

-Disney's Cinderella takes place in the late Victorian era.

Matched by Ally Condie was one of those books that I was super excited about. When I first heard about it, I was beyond excited. I love dystopian literature, and was definitely looking forward to spending some time in Cassia's world. I tend to ignore the hype that other people give to a story, so that rarely affects my overall feelings toward to book, but my own expectations certainly come into play.

The beginning of the story was brilliant. I just knew, by about page 10 that this was a book I was going to need to own. It was only the first chapter, but I already felt that edge of your seat excitement, wondering what was going to happen. The book begins with Cassia on her way to the matching banquet, and her nervous excitement definitely rubbed off on me. I was quite impressed by Condie's writing skills. It's not often I'm that hooked on a story that early.

I felt like I knew that my expectations had been on the mark, and this book was going to amaze me. Sadly, although I did enjoy it, the build up and anticipation ended up being both bigger and better than what was actually delivered.

Condie did a wonderfully horrible job of world building. I think that the idea behind the Society is extra scary, because so few people question it, and so few people recognize that there is something wrong with the way they live, at least of the characters that we met. The Society has completely removed choice. The ability to make my own choices is something I've thought a lot about. I don't believe in destiny or fate, and I don't believe that anyone has a right to make my choices for me, whether my choices are good or bad, they are mine, and mine alone. But, the people in Cassia's world have never known choice. The Society removed it by telling the people that their way was best — it removed disease, genetically weak children, old age, crime, etc. All the bad things are gone, leaving only the 'good' behind. But none of that good is something you were able to decide on.

I listened to Cassia tell us about the choices the Society made for her, and justify their actions, and I kept waiting and waiting for her to wake up, and realize how awful an existence that was. But it wasn't until she began to fall in love with Ky, and realize that she would never be able to be with him that she decided the Society was in the wrong.

Now, I understand that the love story between Cassia and Ky is important to the story, that this is where her awakening begins and yada yada yada. But I was a little disappointed, because I felt like that's all the story was. When I read a dystopian novel, I expect the conflict between character and world to be dominant, not the conflict between love interests. I never felt like Cassia really came to the understanding that the Society was inherently bad or flawed. All she knew was that the Society's control over her ability to make choices was keeping her apart from Ky, whom she loved and that Ky would never be able to make his own choices. If the Society had noticed this part of her, and made an exception for her and Ky, I kind of believe that she would have then been content to live the remainder of her life in peace, leaving the Society as it stands and forgetting her teenaged rebellion in favor of the peaceful settled life with Ky.

There was also a lot of information missing from the story. A lot was left undisclosed, most importantly — how the world became the way it is now. It would take some seriously heavy stuff to completely obliterate choices like that, and I would like to know what happened that convinced the people it was okay to give up all rights and choices, and how long it took to happen. I do know that this is a trilogy, so there are two more books for Condie to make her explanations, but I would still have liked a little more information.

I'm briefly mentioning the love triangle with Xander and Ky because I know that is the main basis for the book, but I don't really think there was that much conflict. This wasn't a case of being in love with my best friend, and then having someone else pop up. Although Cassia and Xander are matched, and even though she is excited about kissing the boy she knows she will marry, Cassia is never really in love with Xander. She loves Ky, and you always know the story is headed in that direction. But, I will say that I thought both boys were incredibly well written characters, and both of them care about Cassia very much. I am looking forward to their roles in the future.

Even though there were a few things I disliked, this really was an enjoyable book. I liked reading it, and would definitely consider myself a fan. I will be reading the next book and I can only hope that Cassia will open her eyes to more flaws than just the injustice being done to Ky.

*Disclaimer: I received this book through Around the World Tours.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan is my first real experience with zombies, and I can't say I was disappointed. It was... Wow.

There were a lot of things that I really liked about this book, something I really didn't like about this book, and things I didn't really like, but couldn't have had it happen any other way. Sigh... I love when a book can bring such varied reactions at the same time while still being great! This is definitely a book that grabs your attention and keeps it, all the way to the end.

I do wish that we had learned more about the Sisterhood and the Guardians. Both groups (but especially the Sisterhood) gave off these real creepy sinister vibes, but we never really get to learn about them. It's hinted at and alluded too, but never spoken.

I also was fairly dissatisfied by the ending. It left a lot of unanswered questions, some I believe will be answered in the sequel(s), but some I imagine will never be answered. The very end was also the only time I actually felt that Mary was selfish. I've read quite a few reviews that complain about how selfish Mary is throughout the entire story, but I didn't see it. Sure, she was a teenager with the natural amounts of self-centeredness that goes along with that, but I didn't think she was anymore selfish than the average teenager, until her choices at the very end, which I won't tell you (obviously) because it would be a shame to spoil this book for you like that.

Although there were a few things I didn't love about this book, for the most part I was incredibly pleased. The writing was wonderful and captivating, beautiful and heartbreaking. I love that the undead were referred to as 'unconsecrated'. It changed the rhythm of the story (if that makes sense) and I definitely liked it. Any way you talk about them though, I definitely don't want to live in a world where zombies exist. ~shudder~

This book, although beautifully written and brilliantly designed is not a happy book. It's about the end of the world, and zombies, so it's to be expected. And, while I definitely prefer reading books with a happy ending and lots of closure, the stark realities of their world, and the unhappiness they have to live with is infinitely more logical, likely and realistic. So, even while crying, and wishing things had ended differently, this ending made sense to me, and felt right.

This is definitely a book that will stay with me for a while. And, I'm eagerly awaiting the chance to read the sequels.

The False Princess by Ellis O'Neal is the story of Nalia, a 16 year old princess who finds out shortly after her birthday that she is not the princess after all. After a prophecy that stated the princess could die before her 16th birthday, the king and queen and their trusted magical advisors secretly switched the true princess with a peasant to keep her safe. Now that they have reached 16, the princess will live, and it is now safe to bring the princess, who has no idea who she is out of hiding. This means that Nalia, or rather, Sinda must leave. She is sent with no training or preparation to live in a small village with an aunt who believed her dead, and was happy to keep it that way. But it would be too easy to end our story there. There is far more in store for Sinda. She just has to wait.

The False Princess is a strong story. It has all the elements necessary to a great book — The writing is engaging, clear and vivid. The characters are unique and individuals. There are no stock characters here. Each has their own personality, their own tastes, their own motivations. And the story itself, Oh the story! Everyone likes the idea that we are more than we first imagine ourselves to be. That there is something within each of us that is destined for greatness. Sometimes, the circumstances of our birth give us the opportunity to cultivate that, to let it out. Sometimes, they conspire against us to keep us down. And others times, as with Sinda, things get so twisted up that you barely know up from sideways anymore. But no matter what our circumstances would dictate our lives to be, we make of them what we will, and we grow into who we would be.

While this story isn't a fairy tale retelling, it does have the elements important to a fairy tale, and it leaves a reader with a feeling of Once Upon a Time. It has a princess, heroes in unlikely places, a dashing love interest, magic, evil, surprises, and hope. It is a story that will speak to everyone who has ever wished to be a princess, to everyone who has ever wanted a little bit of magic in their life, and to everyone who has wanted to make a difference in the lives of those around them.

The world and character building of O'Neal here is spot on. She has brilliantly captured what it would be like to go from royalty to peasant in the space of an afternoon. When she gets to her aunt's house, she has no idea what to do, or how to work. She has never had to do any of these things on her own before. She doesn't make friends easily, doesn't understand the people around her, and doesn't feel like she is ever going to fit in. She also begins to see the world from an entirely new perspective. She begins to understand the casual cruelty that comes from never having wanted for anything, from being given everything you have ever wanted or needed. The king and queen took her from her family as an infant with no thoughts beyond saving their daughter. If a peasant girl had to die in the process, so be it. They don't think much about their people because they don't understand their life. So what if they are a little poor. They should just work harder. The gift they gave to her aunt for taking Sinda into her home is useless. In theory or thought, it's a lovely gift, but one with absolutely no use in her life. Sinda never noticed things like this as a princess, and as she begins to realize these things, she changes. She grows as a person.

No review of this book would be complete without some mention of Keirnan, who has been Nalia Sinda's best friend for as long as they can remember. He is the perfect friend for Sinda, carefree where she is more serious, and always there for her. You don't see a lot of him in the beginning section of the book, after Sinda leaves the castle, but the few times we do get to meet him, it is very clear how much he cares for her, how much he wants her to be happy, and yes, how much he cares for her. He's exactly the kind of best friend (male or female) that everyone needs.

Overall, this is a book worth reading again and again. This is O'Neal's debut novel and I find myself eagerly awaiting announcements of her future releases. She is an author to watch, and this is a book to be read. So go do it. Now. And then come back and tell me that you loved it as much as I did. Go ahead. I'll still be here when you get back.:)

*Sidenote: This book could easily have been used during Fairy Tale Fortnight (which starts tomorrow!) but I just didn't have the space to fit it in. However, Stay tuned, because I might, just maybe be having a post go up with an interview with this author.:) Stay tuned.

*Disclaimer: I received this book as part of Star Book Tours.

Blue by Lou Aronica is a book that is impossibly hard to categorize. It is, at once, an adult story of life, love and divorce, a young adult story of learning to life with what life has handed you, a high fantasy story with rich and beautiful world building and a tragedy about learning what it means to heal.

Blue is told through three main view points. Chris is a man in his early 40s, divorced and the father of 14 year old Becky, who was, is and always will be the center of his world. Becky is our second narrator. She was diagnosed with Leukemia at age 5. It has been in remission for years, but she's starting to feel weak again. Chris and Becky created a fantasy world called Tamarisk when she was sick as a way to take her mind off the pain and help her deal with what was happening to her body. Miea is the Princess of this world, and now, 4 years after they have stopped telling the story, Miea is our third narrator. Her beloved Tamarisk is real, and in serious trouble. A blight is killing the vegetation and nothing they do is able to stop the damage.

There is also a fourth voice to the story, one that is only around for a few paragraphs here and there. Through some careful manipulation on his part, he opens a pathway between Miea and Becky, allowing her to visit the fantasy world that helped her accept her illness. As she begins spending time there, Tamarisk starts to minimize the empty space between Becky and her father that has grown since Chris moved out of the house after the divorce. They begin to draw closer together, much as they were when Becky was young.

I didn't really know what to expect from this book going into it. I thought the idea of a made-up, healing fantasy world come to live was interesting, so when I was approached to review this book, I accepted. I didn't know what to expect, but man, I didn't expect this! Blue is so much more than it appears to be. Most of my thoughts are tied up in how complex this story is, and how full of meaning each passage is.

I felt for these characters. My heart broke for Chris. His thoughts are constantly tied up in his daughter, wanting desperately to do right by her, but no longer understanding how to bridge the gap his divorce has broached between them. When Polly, his ex-wife, approached him asking for a divorce, Christ was caught completely off guard. Their marriage hadn't been good for a long time, but Chris was determined and willing to stick it out, because he wanted to stay in the same house as his daughter, didn't want to miss any nights tucking her into bed.

Although he desperately wants to be a good father, and he truly loves his daughter, there were times when I was almost uncomfortable with the intensity of his thoughts and focus on his daughter. Don't get me wrong. There was never any mention or hint of inappropriate behavior, but everything revolved around Becky. He himself mentions that his whole being is consumed by Becky (although I am paraphrasing a little bit) and that doesn't leave much room for anything else. I don't really know how to properly articulate what about the descriptions made me uncomfortable, but there was just this underlying feeling of... not-rightness.

A hugely important part of the story is Tamarisk, the fantasy land where Miea is now the Queen, desperately trying to salvage and save her home. The world building here was fantastical and beyond beautiful. The world has a song to it, and smells of chocolate and raspberries. It's a beautiful place to be and the imagination it took to create that world is astounding. When Becky begins traveling to Tamarisk, she is delighted by the reality of this world she created.

Although Tamarisk is a stunning part of the story, the real draw to the story for me was the relationships. Becky has a way about her that draws people in. I would like to meet this little girl, shake her hand, and spend a day talking to her. Having an illness as serious as Becky's gives people a unique approach to life. Becky desperately wants to live, and she understands the value of relationships and love. Lonnie has been her best friend and truest confidant since pre-school. She was there for the prior illness, but she's stayed by Becky's side the whole time.

There is so much love and hope on the pages of this book that I feel full of it right now. It's a story that will stick with me for a long time and one that will draw my mind back again and again. There is so much to say about this book, but telling you too much would lessen the experience for you. So I can only tell you that this is a book worth reading.

*Disclaimer: I received this book from the author through Pump Up Your Book.

how i live now by Meg Rosoff won the Printz Award in 2005. Beyond that, I didn't know much about this book when I picked it up, other than it takes place during an almost apocalyptic war. I must say that when I started reading, I was not expecting this book.

Our narrator is Daisy, a 15 year old from Manhattan who is coming to England to visit some cousins to escape, what in her mind, is a toxic environment (wicked and pregnant step-mother). At first, I almost felt like I rattled around this book. There is very little standard sentence structure, punctuation and grammar. It took me a few pages to really understand the style of writing and at first, I didn't like it. It's written as a stream of consciousness narrative, so we are actually 'listening' to Daisy's thoughts. And remember, she's a 15 year old from Manhattan who may or may not be slightly unbalanced.

As I mentioned, I didn't originally like the writing style. This was my first experience with this style of writing and it took some getting used to. Once I got involved in the story though, the prose flowed wonderfully and felt insanely realistic. I felt like I was connected to Daisy in a way that rarely happens with a character. I understood her because I was experiencing her.

It was an interesting way to learn about a character, because there wasn't really an introduction in the normal method. We learn about Daisy as she thinks certain details. We don't get a lot of back story on her family, because she doesn't like to think about them. We don't know a lot about her English cousins, because she doesn't know a lot about her English cousins. There are certain facts about Daisy that are never really specified. They are hinted at through conversations with other people and later on in the story are addressed a little more, but as long as Daisy chooses not to think about/focus on them, we don't get anymore information. We are completely in Daisy's mind.

I will admit that I was a little bit weirded out by the incest. Daisy and her cousin Edmond fall in love, and do very little to stop or hide their feelings. Their relationship was incredibly intense. It's hinted throughout the whole story that there may be something a little bit extra in the way these three English cousins are able to communicate, and you see elements of this in Daisy's interactions with all three cousins, although none more so than Edmond. After Daisy and Edmond are separated during the war, they maintain an almost telepathic connection allowing them to know the other is safe, and deliver comfort when needed. I will say one thing though — this relationship was vital to the story. It was a necessary part to truly advance the plot and the characters in the way required. Rosoff uses this as a device but she doesn't let it become overwhelming or take control of the story. It is there, but it isn't extreme and it's definitely far from the level of V.C. Andrews. (That stuff is just creepy to be creepy.)

I know that this review is a little all over the place, and I apologize for that. However, that's a little bit the way this book makes you feel, so i don't really feel too bad about it.

I definitely recommend this book, although I will say that this is not for the faint of heart or the squeamish. This is a story about growing up and discovering who you are and what is most important in life. But, it takes place during a war. War is never pretty, and Rosoff makes no attempt to spare readers from the horrors of a major war. The way the characters handle the side effects of war felt very real, very raw. My heart hurts for these children.

This isn't a book that's going anywhere for me for a while. It's definitely one that is going to stay with me for a long time. Daisy really gets into your mind, just as you get into hers. It's a book to make you think, to make you questions, to give you hope, and to make you reevaluate everything you once thought important. This is one of those books I imagine you love a little more every time you read it. So what are you waiting for? Go grab it!

With us now, we have Jaclyn Dolamore, author of Magic Under Glass and the upcoming Between the Sea and Sky. Jaclyn was homeschooled in a hippie sort of way and spent her childhood reading as many books as her skinny nerd-body could lug from the library and playing elaborate pretend games with her sister Kate. She skipped college and spent eight years drudging through retail jobs, developing her thrifty cooking skills and pursuing a lifelong writing dream. She has a passion for history, thrift stores, vintage dresses, David Bowie, drawing, and organic food. She lives with her partner and plot-sounding-board, Dade, and two black tabbies who have ruined her carpeting. So now, I give you, Jaclyn:

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The "Serious" stuff:

~ Even if not direct fairy tale retellings, your stories definitely have fairy tale-esque elements. Is this intentional on your part, or just a by-product of the tales you like to tell? Any plans to do a direct retelling?

Well, so far, my intention with any story is to take a period of history and run it through an otherworldly, magical filter. I guess the fairy tale part just comes in as a by-product. Certainly, I read a lot of fairy tales as a child; we had an old book of Perrault stories as well as some of the Lang Fairy Books, Russian tales and Hans Christian Andersen (way to traumatize me as a child, Hans), and I read many retellings. One of my favorite things are stories that mash-up a bunch of tales like the mini-series "The Tenth Kingdom" (seriously, it is so fun, if anyone hasn't seen it yet you should), the musical Into the Woods, or the comic Fables. I always thought that would be fun to do, but I'd have to come up with a new take on it because it's already been done so well by others. I've often thought it would be fun to do a fairy tale retelling, but I'm waiting for the right one to cross my path, something a little creepy but also romantic in just the right way... Of course I've seen a lot of comparisons between Magic Under Glass and Beauty and the Beast so perhaps I DO retell fairy tales in some ways.

~ Your ideas are really original and interesting, with great juxtaposition (a dancer falling for an automaton, a mermaid falling for a winged man, etc): can you tell us a little bit about where these stories come from?

I am a SUCKER for star-crossed romances between two outsiders. Magic Under Stone, of course, continues the Erris/Nimira love story but there is also a jinn whose master pits him against the girl he loves. (To be very vague about it... I don't want to be spoiler-y.) All my books have some element of this and I doubt that will change anytime soon. I am especially attracted to stories about two like minds in unlike bodies... a girl and an automaton, a girl with a fish tail and a boy with wings... I guess they are kind of stories about how human hearts cross boundaries.

~You mentioned in a past interview with another blogger (I’ll link to it) that you wanted to see more Victorian era fantasy, so you wrote Magic Under Glass: what was the research process like for this? Beyond the rest of the Magic series, do you intend to set any more books in the Victorian era, or is there another time period calling your name?

I've always loved the Victorian era, and history in general, and I am a total non-fiction book junkie, especially when it comes to the details of domestic life such as houses, clothes, social mores, etc. so I wrote the first draft of Magic Under Glass without any research. But, the more detail, the better, so I also read many books while writing it, and looked at a lot of period photography of people and places so I could capture details like what you would really see when you walked down the street or what accessories a woman would wear with her dress.

As for other time periods, well, Between the Sea and Sky is set in that world's equivalent of 1800, so it's earlier than Magic Under Glass, and now I am working on a novel based loosely on the 1927 German silent film Metropolis, so the settling is based heavily on Weimar Berlin. Which has proved to be a pain to research. Most books on Weimar Berlin seem geared to really intellectual political or art scholars and as an extra bonus, were translated from German and read very stilted, and it's been hard to find much information on everyday life. Even memoirs and diaries have been kind of hard to find. I've cheated a bit and read a lot about 1920s Paris... There is a silent film called "Berlin: Symphony of a Great City" that is nothing but scenes of everyday life in 1920s Berlin, though, so you do find these little tidbits...

~I know Between the Sea and Sky is a companion novel of sorts to Magic Under Glass, but do you intend it to be a stand-alone, or is it going to spin-off into its own series?

It stands alone. I do have some sequel ideas, although they would focus on characters that are children in Between the Sea and Sky. But whether my publisher would buy a sequel depends on whether the book does well.

~What’s the most challenging aspect of writing for you? And what’s the thing that makes it all worthwhile?

Challenging: There is always a sticky spot somewhere in the middle of a book. Also, endings! Sealing the deal is one of my weaknesses for sure. I don't really LIKE things to end... In my mind my books keep going, but of course I can't write endless sequels to everything, so I have to find a spot to wrap everything up, it's just hard. And action scenes. Augh. As a reader, I usually skim fights and escapes. I wish I could skim them as a writer too...

But except for those occasionally sticky spots, I love every part of writing; the research, the early development, the first page, the part where you really start to know where it's going, the editing, the line editing, the copy editing... And sharing that story with others and hearing from fans is a huge rush, although I have to be careful not to get caught up in advances or awards or fans (or the flipside--the lack of those things) and stay focused on the writing itself.

~What is your writing process like? What do you do to prepare and get yourself in the mood to create worlds?

I'm a workaholic, really. I do take days off. But I feel very guilty about them, unless I take an actual vacation away from home. Even when I'm not writing, I think about both my current project and think ahead to my next project almost constantly. It's a constant struggle not to zone right out of my real life and back into my invented one. One time I was apparently in 7-11 with an old man clad entirely in lime green spandex and I didn't notice. I got to the car and my boyfriend was like, "Did you see that guy in line in front of you and his crazy outfit?" I was like, "Uhh, I was thinking about my characters... " Even as a kid I was like that. I'm just glad I found a way to make a career out of it...

~What’s your favorite scene you’ve ever written?

@_@ Ever?

Boy, that's tough. I do love the climax of Between the Sea and Sky, with its mingled vulnerability and yearning. And kissing and rain. Who doesn't enjoy that mix?

Quickfire, Silly and Random stuff:

~Rapunzel is named after lettuce; what odd thing would you be named after if you were in a fairy tale?
Hmm, not to steal the produce thing, but I could be named after an apple. I think they are nature's most perfect food! Plus they turn up in fairy tales a lot.
~ Using that name, give us a line from your life as a fairy tale:
"When the weather was fine, Jonagold and her sister Gingergold would play in the scrub pine forest, catching minnows in the pond and crawling under the palmettos hoping to spot rabbits, but they never ventured into the swamp, for that was where the fairies lived."
(Note 1: Apples don't make for very good names. Especially if you are trying to find some that match. Note 2: I really did grow up on a 5-acre property in central Florida with a swamp in back and I wouldn't be surprised if some North American breed of fairy lived back there.)

~Best fairy tale villain and why?

Bluebeard. Talk about creep-tacular; it plays to my love of the mysteries behind locked doors, but in a far scarier way than The Secret Garden. The first time you hear that story you NEVER forget it... Although I also love crone archetypes in general which includes a lot of women you wouldn't want to cross paths with like Baba Yaga.

~Favorite tale from childhood? Favorite tale as an adult? Least favorites?

In childhood my favorite tale was in a collection "Princess Tales" by Nora Kramer. I no longer have this book and I'm not sure if it was an original story or based on an older tale; the collection did have The Twelve Dancing Princesses in it so I'm not sure, but I vaguely recall it was about a painter who painted an ugly-but-honest picture of the king or something and was thrown in a prison with a tiny window, but a blackbird would visit him, and in the end just as he was about to be executed the birds saved him. I was enthralled by the poor painter trapped with only one window and the birds rescuing him. I need to get a new copy of that book... As an adult my favorite might be The Seven Swans; I always feel for the poor mute girl weaving shirts of nettles and I always wonder about the brothers who lived as swans and the boy who was left with one wing in the end. I like birds, clearly. There is actually a fairy tale I invented mentioned within Between the Sea and Sky called "The Girl Who Fell in Love with a Bird."

~If you could be any fairy tale character, or live through any fairy tale "happening," who/what would it be?

Fairy tale characters don't have very good lives! I mean, up until the happily ever after part. I guess I'd be Sleeping Beauty because at least she just sleeps through the whole thing. So many of them have to go through a lot of trials; great fun to read about but not much fun to live through.

~Would you rather:
- — live under a bridge with a troll, or all alone in a high tower?
I think I need more information about the troll and what kind of roommate (bridge-mate) he would be before I can decide...

- — ride everywhere in a pumpkin carriage (messy) or walk everywhere in glass shoes (uncomfortable)?
Glass shoes. I already have a heck of a time finding comfortable dressy shoes so maybe it wouldn't be much difference.

- — have a fairy godmother or a Prince Charming?
These quickfire questions are harder than the serious questions!;) Well, I guess, although the term "Prince Charming" sounds shallow, I'd rather have someone to spend my life with than a fairy godmother.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A conversation with Misty and Ashley:

Misty and Ashley: Wow! Jaclyn, you are amazing! We loved the interview!

Ashley: So, Jaclyn's bio mentions that she loves to draw. It would be cruel, would it not, to brag about her mad-drawing skills and not share that with the rest of the world.

Misty: It would be cruel. Too true!

Ashley: So, because Jaclyn has an official saved spot at the 'Fairy Tale Cool Kids Table' and is not, in fact, a cruel person, she has offered up an absolutely stunning giveaway!

Misty: She is providing one lucky winner with hand-drawn bookplates, featuring the main couples from each of her novels. Aren't these covers absolutely stunning?!

Ashley: What must you do to win these bookplates? These hand-drawn bookplates?! It's simple really. You must provide us with unicorn sprinkle cupcakes. (what Misty? Oh... Ooops. Right)

Ahem. To win this one-of-a-kind giveaway, you must leave us a comment. But, not just any comment. Because Jaclyn is putting so much effort into making this giveaway special for you, you must put forth a little effort as well. For any MEANINGFUL comment left on this review, you will be entered to win. If your comment isn't meaningful, I'm going to assume that you don't actually want to win the awesomeness that is these bookplates, and I will NOT enter you into the contest. You must also leave a way for us to contact you, if you are the winner. If I can't contact you, you can't get your prize.

This contest IS open Internationally!
Closes May 5th.

Today's post is a part of the Teen Book Scene Tour for Nickel Plated by Aric Davis. Aric joins us today to share his Top Ten Tattoos!

Not all of my tattoos are something I would get again. Not to say that I regret having them, more that I wish something else were there in place of them. On the other hand, there are some tattoos that I wear that I cannot imagine not having. These are some of them.

10. AmazonEncore logo on my right ring finger.
This is my newest tattoo, done by my friend Johnny Spinoso. I knew as soon as I started writing that if I ever got published, my first publisher’s logo was going in that spot, so it was an easy decision to get it done. I still haven’t told them, how much longer should I wait?

9. “Old School” Sailor Girl with British Flag on my inner right bicep.
This one was done in 1997 by Mario Barth while he was guest spotting at a rival shop in town. I got the tattoo to celebrate my English heritage, and well, girls. The design my tattoo was sourced from was found in the book “Pierced Hearts and True Love”, but the name of the original artist escapes me.

8. Heart on my left bicep.
It might be risky for some people, but I am never going to regret having my wife’s name tattooed on me. Scott Sylvia did the tattoo for me at a convention a few years ago, and added a calla lily, the flower she carried at our wedding. It’s almost too pretty for me to wear.

7. Bird on my right hand.
Pure simplicity. A bird cribbed from the work of Sailor Jerry, carrying a ribbon with my lucky number in it.

6. Mask on my shin.
Jon Clue did this one, it’s really ornate. The tattoo is a stone mask, with huge ears like me. There’s a city in the mouth of the mask, with a river of blood pouring from its lips, and atop the mask is a green snake. The detail is seriously amazing, especially considering I had this done in late 1999, it’s held up really well. This tattoo holds my personal record for the longest I’ve gotten tattooed in one session, ten and a half hours! I’m not ever breaking that one.

5. Shai’ Hulud with mandala and crazy rocks on my right forearm.
My Dune tattoo! I’ve loved these books for a really long time, and the artist who first did this left my forearm a mess. Luckily, my friend Guy Aitchison was able to make this sucker really sing. He also did some rocks and a mandala on the back of my arm. If you’ve seen Guy’s work before, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Guy is quite possibly the most talented tattooist to ever live, being able to wear his work, and call him a friend is a huge honor.

4. Book on my left hand.
My dear friend Shawn Heath did this one for me, and it’s super awesome, but really simple. I told my wife when I was twenty that I wanted a book on my left hand, and a bird on the right. She said fine, but to wait ten years. She didn’t think I really would! The book is different than I first imagined, but it’s better than I imagined, too. It celebrates my love of reading and writing, but hilariously, most people think it’s a bible.

3. Remembrance tattoo on the back of my neck.
The death of my maternal grandparents hit me hard, and I knew that I wanted a tattoo to celebrate them. My friend Johnny Spinoso was again my partner in crime for this one, and he did an awesome job. A banner with my mother’s maiden name in it, a hammer symbolizing a lifetime of building for my grandfather, and a spoon symbolizing the joy my grandmother took in cooking for her loved ones.

2. Infinity symbol on my left ring finger.
My wife and I had these done when we got engaged, mine by Guy Aitchison, hers by Guy’s wife, Michele Wortman. We sat in the same room and all four of us had a really great time. I’m pretty sure it was the first time Guy and Michele had done something like that as a couple, and of course it was a wonderful bonding experience for my wife and me.

1. My daughter’s name.
First name on my right wrist, middle on my left wrist. Just as simple as that, totally beautiful.

Thanks so much for joining us today Aric! Stop by in April for my review of Nickel Plated and be sure to check out the rest of the stops on the tour!

We have with us today fairy tale writer extraordinaire, Donna Jo Napoli! Misty and Ashley would both like to give her a tremendous thanks! for helping us kick off Fairy Tale Fortnight in style with a giveaway of 15 books! (I know — incredible, right?!)
Her tales show painstaking research and originality, as well as a desire to push herself and her reader into new territory, and we're very proud to host her here during FTF!
So let's get down to business, shall we?

~ What made you decide to write retellings? Have you or would you consider writing a non-retelling?

My first retelling was The Prince of the Pond — the frog prince story, and I told it because when my children were little, we used to tell fairy stories from different points of view. It was simply fun. Then I got more and more into it — and found it a major challenge to try to get from one (bizarre — as they usually are) point in a classic fairy tale to the next (usually equally bizarre) point in a coherent way.
But I write lots of things that are not fairy tale retellings. Lots and lots.

~ It seems you always try to push readers beyond the “standard” fairy tale setting (somewhere vaguely western European, within the last few centuries): is this just more appealing to you as a writer, or is this a conscious decision on your part?
This is a conscious decision. The world is huge, yet, of course, global considerations are imperative today. Given the geographic isolation of North America, it's easy for children whose families don't travel outside to feel like the rest of the world is somewhat abstract. And even those children who have traveled often have seen other places only through the eyes of the tourist — which are, of course, heavily lidded. I try to bring my settings alive — I even think of them as characters, if you will — so that readers can feel invited into someplace they've perhaps never even heard of. They can walk the hills or fish the streams or help repair the mud huts, and they can feel more grounded in this other place so that it becomes much less "other."
~ A lot of the stories you've chosen to retell are the lesser known, or less popular fairy tales to retell. Many of your retellings are the only retellings for different fairy tales that I'm familiar with. Was this deliberate? How do you chose which fairy tales or stories you will retell?

I never read other people's retellings, so I don't know which tales have been done and which haven't. I write those that fascinate me — that make my guts twist because there's something in there that really hurts somehow.

~ Some of your fairy tales are distinctly darker than the traditional retellings on the market. What draws you in your writing to the darker side of things?

I work from the earliest versions of the stories I can find — and I generally match my tone to that version. So I guess what you're saying is that the oldest versions are dark — and, yup, I'd agree. Why do I like those dark stories? I love misery. Don't you?

~How do you go about choosing tales to retell? Do you have a list of sorts of tales that you want to tackle, or locations, etc? Or do you research various tales/places until something calls out to you?

I've done both plus other things. With The Magic Circle and The Prince of the Pond, my two earliest fairy tales, I loved the stories, so I set out to understand them and I came to believe they were, at heart, deeply rooted in the first country we find them in (Germany and England, respectively — or these were the first countries I found them in). With Ugly and Mogo the Third Warthog, two of my more recent fairy tales, I wanted to tell the tales but I also wanted to give the reader new kinds of experiences. Since I had spent two summers in Australia and seen the magnificent Australian swan, setting Ugly in Tasmania was a natural. With Mogo, I had worked briefly in South Africa and seen warthogs in the wild — but I chose Kenya (where I've never been) because I had been doing a lot of reading about trees in Kenya for a picture book (which came out in 2010 — Mama Miti) and I felt very attached to the country, even though I've never had the opportunity to visit. With Bound, I spent the summer of 1997 in Beijing and went crazy for China. For the next six years I always had a book about China open beside me. Then I decided I wanted to set a story there — and, miracle of miracles, i found out that our oldest version of Cinderella is Chinese. Utter luck.

I have a fairy tale I want to work on next — and what draws me to this one is the psychology of the characters. Where it will be set, I have no idea yet. I haven't begun to research it, so I don't know which were the oldest versions of it. I don't even know what time period to set it in. A ton of my decisions get made through the research.

~ You have retold so many stories. Are there any that you are especially proud of, or partial to?

I felt like I had descended into hell when I was writing The Magic Circle and I still think it's my most disturbing fairy tale.
*Misty perks up at this... *

~ Are there any of your retellings that were especially hard for you to write? Any that came easier than others?

Breath was very hard to write because it's a medical mystery of sorts and I had to keep myself from letting modern ways of investigating interfere with how someone would have seen things in the 1280s. It really drove me nuts not to be able to allow my main character to actually figure out what was wrong.
And I find writing fairytales with animal characters the easiest — although they aren't easy — just easier than the others. So Mogo, the Third Warthog, for example, was just plain fun to write. I love learning about animal habits.

Silly/fun/general questions:

~Rapunzel is named after lettuce; what odd thing would you be named after if you were in a fairy tale?
~ Using that name, give us a line from your life as a fairy tale:
Oh my. I think I'd probably be some kind of bitter herb that makes people see in weird colors. Maybe something psychedelic. Let's call it "Batso"
Okay — a line
"I don't know why he keeps stringing up squirrel tails in the garage; maybe he's trying to send me a message."

~Best fairy tale villain and why?
For sure the witch in Hansel and Gretel — because she eats babies (what could be more villainous?)

~Favorite tale from childhood? Favorite tale as an adult? Least favorites?
From childhood, maybe Peter Pan.
As an adult, maybe Hansel and Gretel.
Least favorite — as a kid, The Three Pigs (but writing Mogo the Third Warthog helped me come to terms with that tale)

~If you could be any fairy tale character, or live through any fairy tale "happening," who/what would it be?
I'm not sure. Maybe I'd like to meet those seven dwarfs.

~Would you rather:
- — eat magic beans or golden eggs?
Probably even magic beans give you gas, no?
I'll take the eggs.
- — style 50ft long hair or polish 100 pairs of glass slippers?
I'd go for polishing the slippers. I am into meditation and this sounds like a pretty good one.
- — have a fairy godmother or a Prince Charming?
Fairy godmother, for sure.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Thanks so much for stopping by, Donna Jo!
Everybody, make sure to leave Donna Jo some comment love below! And check out all of our DJN features during Fairy Tale Fortnight:
Bound | Hush | Sirena (coming soon) | Zel (coming soon)

Girl, Stolen by April Henry is the story of Cheyenne, a young girl accidentally kidnapped when someone steals the SUV she's sleeping in. She's sick, (pneumonia) and she's blind.

I can't imagine how terrifying that would be. Being kidnapped would be horrifying enough, but to be blind as well?! I can't imagine. I thought this was handled very well by the author. Cheyenne's emotional state when she realized she was being kidnapped seemed very real. She tried threats, she tried bargaining, and she tried begging. She was scared, but she's also a smart girl, and she thought things through — used her brains.

It was also interesting to watch Griffin's character, and discover more about him. He's the boy that takes the SUV, but right from the beginning, it's pretty obvious that he's not an inherently bad kid. There are outside influences on Griffin that seem to be shaping his behavior, and that broke my heart, just the tiniest bit.

Overall, reading this book I was more impressed with the characters than I was the story itself. Large parts of the story were just a little bit too unbelievable. It was hard to suspend my disbelief long enough to take what was happening to or between the characters seriously. However, I thought this was an interesting look into human characteristics. It's often hard to know who we will be in different situations, and how we would react to them. April Henry has us look into what circumstances might make of us. Griffin doesn't have to be a bad kid, he's just desperate for his father's love and approval. Cheyenne wasn't always blind but once she got over the initial shock and depression, she didn't let it keep her down, and she learned to live around the blindness. It makes me wonder how I'd react to various stimuli.

And, I also have to add that I loved the climax of the story! It was very well done, and the only part of the story I found to be compulsively readable. It was handled wonderfully, and was just realistic enough to have been possible.

Overall, this book was an enjoyable read, but not one I found to be terribly memorable. It's a book I'm not going to remember much about down the road, but it's that book that will come to mind at odd moments and make me stop, to think and contemplate on life.

*Disclaimer: I received this book through We Love YA Tours.

Everyone, please welcome Amber of The Literary Wife to the blog today for Memory Monday! I've loved chatting with Amber on Twitter and was thrilled when she agreed to be my guest! So, here she is!!

My name is Amber Keck and I have been blogging for almost a year at The Literary Wife. I started my blog to fulfill a challenge I gave myself to read through the Top 100 Children's Books, as compiled by Betsy Bird at A Fuse #8 Production. I have had a blast reading through old classics and some books that I hope will become classics in the future. It is my pleasure to be sharing with you, Ashley's readers.

Growing up, we lived about fifty feet from my town's public library, so you can imagine where I spent a lot of my time. I actually ended up working there in high school, one of the best jobs I have ever had. It was just a small library, but there was a great collection of children's literature, complete with bean bag chairs and an awesome reading area. I spent countless hours there reading or picking out books for my little brothers.

The highlight of my own book collection was definitely my impressive Babysitter's Club collection. At one time, I owed books one through 82 in the series. I think anyone that read these as an adolescent can resonate with the love and appreciation shown for this series. However, the series that I most remember devouring and loving is the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. From her first home in Wisconsin to moving in with her husband, we see Laura grow up and become a woman through much adventure and adversity. With Mary as the quiet fixture in her life and Pa as the one instigating her crazy antics, Laura is a character that you just can't help but love.

As I recently spoke about on my blog, I believe there is something in all of us that draws us to books with stories we will never experience. We live vicariously through the literature that we read and that was definitely the case with me and the stories of the Ingalls family. I will never make maple candy straight from the tree or watch my father build a home from logs that he cut down himself. This is the beauty of literature. We can transcend time and grow in our understanding of people by reading their stories and passing them on.

Thanks again Amber! I loved the post! I remember The BSC & Little House books! They were definite favorites! If you are interested in being a guest blogger for Memory Monday, in my blog for more info and the form, or shoot me an email!