Bewitching

March 1, 2012

Gr 8-10-Flinn's latest fairy-tale mash-up revisits the witch from Beastly (HarperTeen, 2007). The story jumps right in with Kendra explaining how she came to be a witch. In 1666, she fled her plague-ridden village in England with her little brother (and only surviving family member). The young witch was unaware of the full extent of her powers and near starving when she wandered lost in a vast forest with Charlie. The two stumbled upon a cottage that was constructed of sweet-smelling gingerbread, but as soon as the first delicious bite was swallowed, a witch captured them and declared her intention to "bake" them into cookies. Kendra harnessed her own newfound witchy powers and honed her wits to fool the elder witch and break free. She then went on to live as an eternal teenager, causing mischief in her attempts to "help" those in need. In addition to this "Hansel and Gretel" retelling, Bewitching visits "The Princess and the Pea" and "The Little Mermaid," but the main focus is on stepsisters Emma and Lisette. Emma takes over narrating the story of how beautiful and manipulative Lisette comes to live with her. Through lies and machinations she takes over Emma's life. Average-looking Emma is left with almost nothing until she starts a romance with fellow bookworm Warner. But when Lisette manages to even steal her boyfriend, Emma turns to Kendra for help. With hints of "Cinderella" and a sprinkling of valuable life lessons for teens ("beautiful on the outside does not mean beautiful on the inside" and "accept your own shape and size"), Emma's story will leave readers cheering. Bewitching is a humorous and engaging read that will appeal to those who love classic tales.-Tara Kehoe, Plainsboro Public Library, NJ

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2011
This entertaining twist on "Cinderella" centers on a centuries-old witch who sometimes helps her friends. Kendra's family died in the plague in 1666, the year she discovered she was a witch. Throughout the centuries, Kendra occasionally uses her powers to aid people, but not always to good effect. So Kendra hesitates when she meets Emma, a girl tormented by her new stepsister, Lisette. Lisette, the Cinderella character in the story, turns out to be the evil one, with dorky, bookish Emma the victim. Gorgeous, talented Lisette cares for no one but herself and successfully, it seems, steals Emma's beloved stepfather's affections, her jewelry, her clothes, her room and her car, and she seems to have her sights set on Emma's new boyfriend. Kendra, however, recounts several stories of magic gone bad, and isn't sure she ought to intervene. When finally she does, the story takes a delightfully surprising twist. Flinn throws in retellings of "Hansel and Gretel," "The Little Mermaid" and "The Princess and the Pea," along with the overriding Cinderella scenario, and she keeps the narrative moving along in sprightly fashion. It all adds up to plenty of fun that should appeal to many readers, particularly those who will delight in seeing the familiar tales in their new clothes. It's often touching, with an undercurrent of wry comedy, some history and a bit of a moral thrown in, as in any good fairy tale. Clever and enjoyable. (Paranormal romance. 12 & up)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

January 1, 2012
Grades 8-11 Kendra, the witch behind the transformational curse in Beastly (2007), finally has the floor. In 1666, teenage Kendra relates the horror of watching her family die from a plague, halted only when she becomes aware of her own magic and heals her remaining brother. Starving, they set out for a new life and find themselves at a gingerbread house. Sound familiar? Flinn twists more fairy tales into this engaging, time-jumping tale as Kendra reflects on helpingand harmingthose around her. The Little Mermaid rescues a Titanic passenger. The Princess and the Pea takes place at Versailles. But the showstopper is a clever spin on Cinderella, the pieces hovering just above the puzzle until they fall brilliantly into place in a satisfying and surprising retelling in contemporary Florida. Kendra's chatty first-person asides can be jarring next to the larger sections filled with a rich storyteller tone. Regardless, the inventive takes on the traditional will please fans of Flinn and fairy tales alike and leave them eager for Kendra's next volume.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)

March 1, 2012
Flinn here re-imagines four fairy tales, connected through Kendra, the witch who put the spell on Kyle in Beastly. Kendra explains how, in the seventeenth century, an evil witch living in a gingerbread house helped her develop her powers ("Hansel and Gretel"). Then she introduces Emma, a modern-day girl who's thrilled that her stepfather's daughter, the beautiful and kind Lisette, has just joined the family ("Cinderella"). When Lisette steals the attention of their father and of Emma's boyfriend, however, it's clear that Lisette isn't as sweet as she appears. As Kendra ponders whether to help Emma, she tells two stories in which she'd intervened with mixed success: eighteenth-century Prince Louis's determination to find a wife despite his "helicopter mother" ("The Princess and the Pea") and a mermaid's quest to find the man she rescued from the Titanic (a decidedly non-Disney "Little Mermaid"). The traditional tales are faithfully transposed into believable new frameworks, perhaps inspiring readers to compare them with the original versions. Of the four stories, Emma's is the most compelling. Readers will easily be able to relate to its themes of jealousy, loneliness, and longing. Flinn skillfully keeps sympathy firmly with Emma, making readers cheer for her, not Cinderella stand-in Lisette, to rock the ball and get the guy. A historical note is included. rachel l. smith

(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2012
Flinn re-imagines four fairy tales, connected through Kendra, the witch from Beastly. The traditional tales are faithfully transposed into believable new frameworks; most compelling is the story about modern-day Emma and her stepfather's daughter, beautiful and kind Lisette. Flinn skillfully keeps sympathy with Emma, making readers cheer for her, not Cinderella stand-in Lisette, to rock the ball and get the guy. A historical note is included.

(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)