Thursday, April 19, 2012

Your Black Magic Is Off Target

Published: February 14th, 2012
Bewitching
By: Alex Flinn
HarperTeen
ISBN-13: 9780062024145


Kendra Hilferty, the witch who curses Kyle Kingsbury in Beastly, tells about her immortal existence-how she discovered she was a witch and the various ways she has used her powers to help people throughout the centuries. (Unfortunately her attempts have often backfired.) As it turns out, Kendra has actually had a hand in "Hansel and Gretel," "The Princess and the Pea," and "The Little Mermaid"-but these are not the fairy tales you think you know! Kendra's reminiscences are wrapped around a real-time version of "Cinderella," except the "ugly" stepsister is the good guy. With dark twists, hilarious turns, and unexpected endings, Bewitching is a contemporary read for fairy-tale lovers, fantasy fans, and anyone looking for more Alex Flinn.

Review

   Kendra Hilferty has been around for a long time - so long that she lost her family to the Plague.  But she never died because she's a wtich, destined to live forever unless she's killed.  Kendra has been involved in many mishaps over the years, including some pretty famous ones.  She had a hand in the real events behind the stories of 'Hansel and Gretel', 'The Little Mermaid', 'The Princess and the Pea' and of course, 'Beauty and the Beast.'  But nothing ever works out right and people only end up angry with Kendra.  So she's taking special care with her next project, the true Cinderella story of two stepsisters Lisette and Emma (but the 'ugly' stepsister is actually the good one).  Will she help or hurt Emma's chances of a happy ending?  And can Kendra find a happy ending for herself finally?  I was excited about this book because I really wanted to know more about Kendra.  I really love Alex Flinn's other books, so I thought this was a sure bet.  But I didn't like it as much as I thought I would.  Probably because the majority of the book is focused on Lisette and Emma's story.  Even though Kendra's involved, I felt like I was shortchanged.  This book could have been way more about Kendra and her previous fairy tale adventures.  Instead I got a story that I didn't sign up for and that was honestly pretty boring.  The parts set in Kendra's past had me laughing and interested.  But I felt like I was cheated.  I only recommend this one if you're a hardcore Alex Flinn fan and you don't go in expecting lots of time spent on Kendra.

VERDICT:  2/5  Stars

*No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores and online.* 

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