Middle Grade fantasy is absolutely fantastic. It makes me feel nostalgic for the books I read when I was younger. And honestly who doesn’t love getting lost in a fairy tale? The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom is no exception. It made me feel like a kid again, it was laugh out loud funny and it reminded me a lot of classic Disney movies like Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White but with a great twist. The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom is really the story of four Prince Charmings (You didn’t think there was just one guy doing all the rescuing did you?) There’s Frederic – Cinderella’s prince – who is scared of everything (but an excellent negotiator!). Duncan, who broke Snow White’s sleeping spell. He’s a little dopey, but absolutely loyal and just wants to make friends with everyone and everything. Gustav, who rescued Rapunzel without realizing what he was getting into – which is the story of his life! And Liam. The only real “hero” of the bunch, who is unfortunately expected to marry the absolutely nasty Briar Rose. Seriously, move over Regina George. You have been de-throned. I loved this book because all four of them – except maybe Liam – weren’t quite the Prince Charmings you generally think of. Fairy Tales are often all about the girls, and even most retellings focus on the female characters as well. The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom was a nice twist because it let the men develop more as characters. No longer cursed to simply swoop in at the end, looking handsome and expected to solve all the problems with a dashing smile and love’s first kiss. And this is all accomplished without sacrificing the strength of the female characters. It’s win-win! I also loved that, contray to a lot of fairy tales, The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom was not about the romance! Yes Snow White and Duncan have a lovely relationship but the rest not so much. Each one is their own person and chasing their own dream. Cinderella wants adventure, Rapunzel wants to help people, Frederic wants to face his fears etc etc. Their destiny’s aren’t wrapped up in simply being with another person and I thought that was a more realistic portrayal. Recommendation: The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom is a delightful return to the fairy tales I grew up with but it makes this return without sacrificing strong characters or realistic goals. Basically it’s the whole package. Recommended for middle grade readers and those who grew up watching their Disney VHS’s over and over. This and other reviews at More Than Just Magic (http://morethanjustmagic.org)

The Good Stuff Absolutely delightful, one of my favorite middle school reads in the past year Laugh out loud funny Something for readers of all ages Strong female characters & nothing sterotypical Fabulous character development Has a Shrek, Hoodwinked, How to Train Your Dragon feel to it I was laughing so hard that Jake actually asked if he could read it when I was done Awesome cover Love that Briar Rose is a nasty piece of work - some of her dialogue is priceless Cannot wait to see the finished product to see the rest of the artwork that will be included - only drawback about getting ARC copies - but think it will be awesome based on artwork included in ARC Nice moral, life lessons included in a non shmaltzy in your face way which kids, and old bags like me adore Unusual plot twists that keep you on your toes and you have no idea what is going to happen next - again not at all sterotypical Looking forward to future books in this series - next one I believe is scheduled for 2013 The Not So Good Stuff Some repetition might have been a tighter story with a wee bit editing People were staring at me on the bus because I was reading a kids book and laughing hysterically Almost impossible to only pick three quotes for my quotes section Favorite Quotes/Passages "Instead of simply frying the man where he stood, Zaubera offered to let him go in exchange for his young daughter. The peasant was surprisingly quick to agree to this (he was not a very good dad), and that was how Zaubera ended up with Rapunzel." "We all know somebody who's a bit eccentric - the girl who talks to herself, maybe, or the boy who eats the erasers of his pencils like they're gumdrops. They could be wonderful people, but thanks to their quirky behavior, they don't have the easiest time making friends." "On still another road, a green-haired man wobbled by on peppermint-stick stilts; a fiery-plumed bird of paradise perched on his shoulder. But he's not in this story, so don't pay any attention to him." Who Should/Shouldn't Read Perfect for both intended audience of middle school kids and for adults - Teachers and Librarians this would be a good read a loud book that you could do over a semester/term Jake is begging me to hurry up and finish so he can read 4.5 Dewey's I received this from HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review & Jake will be reviewing as well as soon as he is caught up on his school work