Wednesdays in the Tower

By Jessica Day George

Wednesday at Castle Glower is an ordinary, ho-hum sort of day. No new hallways, no extra turrets, no sudden changes. At least according to Princess Celie, who knows the Castle better than anyone. So Celie is surprised when, one Wednesday, she happens upon a new tower, with a new room, and a giant orange egg hidden inside.

Celie doesn’t know what to do, and neither does her brother bran, the new Royal Wizard. But the Castle knows. As staircases spring up and doorways disappear, the Castle’s plan becomes clear: Celie is to care for the egg and whatever creature is hatches! Of course, she hadn’t bargained for a pet, and this one will prove tricky, once Celie and her siblings realize what else the Castle is hiding…

It’s rather easy to know what creature hatches from the egg in the book summary because it’s on the cover. I kinda wish that it hadn’t been so prominent. I had such a fun time reading the first book and especially enjoy Jessica Day George’s tone of warmth and quirky magic. This second book is equally fun to read, Celie is a great protagonist, full of friendship and belief and trust. She’s in for quite the ride when asked to raise a Gryphon, an animal everyone assumed was a myth. As Celie tries to hid her new pet from her family, she makes discoveries that may point to a larger plot at hand. Why has a wizard come to stay with them when her brother is the royal wizard? What is he looking for? And why does everyone feel like he’s big trouble?

I give this a 3 out of 5- it was average. Fun to read, but not as good as the first. 

Tuesdays at the Castle

By Jessica Day George

Tuesdays at Castle Glower are Princess Celia’s favorite days. That’s because on Tuesdays the castle adds a new room, a turret, or sometimes even an entire wing to itself. No one ever knows what the castle will do next, and no one—other than Celia, that is—takes time to map out the new additions. But when King and Queen Glower are ambushed and reportedly killed, it’s up to Celia with her secret knowledge of the Castle’s many twists and turns, to protect their home and save their kingdom.

This is one of those gems that just fell into my lap in a surprising way. I have really enjoyed other books by Jessica Day George, but for some reason I just wasn’t expecting this to be one that I liked all that well. I read it because I needed something light and comforting. I was smiling and feeling those wonderful warm-fuzzies as I read about Celia and her family. I wasn’t expecting the plot turns from the synopsis, and I loved the characters to bits. Particularly a certain prince that always seemed to make me smile at his kindness and blonde moments. I am so excited to continue this series and discover more about the sentient castle and its inhabitants. This had a good adventurous story with a strong leading character and supporting characters that weren’t far behind. I enjoyed the light but courageous tone of the book and would highly recommend this to middle readers and any adult who is a kid at heart. It’s heart-warming. It’s a chicken soup comfort book. Well done Ms. George.

I give it a 4 out of 5

Princess of the Silver Woods

By Jessica Day George

Petunia is the youngest of King Gregor’s twelve daughters who together battled their way out of a curse that had plagued the family for years. But while on her way to visit an elderly neighbor, Petunia’s carriage is ambushed by bandits and Petunia finds herself falling headlong into another conflict—this one between a hidden forest community and the powerful kingdom that has stripped them of their wealth. With the line between enemies and friends suddenly blurred, and a handsome young thief her only hope at escaping the clutches of the King Under Stone, it will take all of Petunia’s courage, and a little help from her eleven older sisters, to put an end to the curse once and for all and restore their kingdom to right.

This is the third installment from Princess of the Midnight Ball, and we get to hear from Petunia, the youngest of the twelve dancing princesses. This is a sort of Robin Hood/ Little Red Riding Hood retelling in a loose sense that I ended up enjoying more than the previous two books. Petunia is this little petite thing with a wicked aim and a big heart. She meets Oliver and things snowball from there. While I enjoy Jessica Day George’s books, this particular series is definitely not my favorite. From her fairy-tale retellings, Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow is my favorite, and I very much liked her Dragon Slippers books more than these. I do read a lot of fairy-tale retellings and these just aren’t my favorite. They aren’t memorable for me, just fluff and fun.

I give it a 3 out of 5- average 

Princess of Glass

By Jessica Day George

Hopping to escape the troubles in her kingdom, Princess Poppy reluctantly agrees to take part in a royal exchange program. She travels abroad hoping to find better political alliances and perhaps a marriage. But thanks to a vengeful fairy, Poppy’s happily ever after gets complicated.

This is the second installment in Jessica Day George’s fairy-tale retellings about the princesses from Princess of the Midnight Ball, better known as the 12 dancing princesses. This is the story of Poppy, one of the twin girls from the above prequel. She’s sarcastic and snappy, down to earth, and stubborn. Poppy is sick to death of dancing, having just escaped a curse that required her to, even though she’s an incredible dancer because of it. Now, she’s trapped in an upside-down version of Cinderella, and she’s trying her best to figure out who exactly Eleanor, Ella, or Lady Ella is, and she’s trying to get rid of a vengeful fairy-godmother called The Corley as well as trying to help out the prince who is the target: Christian. This is a fun and creative perspective on the Cinderella tale, where the main character is in fact NOT Cinderella. It was fun and cute, though it seemed to end rather abruptly without much problem. Seemed to me that the Corley shouldn’t have been defeated so quickly or easily. Oh well.

3 out of 5- Average. 

Princess of the Midnight Ball

By Jessica Day George

Rose is one of twelve princesses forced to dance through the night in an underground palace. The key to breaking the spell lies in magic knitting needles, and invisibility cloak, and of course-true love.

This story is pretty straightforward. It’s the retelling of the 12 dancing princesses, curses, love, evil monsters, etc. While not being something utterly fantastic and new, this was fun to read. The protagonist, Galen, was easy to like with his knitting and general kindnesses. Rose, the eldest princess is fairly typical for a princess, but is greatly more in depth as a character than any of her sisters, who tend to blend into the background with all their flower names. This is a sweet little love story/adventure. It’s fun for entertainment.

I give it a 3 out of 5-it’s average.

Dragon Spear

By Jessica Day George

With peace established between the humans and the dragons, young couple Creel and Luka are planning their wedding. But then the dragon queen, Velika, is kidnapped by a band of rogue dragons in need of a ruler. When Creel and Luka rush to help, they discover that Luka’s father has plans to take back the Far Islands from the dragons. Creel’s happily ever after just might be postponed…again.

This is the third book in the Dragon Slippers trilogy and it is just as fun as the first two books. This series is simply delightful to read; I fell in love with Shardas from the get-go and slowly but surely warmed up to Creel and her wit and down-to-earth sensabilities. This last installment of the series is great fun for fans because while there is a whole lot going on, you keep wondering if Luka and Creel will FINALLY get married! Now don't get me wrong, but for me, the first book is the best of them all and the other two feel more like books written for the fans rather than the progression of the plot. It's still a good read, but not as magical as that first book was.

I give it a solid 3 out of 5

Dragon Flight

By Jessica Day George

 

With the Dragon Wars over, Creel finds herself bored with life as a seamstress. Then word comes that a bordering country has been breeding dragons in preparation for an invasion. Never one to miss out on the action, Creel throws herself headlong into an adventure that will reunite her with Shardas, the king of the dragons, pit her against a vicious new dragon, and perhaps rekindle a friendship with Prince Luka.



This is the second book in the Dragon Slippers trillogy. I heartily enjoyed Dragon Slippers, and this book was also enjoyable, but I got the feeling that this wasn't a planned sequel to fit in with the first book, but an add-on. I can usually tell when an author didn't plan to continue a story and it always bothers me just a little bit. I loved how the first book ended, and I was excited to see Shardas again. Creel is a great heroine, a no-nonsense girl that hopes things will turn out better than she expects. Dragons are her forte and she tries her best to help the king and the people understand them better, but she gets into big trouble when they hear the neighboring kingdom is preparing for war and they're riding dragons. It's up to Creel and Luka and Shardas and Velika to find out what's going on. This was a good sequel, but not as good as the first. It was fun to see favorite characters again.

I give it a 3 out of 5- average fun read.

Dragon Slippers

By Jessica Day George

 When Creel’s aunt sacrifices her to a dragon, Creel refuses to wait for a knight to rescue her. After bargaining for her escape and winning a pair of blue slippers from the dragon’s hoard, Creel sets out to find her own fortune in the king’s city. Along the route, she meets and befriends another dragon, who helps her find her way. But when she arrives in the city, strange things start to happen, and Creel realizes that her mysterious slippers are more than just a pair of shoes.

So the summariy really doesn't do this book justice. I've read one other book by Ms. George and I absolutely loved it (Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow) and I now know that I really like her books. Dragon Slippers is the first in a trilogy and I really loved it. I'm a sucker for dragon books though, and this didn't disappoint. I adored the author's version of dragon hoards, which was (in my humble oppinion) ingenious and delightful. Creel herself is a no-nonsense girl who just wants to be a dressmaker and gets herself into all kinds of trouble without meaning to. The dragons in this book are wonderful and I fell in love with Shardas and laughed an Feniul. If you enjoy the styles of Shannon Hale or Gail Carson Levine, you'll love Jessica Day George. Give it a go!

4 out of 5 stars

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow

by Jessica Day George

When a woodcutter's daughter known simply as "the lass" agrees to accompany a great white bear to his castle, she believes she has made a wise decision. After all, the bear has promised her family untold riches in exchange for a year of the lass's company. Although she is given every luxury, the lass feels more a prisoner than a gues, and it's not long before her contentment turns to unease. One by one the servants disappear, and the lass suspects the bear knows more than he's telling. In her quest to learn the truth, the lass unwittingly sets in motion a chain of events that take her on a windswept journey beyond the edge of the world, to fight for the man she has only just discovered is her true love.

Based on the Nordic fairy tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon, and with romantic echoes of Beauty and the Beast, Jessica Day George's spirited retelling will lure readers in and hold them happily spellbound to the last page.

Okay, so I actually bought this book because it was supposedly much like Beauty and the Beast. While it does have some similarities, it is so wonderfully norse that I was tickled to read it. I adore Norse history and mythology and had never come across this story. One thing that hooked me right off the get-go was the fact that the main character doesn't even have a name! Her mother was so sick of having had girls that she didn't even name her and she is simply known as "lass". This book is so fun to read and full of that fairy-tale feel. The only thing that I don't like is the ending feels very rushed to me, and I wish it had been more detailed and drawn out better. But it's the kind of ending I like: happily ever after....and then some!