Winter's Child

By Cameron Dokey


Free-spirited Grace and serious kai are the best of friends. They grew up together listening to magical tales told to them by Grace’s grandmother and sharing in each other’s lives. But when they turn sixteen and Kai declares he loves Grace, everything changes. Grace yearns for freedom and slowly begins to push Kai- and their friendship away.
Dejected Kai dreams of a dazzling Snow Queen, who entices him to leave home and wander to faraway lands. When Grace discovers Kai is gone, she learns how much she has lost and sets out on a mystical journey to find Kai…and discover herself.


I really love the lesser known fairy tale by Hans Christian Anderson, entitled The Snow Queen. That's what this book is a re-telling of; so how could I resist? Once again, sorry for those of you who are getting tired of my fairy tale kick...it will be over soon, I promise!
Anyhow, while this book is pretty different from the original fairy tale, it is also quite fun to read. I was satisfied that the book turned out the way I wanted it to, and that Cameron didn't go along with what was expected. I found it difficult to connect with Grace in a lot of ways, but Kai was a lot easier to understand. I also adored the Winter Child, who felt more like the protagonist than Grace was. This is a fun one, though probably not a huge favorite in the Once Upon a Time series, but still a great one that I enjoyed reading.

Label Update!

So I just spent a good chunk of my weekend updating the labels at the end of each post so you all can pick a topic and all the other books I've linked will pop up, like if you want to find books that are movies, all the books on the blog I've posted about will pop up if they have been made into a movie. I've got a bunch of different tags, and I'll continue to try and vary my reading so it's not all fantasy; though I'm not promising I'll start reading adult books. :) Hope you enjoy the new feature!

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

By Sherman Alexie

Junior is a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian reservation. Born with a variety of medical problems, he is picked on by everyone bus his best friend. Determined to recieve a good education, Junior leaves the rez to attend an all-white school in the neighboring farm town where the only other Indian is the school mascot. Despite being condemned as a traitor to his people and enduring great tragedies, Junior attacks life with wit and humor and discovers a strength inside himself that he never knew existed.
Inspired by his own experiences growing up, award-winning author Sherman Alexie chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one unlucky boy trying to rise above the life everyone expects him to live.

I have a bit of a torn nature about this book. I'm super sheltered, and so a lot of the things that he talks about in this book I thought were really inapropriate, even if it's true. And a big disclaimer for strong language and crudity abounds. There is a lot of talk of sexuality and other teenage hormone related things. There is lots of drinking as well and deaths. This book is rough to review because it is a true telling of what being an Indian on a 'rez' is like and how hard it is to break free of those expectations that Junior aka Arnold has on him to stay there forever. There are lots of laughs in this book, tears, and struggles for meaning and a purpose in life. I'd recommend it to those who don't mind or care about language and a bit of leud teen language and references. And I mean crude. All in all, I won't recommend this book; had good stuff in it, but too much of the bad to take. It's kinda like biting into a cupcake and then realizing there's a cockroach in the middle. Sad sad day.

Before Midnight

By Cameron Dokey


Etienne de Brabant is brokenhearted when his wife dies in childbirth, and he cannot bear to see his infant daughter, La Cendrillon .But before he abandons her for king and life at court, Etienne brings a little boy, whose identity he does not reveal, to be raised alongside her.
La Cendrillon and the boy, Raoul, pass sixteen years in the servants’ care. Then Etienne remarries, sending his new wife to live at the estate.
When they all are invited to a great ball, La Cendrillon’s stepmother makes a decision that will lead La Cendrillon and Raoul to challenge their understanding of family, test their courage, and ultimately, teach them who they are.

So I've read about a billion Cinderella stories in my time, so I didn't really want to read this one, but heck I thought I'd read it anyway. It's different than any other story, it's got a werid sort of magic in it; and love at first sight is made real. I like how Cameron explains love at first sight because I admit, I'm not a believer. The weirdest thing happened though when I read this book; I got pretty close to the end and I knew what was going to happen. It was the biggest de ja vu I've had in a long time. I've either read this before, or something almost exactly like it, because it was no surprise what happened at the end. But it was still good. I enjoyed it.

Golden

By Cameron Dokey


Before Rapunzel’s birth, her mother made a deal with the sorceress Melisande that if she cold not love newborn Rapunzel just as she appeared, she would surrender the child to Melisande. When Rapunzel was born completely bald and without hope of ever growing hair, her horrified mother sent her away with the sorceress to an uncertain future.
After sixteen years of raising Rapunzel as her own child, Melisande reveals that she has another daughter, Rue, who was cursed by a wizard years ago and needs Rapunzel’s help. Rue and Rapunzel have precisely “two nights and the day that falls between” to break the enchantment. But bitterness and envy come between the girls, and if they fail to work together, Rue will remain cursed…forever.

This is such a great retelling of Rapunzel. I adored that Ms. Dokey made her bald. This is the story of Rapunzel as you've never heard it; and it is romantic and sweet and full of great characters and motivational moments. This is another favorite in the Once Upon a Time series.

Beauty Sleep

By Cameron Dokey


Cursed at birth, Princess Aurore is fated to prick her finger and sleep for one hundred years. To protect her Aurore’s parents forbid traditional princess activities like sewing and embroidering. Aurore instead wanders the kingdom’s grounds.

But on her sixteenth birthday, Aurore learns that the impending curse will harm her and the entire realm. Unwilling to cause suffering to the townspeople she knows and loves, Aurore embarks on a quest to end the evil magic. The princess’s bravery will be rewarded as she finds adventure, enchantment, a handsome prince, and ultimately, her destiny.


I'm sorry to all you out there who don't like fairytail retellings, but I've been on a kick lately, so I'm apologizing in advance for annoying any of you. They are fun and quick to read, and I'm having to read textbooks and other such things that are not of my choosing for my university classes right now, so sue me for wanting some fluff.
Anywho, if you can't tell, this is the story of sleeping beauty, but told with rich characters and a fantastic story to boot. I love this story and have to say that Cameron Dokey nearly always gets it right for me. The little love story is perfect and it was sweet enough to make me sigh in contentment and not gag on too much honey, or feel like covering my eyes from too much...ya know. If you like these retellings, try this one it's great.

The Work and the Glory: Pillar of Light

By Gerald Lund

The first volume in the series The Work and the Glory begins the epic story of the Benjamin Steed family. In the 1820s they move from Vermont to Palmyra Township in upstate New York in search of better farmland. There they meet a young man named Joseph Smith and are thrown into the maelstrom of conflict and controversy that swirls around him. Did he really see the Father and the Son in a pillar of light? Has he truly been visited by angelic messengers? What is all this talk about gold plates and new scripture? In short, is he a prophet and seer or a monumental fraud? The answers each one gives to these questions-intensely personal, potentially divisive-will dramatically affect the lives of the Steeds forever after.


So here's another great historical fiction about the LDS (Latter Day Saints) and just how our church was founded and started. I adore this series, it helped me learn the history and I fell in love with the fictional Steed family of the early 1800s. If you are a member and you haven't read this series, I highly highly recommend it to you, and if you aren't a member go ahead and read it anyway, it's a great way to understand the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (also referred to as Mormons). Hear it from the mouth of an LDS author and follow the amazing history of this church and its pioneers.


You may have seen the movie- the first one was okay, but you really need to read the book my friend. Don't judge a book by its movie!