Book Description
"It is the story of Kendra and her first 300 or so years of life. In Bewitching, Kendra ponders whether to help out a modern day plain-looking stepsister, while also reflecting on her experiences in the 1666 British plague, the court of Louis XV, and on the Titanic." (Source: author's Facebook intro & website)
Bewitching can be a beast. . .
Once, I put a curse on a beastly and arrogant high school boy. That one turned out all right. Others didn’t.
I go to a new school now—one where no one knows that I should have graduated long ago. I’m not still here because I’m stupid; I just don’t age.
You see, I’m immortal. And I pretty much know everything after hundreds of years —except for when to take my powers and butt out.
I want to help, but things just go awry in ways I could never predict. Like when I tried to free some children from a gingerbread house and ended up being hanged. After I came back from the dead (Immortal, remember?!), I tried to play matchmaker for a French prince and ended up banished from France forever. And that little mermaid I found in the Titanic lifeboat? I don’t even want to think about it.
Now, a girl named Emma needs me. I probably shouldn’t get involved, but her gorgeous stepsister is conniving to the core. I think I have just the thing to fix that girl and it isn’t an enchanted pumpkin. Although you never know what will happen when I start ….
About the Author
Alex Flinn loves fairy tales and is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Beastly, a spin on Beauty and the Beast that was named a VOYA Editor’s Choice and an ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers. Beastly is now a major motion picture starring Vanessa Hudgens! She also wrote A Kiss in Time, a modern retelling of Sleeping Beauty, and Cloaked, a humorous fairy tale mash-up, as well as Breathing Underwater, Breaking Point, Nothing to Lose, Fade to Black, and Diva. Alex lives in Miami with her family.
Details
MY THOUGHTS LOVED IT If you read Beastly, you will remember Kendra was the witch that had a very important supporting role. Kendra is an immortal witch and her story starts out with a retelling of Hansel and Gretel (my first two dachshunds!) where Kendra and her brother are the only survivors in her family after the plague wipes out most of her town. The story weaves back and forth between a Cinderella in current times with bits and pieces of her earlier existence during the early 1700 and the French Court and a sweet story about the Princess and the Pea. She is always trying to help people and do good with her powers but through the ages, she finds that sometimes things don't turn out how she would like them to. Her latest project is Emma and her step sister who is truly evil and out to ruin Emma's life. Kendra sees this and tries to help Emma cope with the ugly center of her beautiful step sister. The story also make a side trip to visit the Titanic and place The Little Mermaid on board. This one does not have a happy ending. Then it is back to current times where Emma has figured out exactly who Kendra is and that is a witch. Emma tries not to take advantage of Kendra's powers as her own personal fairy godmother which is a really nice touch. I really loved how everything in the story meshed together to create a cohesive story. The character of Emma is nicely done and I adored the fact that she was a bookworm which works in her favor for a change! I was really cheering for Emma through all her trials and would love to read more about her. Overall, this should appeal to younger teens since there are things happening in the book that occur in their everyday life like having to deal with the mean girls at school, first love and not feeling good about yourself. There are mentions of drinking, allusions to sex but mostly stuff that kids see on television today. |
I don't really like faery tale retellings, but this one sounds fun!
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