“He looked like he’d swallowed the sun for breakfast.”
Like most fairy tale princes, Crown Prince Gregor is a sight for any weary girl’s eyes, particularly one in a not-so-veiled Cinderella role. Lucinda, reduced to rags from riches by the mysterious deaths of her noble parents during her childhood, is no exception. Her step-aunt uses her as a servant in return for her room and board, while her spineless uncle looks on. When his death gives her aunt an excuse to turn her out, Lucinda is poised to seek out a mysterious stranger who ultimately behaves as a fairy godmother might in a Perrault rendition. The local priest insists that Beryl, the stranger in question, is a terrible witch, but Lucinda is not so sure about the ‘terrible’ part. Desperation and curiosity lead her to Beryl’s door, which to her amazement, is that of her childhood home. This development is one of several coincidences that make Lucinda’s return to a life of privilege and happiness possible.
Beryl comes from a mysterious world, an exile who longs for her home much as Lucinda does for hers. She needs Lucinda but is willing to help her without a promise of reciprocation; after all, Lucinda is but an immature teenage girl, and Beryl an experienced adult from a magical universe that is left, for the most part, unexplained. When Beryl sends Lucinda, transformed by dress and art, off to a royal ball in a clear parallel to the seventeenth-century story, she remains behind to struggle alone with the evil that threatens them both.
This battle, understandably undescribed because of Lucinda’s first person narration, would be particularly fantastic, but is reduced to a few pale sentences that Beryl uses to inform her protégé of the event. Beryl uses her magic to show Lucinda her own world and to help Lucinda travel back through happy memories; why, then, could she not use it to display the hostile engagement the author buries behind the simple declaration “we fought”? Conflict between good and evil is the very heart of fantasy, and readers want to see the details of such contests.
While predictable, this debut title offers a fresh perspective on the traditional fairy tale with a strong female protagonist who, in spite of her circumstances, does have some control over her fate. When presented with options that may make her life easier at the expense of others, she is able, albeit with all-too-human hesitation, to look beyond her own situation and consider how her decisions will reflect her values and priorities. It is a quick and easy read with plenty of lush physical description and a bit of comic relief that offers a simple escape for young adult readers.
i love this book. so sweet.