[RBN]≫ Read The Princess Curse Merrie Haskell 9780062008138 Books

The Princess Curse Merrie Haskell 9780062008138 Books

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The Princess Curse Merrie Haskell 9780062008138 Books

I picked this book up thinking that it was a light, humorous romp poking fun at a bunch of princess tropes. (There's nothing wrong with that sort of thing, if you're in the mood for it, and I frequently am.) This is not that book. Well, this is sort of that book, if you took that book and added ten times the depth and emotional maturity, and then sprinkled in a generous helping of solid story-telling.

The Princess Curse is a mix of many different fairy tales, so skillfully done that I didn't even notice the Beauty and the Beast one until someone else pointed it out-- and it's very obvious, I was just so engrossed in the story by that point that I didn't pay any attention to it. The author has several opportunities to go deep into Creepy Land with her child brides, and very pointedly does not do so, which I appreciate.

I'd give it 6 stars, but I've subtracted one for the lack of a sequel. You left yourself so many good hooks, Ms. Haskell. Please, I beg of you, write about one of them. Or all of them.


Tags : The Princess Curse [Merrie Haskell] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Merrie Haskell’s middle-grade fantasy novel <em>Princess Curse</em> is an imaginative retelling of the fairy tales <em>The Twelve Dancing Princesses</em> and <em>Beauty and the Beast.</em><br /> <br />In the fifteenth-century kingdom of Sylvania,Merrie Haskell,The Princess Curse,HarperCollins,0062008137,Fairy Tales & Folklore - General,Fantasy & Magic,Girls & Women,Apprentices,Blessing and cursing,Blessing and cursing;Fiction.,Fairy tales,Fairy tales.,Herbs,Magic,Princesses,Princesses;Fiction.,Action & Adventure - General,CHILDREN'S FICTION FANTASY,Children's BooksAges 9-12 Fiction,Children: Grades 4-6,Fiction,JUVENILE,JUVENILE FICTION Fairy Tales & Folklore General,JUVENILE FICTION Fantasy & Magic,JUVENILE FICTION Girls & Women,Juvenile Fiction,Juvenile FictionAction & Adventure - General,Juvenile FictionFairy Tales & Folklore - General,Juvenile FictionRoyalty,Juvenile Grades 4-6 Ages 9-11,Science fiction (Children's Teenage),United States

The Princess Curse Merrie Haskell 9780062008138 Books Reviews

This is probably written for kids, but like another reviewer I'm also over 60 and I loved the story! It's kind of a cross between "The 12 Dancing Princesses" and "Beauty and the Beast," but it also breaks its own ground with a young and very strong - and rather opinionated - main character named Reveka. I found Reveka charming, with straightforward honesty and undying loyalty to her friends and family.

I am getting more hesitant to give "5-Star" ratings any more, but I felt this book deserved it. I highly recommend it!
THE PRINCESS CURSE (HarperCollins, Sept 6, 2011) is an enjoyable book to read. But I read it after reading Suzanne Weyn's THE NIGHT DANCE (Simon Pulse, Nov 25, 2008) and Diane Zahler's THE THIRTEENTH PRINCESS (HarperCollins, Feb 2, 2010) and so it seemed a little formulaic. A young, prepubescent girl, working either in a kitchen or herbary, solves the curse when no-one else can. I'm sure middle-graders love it, but I would have liked a more original opening, especially as this book was published later than the other two.

Another eerie thing that was distracting was that the font and layout of CURSE was identical to DANCE. I have no idea why that would be so, unless Simon Pulse is somehow connected with HarperCollins. Of course, this is not the author's fault, but it was distracting because the beginning of THE PRINCESS CURSE was so similar to THE NIGHT DANCE that I had a hard time keeping the two books straight in my mind.

And if author Merrie Haskell had just left it at that, yet another retelling of THE TWELVE DANCING PRINCESSES with the obligatory happy ending, then I would probably have only given it only one star. But Ms. Haskell is a better writer than that, and what I enjoyed most about this book was what happened to Reveka after the twelve princesses were released from their curse. Which I won't tell you, so as not to spoil this for future readers. For me, that was where the novel really took off. Four stars.
I read this book a while ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. Though it is MG, Reveka was an amazing protagonist and I laughed out loud several times at her inner dialogue.

This book did a fabulous job of breathing new life into the Twelve Dancing princesses tale, and really, that isn't if center stage, which I liked a lot. It blends with another familiar-esque story that I won't go into because it will give away part of the mystery, but it was immediately recognizable....make that two additional ones. And though it is an MG there was a romantic interest the I really wanted to go more into depth (once a series starts MG must it continue that way? Could it evolve into YA?) and they were honestly great together, learning each others strengths and weaknesses but not giving up when the going got tough.

And Reveka USED HER BRAIN! Grr, it frustrates me so much when the protagonist can't seem to do a single thing for themselves and must be taken care of every step of the way (not naming names but there are quite a few out there) but Reveka was truly a breath of fresh air, spunky, kind, determined, had a plan, was willing to take risks...honestly, I could go on and on.

This really was a fantastic book......*please Ms. Haskell, can it be a series?* I even ended up buying two copies of the book. I wanted it so bad I got it for my kindle app and when I finished reading it I literally gasped because I hand't known the end was coming up! (you know how you can tell with a physical book that the end is coming? Not so easy on the kindle app!) And then I wanted it for my own library and to be able to share it with the other readers in my family so bought the hard copy and they enjoyed it as well.

I can't recommend this book highly enough. It has just the right blend of fantasy, humor, a lovable and spunky heroine and even a dash of romance. Really, really fantastic!
I picked this book up thinking that it was a light, humorous romp poking fun at a bunch of princess tropes. (There's nothing wrong with that sort of thing, if you're in the mood for it, and I frequently am.) This is not that book. Well, this is sort of that book, if you took that book and added ten times the depth and emotional maturity, and then sprinkled in a generous helping of solid story-telling.

The Princess Curse is a mix of many different fairy tales, so skillfully done that I didn't even notice the Beauty and the Beast one until someone else pointed it out-- and it's very obvious, I was just so engrossed in the story by that point that I didn't pay any attention to it. The author has several opportunities to go deep into Creepy Land with her child brides, and very pointedly does not do so, which I appreciate.

I'd give it 6 stars, but I've subtracted one for the lack of a sequel. You left yourself so many good hooks, Ms. Haskell. Please, I beg of you, write about one of them. Or all of them.