Review: The Land of Stories - The Wishing Spell
The Wishing Spell is the first novel in Chris Colfer’s series, The Land Of Stories. It has a pretty unoriginal overall plotline, admittedly, but I don’t really think that’s what’s important in the story. What’s important is what you take away from the story, something I think this book does quite well.
Two twins, Alex and Conner Bailey, receive a book entitled “The Land of Stories” from their grandmother, a book their late father read to them as children. The twins go about their everyday lives, until Alex notices the book glowing and starts to notice that items can be sucked into the bright pages and disappear completely. Inevitably, the twins fall into the book, and into a world that brings all their favourite fairy-tale characters together in one setting.
One of the things I like about this book is the way it embraces what kind of story it is. It’s cheesy, but the author knows it’s cheesy. There are quite a few moments of humour in it, which I found refreshing. I also liked a comment made in passing, that turned into some explanation by a native, which became a bigger part of the story later. The story flows nicely, and I like how well the land itself is mapped out.
The Land Of Stories is more of a continent, separated into kingdoms. Most of the princesses from the fairy-tales have had their happily-ever-afters and are now ruling as queens. I quite liked how Colfer had managed to piece together different fairy-tale characters.
All in all, I think it’s a great book. Better, perhaps, if you’re younger and in the suitable age range, but I believe that you could enjoy it anyhow. I wanted to read more every time I put the book down. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone, especially if they’re a fan of fairy-tales. If I had to criticise the novel for one other thing, it probably have to be the spelling of “Conner”. I prefer it with an ‘o’ (“Connor”) but that’s just me.
I’m already looking forward to reading the next book in the series, The Enchantress Returns.
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1 Comment – Postiwch sylw
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Rhoddwyd sylw 30 mis yn ôl - 14th November 2013 - 18:12pm
I really love this book, the end was a real surprise, I didn't expect it! I can't wait to read the next one