The Wide-Awake Princess -- E.D. Baker
Book 1 of The Wide-Awake Princess
**This book is based on Sleeping Beauty.
Hmm…
This was really a simple, cute little princess story with a cornucopia of fairy tale tangents strung together as part of our Princess Annabelle’s adventure. It wasn’t exactly the most exciting adventure, and I’d even say that it was just a little scattered, but there was a story, a good progression, a nice little fairy tale history, some inspirational ideals, a unique twist for the conclusion, and a strong princess who saves the day.
The Story:
Annie is the younger sister to Gwendolyn. Gwendolyn is the resident “Sleeping Beauty” of this fairy tale story, and despite everyone’s resilience in keeping spinning wheels out of Gwennie’s reach, the elder princess still manages to prick her finger and cast the hundred year sleep upon the entire castle.
But Annie had been given the gift of being unaffected by magic--no magic can ever harm nor hurt her--and so she is the only one still standing. Knowing that she cannot leave her family in this vulnerable sleep for the next hundred years, she sets off on a journey to find a prince to kiss her sister awake and break the sleeping curse.
Along the way, she is partnered with a young guard named Liam who appoints himself her protector and travels with her to find Gwendolyn’s true love.... But just to be certain, Annie decides to collect several princes from different areas and even hunts down the fairies who had been responsible for Gwennie’s curse so she can get some insight on Curse Loopholes 101, a la, “Does Gwennie really have to sleep for a hundred years before the curse can be broken, or can we get around that and just satisfy the Prince as True Love detail?”
With a determination worthy of a great princess, Annie swears to find a way to wake her sister and her family and keep them awake.
Some Thoughts:
I’d say that The Wide-Awake Princess is a good read for young girls, in a way. Despite the looming need for girls to find their true loves and get married, I guess, at least our heroine was strong and resourceful and smart and able to take care of herself and save the day, time and time again. Her little gift of not being affected by magic in anyway has its perks, especially when it also comes with sapping away the magic from other people when they are around her: beautiful princesses lose their enchanted beauty and handsome princes start to show their physical flaws; curses on princes turned into bears are temporarily lifted; and even fairies lose their powers when she touches them for too long.
It’s an interesting way to turn the “Sleeping Beauty” story around.
As a middle grade novel, however, it did blur by in a way that had me blinking twice and missing the whole book altogether. I mean, sure, it was a short book, but it really DID just kind of end as abruptly as it started. I figure it’s because I’ve never really been able to get into middle grade books very well, so it’s not the book’s fault.
Really, The Wide-Awake Princess is a very cute and enjoyable story.
The emphasis on physical beauty DID get old pretty quickly though. And the way everything just conveniently fell into place for Annie made it kind of hard to take the book as more than just a child’s hero tale of a princess who saves the day and defeats all evil.
Like I said, a very cute book. A good one for the kiddies.
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2016 Reading Challenges:
• Goodreads Reading Challenge
• BookLikes Reading Challenge
• Reading Assignment Challenge
• Bookish Resolutions Challenge
• Mount TBR Challenge
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