Alexandria Aurora Fortunato is a plain, orphaned goose girl until the day an old hag asks her for a meal. Alexandria's generosity and good manners prove to be her downfall when the old woman blesses her with beauty and wealth. Soon, Alexandria is as lovely as the dawn, shedding gold dust from her hair, and weeping tears of diamonds -- and imprisoned in a tower, forced to marry either the bumbling Prince Edmund, or King Claudio the Cruel. With help from her geese, Alexandria escapes the tower and runs away. On her journey to safety, she encounters hungry ogresses, vile dungeons, and a greedy baroness. In the end, Alexandria discovers that she and her geese share an extraordinary destiny.
This light, fairy-tale inspired read was a lot of fun. It reminded me of books by E.D. Baker and Gail Carson Levine. While the characterization is not very deep, the plot moves quickly and there's plenty of humor (plus the lightest touch of romance). I'd recommend it to fans of the middle-grade fairy tale retelling, with the understanding that there's not a lot of substance in this otherwise enjoyable book.
(Reviewed from my personally purchased electronic copy.)
Enjoyed this, especially the grumpy protagonist.
ReplyDeleteHeh, she was definitely grumpy! Maybe that's why I liked her so much!
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