by Maureen McGowan
Paperback, 320 Pages
Publish date April 1, 2011
Silver Dolphin Books
Received from Netgalley
Synopsis (from Goodreads): In this thrilling story full of adventure and romance, Sleeping Beauty is more than just a lonely princess waiting for her prince—she's a brave, tenacious girl who never backs down from a challenge. With vampire-slaying talents that she practices in secret, Sleeping Beauty puts her courage to the test in the dark of night, fighting evil as she searches for a way to break the spell that has cut her off from her family. In a special twist, readers have the opportunity to make key decisions for Sleeping Beauty and decide where she goes next—but no matter the choice; the result is a story unlike any fairy tale you've ever read!
Sleeping Beauty: Vampire Slayer is an entirely new type of fairy tale–one that will keep today's kids guessing and offer them hours of magical fun.
Sleeping Beauty: Vampire Slayer is an entirely new type of fairy tale–one that will keep today's kids guessing and offer them hours of magical fun.
My Thoughts: I love fairy tale retellings. I have a real soft spot for classic fairy tales with any kind of twist that the author can come up with. Sleeping Beauty was never one of my favorite fairy tales. It was always pretty boring for me. She pricks her finger, falls asleep, gets kissed and lives happily ever after. Pretty basic. And as much as I have become wary of a vampire novel, this one looked too good to pass up. Plus, it's a choose your own adventure story. I haven't read them in so long. I have to say that this one didn't disappoint.
Sleeping Beauty, Lucette, is tough, spunky and angry at being cursed before she was old enough to defend herself. The vampire queen curses Lucette with sleeping all day and being awake at night while the rest of the kingdom sleeps all night. Lucette and her mother believe that Lucette needs to train as a slayer to protect herself while her father believes that finger prick protection will be the only way to stop the curse. This story was not Disney-fied at all. She lies to her father, her parents fight, she gets angry a lot and she kills vampires. There's nothing Disney about that. I really liked the character of Lucette. I thought she was strong and funny when she needed to be, but she was also shy when it came to boys. She had never had any experience with boys and learns quickly that they are not what she expected. And McGowen gave Lucette two pretty awesome boys to fight over her. Tristan trains her as a slayer and Alex almost falls into her life by accident. Both have secrets and both help Lucette learn what it means to be a slayer and a Princess. The choose your own adventure was a pretty awesome way to have this story written. I thought it was really interesting how a path could start at the same place, split off completely and then come back and satisfyingly end at the same place. I'll admit that I cheated and read the whole thing through instead of choosing my adventure. I just had to know all of the stories, and it was hard to do on my Kindle. The story was great and the updates were just right. The story was just enough Sleeping Beauty mixed with just enough vampires and romance.
Sleeping Beauty, Lucette, is tough, spunky and angry at being cursed before she was old enough to defend herself. The vampire queen curses Lucette with sleeping all day and being awake at night while the rest of the kingdom sleeps all night. Lucette and her mother believe that Lucette needs to train as a slayer to protect herself while her father believes that finger prick protection will be the only way to stop the curse. This story was not Disney-fied at all. She lies to her father, her parents fight, she gets angry a lot and she kills vampires. There's nothing Disney about that. I really liked the character of Lucette. I thought she was strong and funny when she needed to be, but she was also shy when it came to boys. She had never had any experience with boys and learns quickly that they are not what she expected. And McGowen gave Lucette two pretty awesome boys to fight over her. Tristan trains her as a slayer and Alex almost falls into her life by accident. Both have secrets and both help Lucette learn what it means to be a slayer and a Princess. The choose your own adventure was a pretty awesome way to have this story written. I thought it was really interesting how a path could start at the same place, split off completely and then come back and satisfyingly end at the same place. I'll admit that I cheated and read the whole thing through instead of choosing my adventure. I just had to know all of the stories, and it was hard to do on my Kindle. The story was great and the updates were just right. The story was just enough Sleeping Beauty mixed with just enough vampires and romance.
Would I recommend this to 9th graders? Yes. There is a little killing but nothing too major and the romance is pretty tame.
My Rating: 4/5
I've been wondering about this book. Your review makes it sound great. Thanks!
ReplyDelete