Enchanted

June 1, 2012

Gr 7-9-Sunday Woodcutter is the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter, and as such she finds that her stories have great power. When she meets a frog in the woods one day, their friendship slowly blossoms into love. Once he is freed from a dastardly spell and restored to his human form, Crown Prince Rumbold returns to the castle and calls for three balls to be held so that he may reunite with his beloved. When he meets Sunday's family at the first ball, he realizes that there is a troubled history between their families and decides to conceal his previous amphibian identity. As magic suddenly blossoms throughout the Woodcutter family, two dueling fairy godmothers battle for the kingdom's fate, and the Frog Prince and his love must each rely on the other to find true happiness. Kontis delivers a fairy-tale mash-up that outright sparkles. The characters are perfectly drawn, with flaws, hidden agendas, and a seemingly infinite hope for a bright and loving future. Fanciful bits of almost every classical fairy tale dance through Sunday's story, leading readers into an effervescent new world. The twists and turns, the nod to genre classics, and the emotional depth of this novel will captivate readers.-Jessica Miller, New Britain Public Library, CT

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