Spelled by Betsy Schow Pages: 352
Published by Sourcebooks Fire, Sourcebooks, Inc. on June 2, 2015
Genres: Adaptations, Fairy Tales & Folklore, Fantasy & Magic, Love & Romance, retelling, Young Adult
Source: eARC from Publisher
Fairy Tale Survival Rule #32: If you find yourself at the mercy of a wicked witch, sing a romantic ballad and wait for your Prince Charming to save the day.
Yeah, no thanks. Dorthea is completely princed out. Sure being the crown princess of Emerald has its perks—like Glenda Original ball gowns and Hans Christian Louboutin heels. But a forced marriage to the brooding prince Kato is so not what Dorthea had in mind for her enchanted future.
Talk about unhappily ever after.
Trying to fix her prince problem by wishing on a (cursed) star royally backfires, leaving the kingdom in chaos and her parents stuck in some place called "Kansas." Now it's up to Dorthea and her pixed off prince to find the mysterious Wizard of Oz and undo the curse...before it releases the wickedest witch of all and spells The End for the world of Story
Spelled is one of those books where I fell in love the first time I saw the cover. I have always loved The Wizard of Oz, and I have been loving fairy tale re-tellings, so I knew this would be a match made somewhere over the rainbow for me. And I was so right. Spelled is so much fun that I want to pick it up and read it again right now. Betsy Schow has taken a classic tale that is already so fantastical and turned everything on its’ head. Who you know as good might turn bad and vice versa. And Betsy was not satisfied with just the land of Oz, so she took all kinds of fairy tale worlds and created a delightful mashup.
Dot, or Dorothea is a the princess of the Emerald city, and because of a curse-gone-wrong on all the major fairy tale families long long ago, she isn’t allowed to leave the castle. Someone in her line of women is rumored to be more powerful than all and will burn the world to the ground. That sounds pretty serious. Dot might have a tendency to come across as a little shallow and a lot spoiled, but given her sheltered life I wasn’t too surprised. But I was pleasantly surprised to meet the real Dot along the course of her journey. And the real Dot is a treat. Spunky and brave and very, very kind. I loved her. And I loved Kato and the whole gang.
One of my favorite parts of reading Spelled was waiting to meet new characters and see where they would fit in in this crazy rendition. Nothing was as it seemed and I learned quickly to expect the unexpected. Fans of all ages will thoroughly enjoy Betsy Schow’s imaginative re-imagining of Dorothy’s adventure. Dot, Kato and a few others set out to right a curse, and the adventure it takes us on had danger, familiar faces, prophecies, and all sorts of fun. I would have liked to have a seen a bit more romance, but what is there is not rushed. No insta love in this tale. I think there will be more on that front in the next book. And I was so, so excited to see that there will be another book. And the action and adventure won’t die down in the second book, if the ending of this one was any indication. Spelled is a great read. One that I would recommend to all fans of Fairy Tales, Young Adult, and the Wizard of Oz. I can’t wait to see more from Betsy Schow!
'A fun mash-up that turns all fairy tale worlds on their heads' @BookBriefs #reviews Spelled by @BetsySchow #YA Click To Tweet
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- May Clean Sweep ARC 2015
kindlemom1
I absolutely love that you wanted to read this all over again as soon as you were done, that is just awesome, and rarely happens with me. Wonderful review Michelle. You are making me want to read this one now as well. 🙂
Have a nice weekend!!
Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf
This looks so freakin’ adorable! Great review!
Ayanami Faerudo
I am of two minds! Read or not to read? But your review made me want to read it!
Lindy@A Bookish Escape
Spelled sounds like such an awesome fairy tale re-telling of The Wizard of Oz. I love the fact that everything in this story was turned on it’s head, new characters where introduced, and who you know as good might turn bad, and vice versa. Excellent Review Michelle 🙂