Early Review - Cloaked by Alex Flinn (4/5 stars)

Reading level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Size: 352 pages
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: February 8, 2011
ISBN-13: 978-0060874223
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: ARC from Amazon Vine
Rating: 4/5 stars

I enjoyed Flinn's Beastly so when I was offered an advanced reading copy for Cloaked through the Amazon Vine program I snapped it up.  This was an entertaining and fun fairy tale retelling.  It mixes aspects from a number of fairy tales but pulls mainly from the Elves and the Shoemaker and The Princess and the Frog.  It is fun, fluffy, and an easy read.

Johnny repairs shoes at his family's shoe shop; his mom and him are pretty strapped for cash and his dad is missing.  Then a visiting princess (known for her public displays of drunkenness) asks him for a favor.  She wants him to find her brother who has been turned into a frog.  Johnny thinks she's a bit batty but when she shows him a magic cloak, a lot of money, and offers to marry him.  Well, he can't turn her down.  Now he is off on a quest to find a frog somewhere in Key West Florida.  Along the way he will learn that much of the world is not what it seems and that maybe there is more to this love thing than a hot princess with wads of cash.

This book is written in a very lighthearted way and is full of slang and silliness.  I loved that it was a fairy tale retelling, and I enjoyed the silliness for the most part.  Overall a quick read that was a nice break from the serious epic fantasy I had just finished before it.  This would be a great book for a light summer read on the beach.

Parts of the book get a bit over the top, but in general all of the characters are likable (if a bit over-stereotyped).  You can't help but root for Johnny throughout the book, although you will occasional want to smack him for his blindness in matters of love.  This book is more of an adventure than anything with some magic and romance added throughout.  It was paced well and hard to put down.

I personally like my fairy tales retold with more beautiful description and irony than this book had.  But this book was still a fun read and should be appropriate for middle grade readers and up.  

Overall I had to say I enjoyed this book.  It was a fun and light-hearted retelling of some more obscure fairy tales.  It did a good job of incorporating a lot of fairy tale elements.  Definitely not a work of fine literature but fun and sweet if that is what you are in the mood for; much less serious in tone than Beastly was.  I will probably pick up Flinn's future works when I am in the mood for something lighter.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:

- 100+ Reading Challenge
- Fantasy Reading Challenge

Beastly by Alex Flinn (4.5/5 stars)

This is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast with some changes; firstly the book is set in the modern day and secondly it is from the Beast's point of view. When I started this book I wasn't sure I was going to like it but as the story continued I really got pulled in and ended up loving it. It helps that Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite fairy tales.

Kyle Kingsbury is a jerk. He is your typical perfect looking, rich, snob. Everyone is beneath him and he is cruel about it. He gets his comeuppance when he stands up a strange girl with funny green hair and gothic clothing. You guessed it, she is a witch, and she curses him to look on the outside like he is on the inside. That is unless he is kissed by his true love within 2 years of his changing. Funny thing is Kyle's dad is a news anchor and basically disowns Kyle when he finds that his son is permanently beastly.

This story started out okay. I thought the writing was kind of choppy and awkward, with lots of slang, in the beginning. As Kyle becomes a better person; the book ends up being written quite beautifully. Since it is written from Kyle's viewpoint I guess that makes sense. So, just a warning, if the book irritates you at first keep with it because it is worth the read.

Flinn did an excellent job showing Kyle's transformation. There is some humor in between the different sections of the book in the form of online group chats; where Kyle goes to discuss his transformation with others who have been transformed. I thought Flinn did an excellent job of staying true to the original Beauty and the Beast story while updating the surroundings.

The only part I thought was awkward was when Kyle forces Lindy to live with him; the author mentions in the back that she also had a bit of trouble reconciling this part of the story with the modern world. Besides that I was very happy with this book. It is a sweet re-telling and stays true to the many versions of the story out there. It is appropriate for kids of all ages; not a ton of violence or making out.

Overall I really liked it. It was a quick and easy read. I had a lot of trouble putting the book down and ended up staying awake until the wee hours of the night to see how it ended. I will definitely be checking out more of Alex Flinn's books in the future.