This was an amazing mash-up of a multitude of fairy tales. Throughout the book we stumble upon retellings of many classic and lesser known tales - "The Elves and the Shoemaker," "The Frog Prince," "The Six Swans," "The Golden Bird," and "The Brave Little Tailor." I love how Ms. Flinn updates and changes the tales to blend together into one amazing journey.
The hero, Johnny, is teenage a shoemaker, working in his family's shop and trying to help his mother make ends meet. He is the epitome of a responsible and reliable teenager, until he meets Princess Victoriana. Johnny suddenly goes from living a boring life to a full on adventure of a lifetime, all to help a princess in distress. Johnny takes chances that he would never have imagined before, he learns more about who he really is and figures out that nothing is ever as it seems. Johnny sure gets the experience of a lifetime - talking animals, finding out that magic exists, and traveling in unconventional ways.
I think my favourite character in the book has to be Meg, Johnny's best friend. She is smart, sassy and practical.
The entire story is very lighthearted and very comedic in tone. It was such an enjoyable read.
I really like that the author added notes at the end to reference the different fairy tales that the story was based upon as I recognized a few and others I had no idea about. It's a great reference and I plan to look up quite a few to read for myself
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