Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
I just read The Land of Stories book one, The Wishing Spell. I thought it was very good, as it had an interesting plot and lifelike characters. I almost feel as if they could jump right off the page. The problems I had with this book were very few, and they were fairly minor. Really the most major issue for me was all of the characters were practically perfect. There were a few who weren't perfect, but had perfect looks at least, like Goldilocks, Red Riding Hood, and Connor. I should probably expect this, since most of them are fairy tale characters, but it seems just slightly cliche. However, I enjoyed this book quite a bit and will be looking for the rest of the series. This may not be considered a "teen book" but I think it was quite good.
Cleanness: 4.5 out of 5 star s
Plotline: 5 out of 5 stars
Character Development: 5 out of 5 stars
Cliches: 4 out of 5 stars
Pace: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Hot or Not: Hot (Good)
Why I would recommend this book:
I would recommend this book to anyone aged about 10-15 who likes fairy tales, fantasy books, or adventure books. If you liked this book, you might also like the Sisters Grimm, Ever After High, or the Tales of the Frog Princess series. This book could be for either boys or girls; there's really no kind of veering towards one or the other.
Summary
Alex and Connor Bailey are twins. Their dad died a year prior to the twin's twelfth birthday, but their mom is too busy to celebrate their birthday with them, so a surprise visit from their grandma puts them in a better mood. She gives them a book of fairy tales called The Land of Stories, which the twins have loved since they were little. One night the book begins to glow and vibrate, and Alex tries to hide it from her brother. Connor investigates and finally finds out what she is hiding one day when she brings the book to school. He thinks Alex will try to go into the fairy tale world, so they both fall into the magical world that Alex has dreaming of. (Spoilers below)
After falling into the fairy tale world, Connor and Alex are worried that they will never be able to get out, so they seek the help of a friendly frog man they meet in the dangerous Dwarf Forests. Froggy (the frog) gives them a man's journal telling them about the Wishing Spell items and where to find them. So they go on an adventure to find them, but before they are out of the forest, they meet a beautiful young women named Goldilocks, who saves them from the Big Bad Wolf Pack, who are the children of the original Big Bad Wolf. After journeying through multiple kingdoms they have most of the items when they realize that someone else is trying to get the items too. The Evil Queen's Huntress, who is the Huntsman's daughter, is trying to retrieve the items for the Queen herself to grant her wish of seeing her lover again, who has been trapped inside a mirror for a long time. They then find the rest of the items, with the help of characters we all know and love such as Jack, the Little Mermaid, Sleeping Beauty, and more. r finding all of the items, the Evil Queen takes the kids captive and tries to use the items to do the Wishing Spell for the second and final time, but the twins manage to destroy the jar with the fairy tear. After the Evil Queen tells her sad and unheard story, Alex cries and the Evil Queen scoops it off of her chin and uses the spell, but her grief, her lover dies in her arms. Alex realizes the truth; she is a fairy, but the ancient castle the Evil Queen was using as her hiding place was destroyed. Jack and Goldilocks are reunited as lovers (Queen Red Riding Hood helps them escape), Froggy is discovered to be the long lost Prince Charlie, Cinderella gives birth to a lovely baby girl, and the kids realize their grandmother is none other than the fabled Fairy Godmother, and she transports them back home. They finally realize how good their life really is and how much they have missed it.