Spellbound
What's the Story?
From the moment Zach came home from the hospital, six year old Athene decided she hated her little brother, and for the last six years she has done everything she can to prove the point. Good natured Zach is nuts about his sister and takes all of her abuse in stride which frustrates Athene even more.
While on a family vacation, Athene discovers an unusual clan of little people who call themselves the Gloam. They swear her to secrecy and so she sneaks away from her family late every night to spend time with her amazing new friends.
One night young Zach follows her and now Athene must share her discovery with her younger brother. Out of jealousy and spite, Athene makes a monstrous choice and sentences her brother to a cruel fate. (Relax. It's not violent. This ain't a slasher film.) After a few days, Athene realizes she may actually miss her stupid brother juuuuuust a teeny tiny bit so she sets off to right her wrong. If she doesn't succeed she and Zach will be trapped in a small dark underground hole for the rest of their lives.
What I Think
Spellbound is a modern fairy tale. The language is modern with lots and lots and lots of British slang, but the treatment of the material also makes it feel very 'once upon a time-y'. It would make a good story for advanced readers who are younger than the intended age group of 9 to12.
Although Athene starts out as a grouch and a know-it-all (Think Lucy in Peanuts if she hated Linus), the guilt she feels for what she did to her brother mellows her out a bit. She's a girl of action, not waiting for someone else to clean up her messes, and also a pretty good team player when she needs to be. Athene's support group of little people and talking animals all have distinct voices. I was extremely partial to Digger until I realized late in the book he was in the perfect position to sabotage everything*.
In the early chapters, Dale works very hard to keep the story hurried, modern and funny and much of that humor is very British. For instance, Athene has "toad-in-the-hole" for dinner one night (Sausages baked in a pastry batter [Yorkshire Pudding] with potatoes and gravy). As the story moves to a magical setting it loses a lot of it's modern edge and settles into a simpler old-fashioned fairy tale with good guys and bad guys, all with just a touch more gray area than your old school tales.
While Spellbound was enjoyable, I felt it was missing three key ingredients. The first is illustration; spot illustrations of key characters and settings at the headings of each chapter would have been a nice addition. A map of the underworld of the Lower Gloam at the front of the book would have also been greatly appreciated.
Secondly, the book needed more Zach. He was nothing more than a McGuffin**, moved from location to location. The only reason Zach deserves to be saved is because author Dale tells us he's a good kid. I was waiting for a scene where he gets to talk to someone about how he truly feels about his sister, or captivity or his parents or homesickness. A gift from an old Gloam is a more important element of the story than Zach is.
Finally, I really wanted an apology. Athene never said "I'm sorry" to her brother. True, her heart had changed and she had grown considerably during her adventure, but not enough to admit to Zach his captivity was intentional. Yeah, I know all was forgiven but, c'mon'. Give Zach a chance to prove he's the awesome brother we're told he is.
If you're looking for a modern fairy tale with humorous and likable characters, touches of magic and plenty of adventure in a well-made fantasy setting, you've found it. Spellbound's lack of gratuitous violence combined with an exciting climax makes it a good choice for a read-aloud or bedtime story for children of any age.
*Is the talking badger really a hero or a villain? Do I sound like the kind of guy who would ruin something like that for you? I don't think so.
**Alfred Hitchcock's word for a plot device that keeps the story moving.
Other Reviews
Spellbound is a modern fairy tale. The language is modern with lots and lots and lots of British slang, but the treatment of the material also makes it feel very 'once upon a time-y'. It would make a good story for advanced readers who are younger than the intended age group of 9 to12.
Although Athene starts out as a grouch and a know-it-all (Think Lucy in Peanuts if she hated Linus), the guilt she feels for what she did to her brother mellows her out a bit. She's a girl of action, not waiting for someone else to clean up her messes, and also a pretty good team player when she needs to be. Athene's support group of little people and talking animals all have distinct voices. I was extremely partial to Digger until I realized late in the book he was in the perfect position to sabotage everything*.
In the early chapters, Dale works very hard to keep the story hurried, modern and funny and much of that humor is very British. For instance, Athene has "toad-in-the-hole" for dinner one night (Sausages baked in a pastry batter [Yorkshire Pudding] with potatoes and gravy). As the story moves to a magical setting it loses a lot of it's modern edge and settles into a simpler old-fashioned fairy tale with good guys and bad guys, all with just a touch more gray area than your old school tales.
While Spellbound was enjoyable, I felt it was missing three key ingredients. The first is illustration; spot illustrations of key characters and settings at the headings of each chapter would have been a nice addition. A map of the underworld of the Lower Gloam at the front of the book would have also been greatly appreciated.
Secondly, the book needed more Zach. He was nothing more than a McGuffin**, moved from location to location. The only reason Zach deserves to be saved is because author Dale tells us he's a good kid. I was waiting for a scene where he gets to talk to someone about how he truly feels about his sister, or captivity or his parents or homesickness. A gift from an old Gloam is a more important element of the story than Zach is.
Finally, I really wanted an apology. Athene never said "I'm sorry" to her brother. True, her heart had changed and she had grown considerably during her adventure, but not enough to admit to Zach his captivity was intentional. Yeah, I know all was forgiven but, c'mon'. Give Zach a chance to prove he's the awesome brother we're told he is.
If you're looking for a modern fairy tale with humorous and likable characters, touches of magic and plenty of adventure in a well-made fantasy setting, you've found it. Spellbound's lack of gratuitous violence combined with an exciting climax makes it a good choice for a read-aloud or bedtime story for children of any age.
*Is the talking badger really a hero or a villain? Do I sound like the kind of guy who would ruin something like that for you? I don't think so.
**Alfred Hitchcock's word for a plot device that keeps the story moving.
Other Reviews
"It's a fairly easy book to read, but not overly simplistic as it has some nice descriptive moments and some more challenging bits of vocabulary sprinkled throughout it." - The Bookbag
"Anna Dale tells this story with charm and skill, with sensitivity and a knack for pacing. So young readers can feel both the thrills and suspense of the escape caper and the touching relationships between the characters. Its ending is perhaps better than many fantasy-adventure yarns, as it values kindness over comeuppance." - MuggleNet
"Spellbound is an exploration of sibling rivalry and how jealousy can become something dangerous and damaging if not dealt with. It also deals with a surprising array of morality issues such as: the fact that there is light and dark in everyone; that good friends forgive and help one another; that our prejudices are often based on false beliefs and the importance of never giving up hope." - The Truth About Books
Author Anna Dale's website
No comments:
Post a Comment