Appropriate length to tell the story: 3/5.

READALIKES: Dorothy Must Die (Paige) Splintered (Howard) RATING BREAKDOWN: Retellings are incredibly popular at my school, and the front cover and blurb will make Spelled easy to book talk with my students. STATUS IN MY LIBRARY: I do plan to order Spelled, despite my lukewarm reception of it. Despite all this, I think young fans of fairytale retellings might enjoy this better than I did. The story is good, but it could have been great with a little less action and a little more character development. THE BOTTOM LINEĭespite abundant potential, Spelled fell flat for me. I wonder if it was just me, that maybe when I read it, I wasn’t fully engaged or was thinking about something else? This is one of those books where I think “it’s not you, it’s me.” I’d be really interested to see how my students respond to it. Spelled is a cute story, and I absolutely loved all the fairy tale references. There are plenty of run-for-your-life moments, but rather than getting absorbed in the action, I just wanted to get through the scene and eventually, the book.

The white witch story was especially weird and confusing. I didn’t understand things like why the author chose to make Kato a chimaera or the motives of the witches. I sometimes found myself lost, like I had missed some crucial moments in the story. Spelled is fun and cute, but I had some trouble with the meandering plot.

I loved the abundant fairy tale references and even chuckled out loud while reading on the bus a couple of times. Spelled started off really cute with loads of potential.

Hoping to somehow undo the curse, Dorthea and Kato must find the mysterious Wizard of Oz before the wickedest witch of all is unleashed on their world. SUMMARY: After learning she is being forced to marry arrogant Prince Kato, spoiled, sheltered Princess Dorthea of Emerald makes an ill-fated wish on a cursed star.

Betsy schow books