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eomerfan1987
, October 11, 2010
(view all comments by eomerfan1987)
Virginia, a beautiful New York waitress, didn't know the adventure that would unfold the day she hit a dog with her bike. She and her single parent father, Tony, a bumbling but caring man, follow the magical Prince turned dog into a world straight out of Grimm's Fairy Tales. They soon find Happily Ever After didn't turn out the way everyone hoped as they are pursued by Trolls, and an Evil Queen. They are joined by Wolf, a werewolf who can't decide whether he wants to love or eat Virginia. Through page after page of striking comedy, fast-paced chases pitfalls and magic spells, they fight to save all the 10 Kingdoms and find out about their true destinies.
10th Kingdom keeps alive the traditions of fantasies, but manages to give a modern twist to old fairy tales and eventually weaving itself into its own unique legend. The characters are as colorful in the book as in the aclaimed TV series, but it lacks in how it's written, which could be a bit better. However, I believe that for a book written from a TV mini-series, this is the most excellent of its kind. I found 10th Kingdom to be extremely thrilling and I could easily get into the vast storyline. It was long enough to fully develop each character's personality and most of it commented on each character's inner thoughts and desires.
My favorite character has to be Wolf, who acted as the dashing but dangerous hero. He was constantly moody, yet could always figure out what to do when different problems came into play. His favorite phrases are "Huff-puff," and "Cripes," which he frequently uses. Wolf says on page 471 near the end of the book to Virginia, "This is not the end of the story. It is just a chapter." This story is all about the end of one story and beginning of another, and ends in the same way. When you close one chapter of your life, another is just beginning and with each chapter, there's always a second chance to make your life better.
10th Kingdom does contain a good amount cussing, and also some gory scenes, (Which, if you've read any of the original Grimm Tales, you know this is how they are.) so I wouldn't recommend it to just anyone. I believe most younger kids would be better off with something else, but if they still want to, I suggest having an adult read it so they get more out of it. It would make a great bedtime story in that way also. There are many more wonderful fantasy books out there that are begging to be read by adventurous readers like yourself. This is only one of them, and what a jewel it is!
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