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carleesi's review against another edition
3.75
Beautiful reimagining of a whole range of fairy tales with some great messages for young readers.
megan_danyelle's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
madelinesedai's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
rosemaryandrue's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
When Rosamund is awoken from a hundred year sleep by a stranger's kiss, she runs from him - and escapes into a strange school to join other fairytale princesses (and a prince) trying to avoid their futures. But all is not as it seems, and the headmistress may be keeping a sinister secret.
At some point in the 2010s fairytale retellings seemed all the rage. I enjoyed them generally until they started blending together, but that doesn't mean I'm not always up for a new variation! In this middle grade book though, we get more of a metafiction twist than a straight-up retelling.
This is a fast-paced adventurous story which stars Rosamund, aka Sleeping Beauty, who upon awaking runs out of her story into the safety of the Princess Protection Program. She's an adorable lead, full of curiosity and with a penchant for asking hard questions fearlessly, which serves her well throughout the book. I appreciated the not-so-obvious lesson that the students learn by the end of the story of how to handle their storybook problems.
However, the humor was a little hit-and-miss, combining sly humor about fairytale tropes that seemed aimed for older readers with the kind of gross-out humor that would probably entertain a younger audience. I also thought that the middle of the book lagged a little, and that I would have liked to have seen a stronger foundation established for Rosamund's friendship with Rana, Sirena, and the other students toward the start of the story.
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.
aylea's review against another edition
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Princess Rosamund isn't very happy about being woken up from a long sleep by a kiss from a stranger. A Door of Opportunity opens, allowing her to find the Princess Protection Program. This school helps fairy tale princesses escape the challenges of their stories. However, the longer Rosamund is in the program, the more questions she has. Why doesn’t anyone remember former students, and what happens to them when they graduate? What happens if a princess gets caught by her Uponatime, monsters determined to put the princesses back where they belong? Is it possible to change your story instead of simply escaping it?
In a lot of ways, the book feels familiar. It easily sits with stories like The School for Good and Evil, Ever After High, and the Descendants. It’s a familiar take on “fairy tales in real life going against their original trope.” And by familiar, I mean that most of the execution isn’t particularly memorable in a world full of vivid, exciting fairy tale retellings. That doesn’t mean it won’t find fans — young fairy tale lovers hungry for stories of princesses taking charge and being the heroes of their stories will still enjoy this book. But as someone who has always read every fairy tale variation I could get my hands on, I have to say this one doesn’t stand out as special.
Part of the problem is that it doesn’t seem to have a firm grip on its audience. It feels like a book for slightly younger readers (7-10 maybe) because of its lack of depth and occasional bathroom-type humor, but it also has concepts like consent for a kiss or even rebellion that seem slightly older. There’s also a character who is heavily implied to perhaps be gay, but the book doesn’t dare say for sure. I wish it were written a little older to make it a good choice for middle school instead of feeling like an upper elementary school read.
The dialogue felt unnatural, especially from the teenage characters from the regular world. In fairy tale characters, I could understand if they talked a little strangely, but all the characters do, whether they have an “I’m from a different world” excuse or not.
The story develops and has a lot of twists quickly, but unfortunately it doesn’t necessarily help make it more interesting because it actually makes it so that the other characters and general concept of the world they are in don’t have time to develop. There are too many characters and not enough time or effort to get to know them besides, "Oh, that's Cinderella." The ending will either thrill people or leave them confused because a decent amount of it feels like it came out of nowhere.
Those don’t mean it wasn’t fun. It just wasn’t as fun as a story about princesses trying to take care of their happy endings probably should have been.
I appreciated that the author has clearly researched the fairy tales he is working with. There are small references to variations of the stories in different languages, and writers like Perrault and more modern favorites are referenced.
The general moral is that the princesses (and one prince) should be able to make their own choices in their stories. They end up in the real world through a Door of Opportunity that appears because their story doesn’t consider their wants and needs. I like that concept, but I wish the princesses had more influence because it still feels like many characters are not doing much to find their happy endings.
Some young fairy tale lovers will love this, but I wouldn’t recommend it as one of the great books in the category. I wish it had more depth and development to take the interesting levels to that level.
In a lot of ways, the book feels familiar. It easily sits with stories like The School for Good and Evil, Ever After High, and the Descendants. It’s a familiar take on “fairy tales in real life going against their original trope.” And by familiar, I mean that most of the execution isn’t particularly memorable in a world full of vivid, exciting fairy tale retellings. That doesn’t mean it won’t find fans — young fairy tale lovers hungry for stories of princesses taking charge and being the heroes of their stories will still enjoy this book. But as someone who has always read every fairy tale variation I could get my hands on, I have to say this one doesn’t stand out as special.
Part of the problem is that it doesn’t seem to have a firm grip on its audience. It feels like a book for slightly younger readers (7-10 maybe) because of its lack of depth and occasional bathroom-type humor, but it also has concepts like consent for a kiss or even rebellion that seem slightly older. There’s also a character who is heavily implied to perhaps be gay, but the book doesn’t dare say for sure. I wish it were written a little older to make it a good choice for middle school instead of feeling like an upper elementary school read.
The dialogue felt unnatural, especially from the teenage characters from the regular world. In fairy tale characters, I could understand if they talked a little strangely, but all the characters do, whether they have an “I’m from a different world” excuse or not.
The story develops and has a lot of twists quickly, but unfortunately it doesn’t necessarily help make it more interesting because it actually makes it so that the other characters and general concept of the world they are in don’t have time to develop. There are too many characters and not enough time or effort to get to know them besides, "Oh, that's Cinderella." The ending will either thrill people or leave them confused because a decent amount of it feels like it came out of nowhere.
Those don’t mean it wasn’t fun. It just wasn’t as fun as a story about princesses trying to take care of their happy endings probably should have been.
I appreciated that the author has clearly researched the fairy tales he is working with. There are small references to variations of the stories in different languages, and writers like Perrault and more modern favorites are referenced.
The general moral is that the princesses (and one prince) should be able to make their own choices in their stories. They end up in the real world through a Door of Opportunity that appears because their story doesn’t consider their wants and needs. I like that concept, but I wish the princesses had more influence because it still feels like many characters are not doing much to find their happy endings.
Some young fairy tale lovers will love this, but I wouldn’t recommend it as one of the great books in the category. I wish it had more depth and development to take the interesting levels to that level.
roshreviews's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
3.25
In a Nutshell: A middle-grade fantasy focussing on alternate HEAs for the princesses. Tries a bit too hard, but encompasses some thought-provoking themes and valuable life lessons. I found it somewhat repetitive and haphazard, but it might work better for the right age group.
Plot Preview:
When “Sleeping Beauty” Princess Rosamund awakes from her hundred-year sleep to a sloppy kiss from a stranger who calls himself her prince and wants to marry her, she runs. Without consciously realising it, she bolts through a ‘Door of Opportunity’ and reaches the premises of The Home Educational Academy, or HEA.
Under the leadership of fairy godmother Verna, HEA runs a Princess Protection Program, to allow princesses to escape their destinies and choose their own happy ending. Rosamund soon adjusts to life in this strange new world, along with a few other princesses (and one prince) as her fellow students. However, not everything seems to be right at the academy. Will it truly provide all its royal inmates with an alternate HEA of their choice?
Note: Children will enjoy this story better if they are familiar with the original fairy tales that the characters are taken from, but this isn’t a prerequisite.
Bookish Yays:
🎇 The author's note at the start about what inspired this story. Quite interesting.
🎇 The feminist spin on what princesses undergo in fairy tales.
🎇 The fact that it included even princes in the topic of having a choice in their lives. Absolutely true! It is not only the princesses who need rescuing from their fate in fairy tales.
🎇 The spinoff characters from popular fairy tales, many of whom have a distinctive personality in this story. Appreciate the inclusion of even modern Disney Princesses such as Elsa, or ‘Elise’ as she is known in this book.
🎇 The amalgamation of the fairy tale fantasy world into our own, where the young people are obsessed with selfies and social media apps. A quirky but interesting combo.
🎇 Many essential life lessons and inspiring themes in the plot, which can serve as good discussion points.
Bookish Mixed Bags:
🌠 The story begins in a lighthearted way but then gets dark, and a teeny bit scary. Might be a problem for sensitive or younger middle-graders. The fun scenes help a little in maintaining a balance.
🌠 The book has some magic as well as some magical beings, but not enough to make it feel like a fantasy. I expected a lot more magic thoughout, and not just at the climax.
🌠 Some of the comic scenes are slapstick in nature, with even some toilet humour included. Some of these *might* be funny to kids, but I found them forced into the narrative.
🌠 The book is fairly quick-paced, as an MG book should be, but the middle section feels repetitive and hence dragged. The action is almost entirely restricted to the climax.
Bookish Nays:
🎃 The new names given to some of the characters are too similar. Names like ‘Sirena’, ‘Verna’ and ‘Rana’ are easy to mix up in our minds.
🎃 A part of the content, especially related to the feminist themes, might be better suited to teens than middle graders as they are a bit too complex for younger minds.
All in all, this is a book with a great idea and decent execution. Keeping in mind that MG fiction is one of my favourite genres, I am slightly disappointed by this experience. I wish it hadn’t tried so hard to be funny as well as meaningful, because in the process, it ends up doing complete justice to neither.
It might serve its target audience decently well, but to me, it was a one-time read with no resultant long-term fondness. Again, it wasn’t a bad book by far, just not a memorable one.
3.25 stars.
My thanks to HarperCollins Children's Books and NetGalley for the DRC of “The Princess Protection Program”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
Plot Preview:
When “Sleeping Beauty” Princess Rosamund awakes from her hundred-year sleep to a sloppy kiss from a stranger who calls himself her prince and wants to marry her, she runs. Without consciously realising it, she bolts through a ‘Door of Opportunity’ and reaches the premises of The Home Educational Academy, or HEA.
Under the leadership of fairy godmother Verna, HEA runs a Princess Protection Program, to allow princesses to escape their destinies and choose their own happy ending. Rosamund soon adjusts to life in this strange new world, along with a few other princesses (and one prince) as her fellow students. However, not everything seems to be right at the academy. Will it truly provide all its royal inmates with an alternate HEA of their choice?
Note: Children will enjoy this story better if they are familiar with the original fairy tales that the characters are taken from, but this isn’t a prerequisite.
Bookish Yays:
🎇 The author's note at the start about what inspired this story. Quite interesting.
🎇 The feminist spin on what princesses undergo in fairy tales.
🎇 The fact that it included even princes in the topic of having a choice in their lives. Absolutely true! It is not only the princesses who need rescuing from their fate in fairy tales.
🎇 The spinoff characters from popular fairy tales, many of whom have a distinctive personality in this story. Appreciate the inclusion of even modern Disney Princesses such as Elsa, or ‘Elise’ as she is known in this book.
🎇 The amalgamation of the fairy tale fantasy world into our own, where the young people are obsessed with selfies and social media apps. A quirky but interesting combo.
🎇 Many essential life lessons and inspiring themes in the plot, which can serve as good discussion points.
Bookish Mixed Bags:
🌠 The story begins in a lighthearted way but then gets dark, and a teeny bit scary. Might be a problem for sensitive or younger middle-graders. The fun scenes help a little in maintaining a balance.
🌠 The book has some magic as well as some magical beings, but not enough to make it feel like a fantasy. I expected a lot more magic thoughout, and not just at the climax.
🌠 Some of the comic scenes are slapstick in nature, with even some toilet humour included. Some of these *might* be funny to kids, but I found them forced into the narrative.
🌠 The book is fairly quick-paced, as an MG book should be, but the middle section feels repetitive and hence dragged. The action is almost entirely restricted to the climax.
Bookish Nays:
🎃 The new names given to some of the characters are too similar. Names like ‘Sirena’, ‘Verna’ and ‘Rana’ are easy to mix up in our minds.
🎃 A part of the content, especially related to the feminist themes, might be better suited to teens than middle graders as they are a bit too complex for younger minds.
All in all, this is a book with a great idea and decent execution. Keeping in mind that MG fiction is one of my favourite genres, I am slightly disappointed by this experience. I wish it hadn’t tried so hard to be funny as well as meaningful, because in the process, it ends up doing complete justice to neither.
It might serve its target audience decently well, but to me, it was a one-time read with no resultant long-term fondness. Again, it wasn’t a bad book by far, just not a memorable one.
3.25 stars.
My thanks to HarperCollins Children's Books and NetGalley for the DRC of “The Princess Protection Program”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
stiney7887's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for this early release copy.
I read this book with my 7 year old daughter and it was so fun. The first chapter immediately had us laughing and sucked us right in. It was a fun princess story about forging their own path, and not being that damsel in distress destined to marry a prince that most princess stories tell our kids. Such a fun retelling with lots of appearances from all the classic fairy tale princesses and characters in general. It's such a great middle grade read, but also fun to read along with a younger reader.
I read this book with my 7 year old daughter and it was so fun. The first chapter immediately had us laughing and sucked us right in. It was a fun princess story about forging their own path, and not being that damsel in distress destined to marry a prince that most princess stories tell our kids. Such a fun retelling with lots of appearances from all the classic fairy tale princesses and characters in general. It's such a great middle grade read, but also fun to read along with a younger reader.
ssejig's review against another edition
emotional
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Rosamund wakes up suddenly. She's been kissed! Now the dude is babbling about how he's a prince and they're going to live Happily Ever After. But she's not interested. Instead, Rosamund runs. And she ends up in the Home Educational Academy with other princesses who have run right out of their stories.
This world is odd and Rosamund is figuring out how to live in it. There are classes on things like social media, and languages, and cleaning. There is so much cleaning. It's here that Rosamund will figure out how to make friends and figure out what she really wants her life to look like. Will it be in the Academy with Verna? Or will she venture out and face the Uponatimes that might drag her back to the fairy tale?
This world is odd and Rosamund is figuring out how to live in it. There are classes on things like social media, and languages, and cleaning. There is so much cleaning. It's here that Rosamund will figure out how to make friends and figure out what she really wants her life to look like. Will it be in the Academy with Verna? Or will she venture out and face the Uponatimes that might drag her back to the fairy tale?
I enjoyed the first three quarters of this book quite a bit. The last part got even a little more wacky and I was disappointed that the princess weren't more a part of their narrative thrust in overcoming the last hurdles of their life.