Reviews

The Storybook of Legends by Shannon Hale

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dbartz654's review against another edition

4.0

This book was a joint effort between me and my 8 year old. We had fun taking turns reading to each other, and it actually turned out to be a pretty decent read. She loves all the characters and we are looking forward to reading the next book.

nirwhen's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

downthebookhole's review against another edition

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5.0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1JcWRqBq9c

I first found this book by watching the webisodes that Autumn @ Kitty Cat Reads recommended me to watch. These are absolutely adorable and are created by the same people that created Monster High! It is just too much cute to handle and I knew I just needed more story and I was completely satisfied with the first book in the series of Ever After High, The Storybook of Legends by Shannon Hale!

The stories of Ever After High revolves around the lives of fairy tale characters children. The main characters are Apple White, daughter of Snow White and Raven Queen, daughter of the Evil Queen. The children of fairy tale characters head off the Ever After High to learn how to prepare to follow in the footsteps of their parents.

This was an absolutely adorable middle grade fantasy (fairy tale retelling) The characters were so dynamic and entertaining. All with their own quirks and similarities with their parents. The language used was fantastic and really gave a youthful vibe that fit perfectly in the world, which was absolutely hexellent! There was adventure and drama and some great messages about being yourself, accepting who you are and making your own decisions to follow your own path!

I was able to finish this in one day and just could not put it down. I got so engrossed in the world and fell absolutely in love with all the characters! It is a fast paced enjoyable read that had me laughing and wanting more. I immediately picked up the second book in the series because I just could not get enough of this world and characters!

Overall if you are looking for a fast, highly enjoyable and super adorable (and precious and cute all all other words that convey the deep love I had for this book! ) read that focuses on stories we are all familiar with from our childhood this is definitely a book for you. Also I highly recommend watching the webisodes because they are just perfect (and different from the book in ways that give you more stories and the background to more characters!)

chanizzle's review against another edition

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2.0

Hmmm.... I love Shannon Hale, and if anyone else had written this book, I definitely would not have read it. It was very hard for me to get into. I liked the idea of the story, but it just didn't turn out as well as it could have. There were so many annoying twists of technological references (hext message, MirrorPod, MirrorPhone, hext message) and even pop culture references (One Reflection, Tailor Quick) that I almost put the book down, it was so annoying, but because it was Shannon Hale whom I love, I kept going.
It also seemed weird to have one of the characters able to hear, and talk to, the "Narrator" of the story.

I liked the characters themselves, they were all interesting, most were quirky and fun. I had to laugh out loud every time their was a damsel in distress and Hunter (I think it was hunter) suddenly stripped off his shirt to a fanfare of music and then rushed off to rescue them.
In the end, I decided it was a cute, fun story. Maybe a little too cute, but then I'm not the target audience, so it will probably be perfect for tweens/young teens.

natalie75's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

booksnorkel's review against another edition

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5.0

This book is a quite ridiculous. I mean it’s just outrageous and unapologetic about what it is, what it’s about, and it is utterly adorable. This book is about how fairy tale legends send their children to school so that when the time comes they will play out the same fairy tale that they lived through. I don’t remember if it is brought up what generation of fairy tale offspring this is, if it’s the first or fifteenth time these stories have played out. Raven is the daughter of the Evil queen from Snow White, she is destined to be evil, and even though her mother broke fairy tale ranks and tried to take over other stories, everyone is going to try to make Raven follow the story. She is actually a nice person, she is kind, and really doesn’t want to be evil, she doesn’t want to try to kill her friend Apple White, Raven is restless.
Apple White has golden hair, much to the chagrin of everyone who has read Snow White. The story says ebony hair. But other than that Apple is so excited to live out her fairy tale, and be rescued by her prince. Except her friend Raven doesn’t want to be the evil queen and make Apple eat poison. She has to make Raven see that the only way for Apple to have her Happily ever after is for Raven to die.
This series is great because it brings up questions like what about Cinderella, her parents have to die, and an evil stepmother has to come along and make her life terrible. Sleeping Beauty has to sleep for 100 years, she will wake with no friends or family. Knowing your fate makes you restless.