A review by micaelabrody
A Hidden Magic by Vivian Vande Velde

5.0

I found this book hidden away on a bookshelf in my room on a trip home to New Jersey and I couldn’t believe I’d ever forgotten about it. This was likely an influential book for me - the princess being a rather ordinary person and the charming prince being pretty horrible is a wonderful subversion of a classic fairy tale that definitely shaped my thinking on fairy tales in general. It’s a fast read and a fast plot, and I think it’s essential children’s reading, which makes it a shame that as far as I know it’s basically an unknown.

I leave you with this, what is one of my favorite introductions of a protagonist ever:

“Jennifer was not your average beautiful princess living in a Amy office for palace. In fact, she was actually rather plain and shy, with the chubby, good-natured kind of face parents tend to call nice.”

Finally some representation for the rest of us!