Books › The Wide-Awake Princess
The Wide-Awake Princess
288 pages
A delightfully fractured fairy tale that champions practicality and pluck over magical perfection.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like stepping into a sunlit, slightly skewed version of a classic storybook, where common sense is the ultimate superpower. The narrative moves at a brisk, cheerful clip, carrying readers through a whimsical landscape filled with familiar tropes turned delightfully on their heads. It has a breezy, plucky energy that never takes itself too seriously, yet remains deeply earnest about the bonds of family and the importance of finding your own worth. The prose is accessible and warm, inviting you to laugh along with a heroine who would rather have a sturdy pair of boots than a glass slipper. It is a perfect, cozy adventure for anyone who loves their fairy tales served with a generous side of wit and pragmatic independence.
- Mood
- whimsical
- cheerful
- breezy
- Tone
- humorous
- plucky
- irreverent
- earnest
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- subverting expectations · sibling loyalty · inner strength · practicality over perfection
- The writing
- Accessible and breezy, the writing is sprinkled with gentle wit and a conversational charm.
- The arc
- The protagonist moves from feeling like an ordinary, magic-less outsider to embracing her practical nature as her greatest strength.
- Who it's for
- Readers who delight in fractured fairy tales and cheer for pragmatic, unsentimental heroines who take matters into their own hands.
Content notes
- mild fantasy peril
About the book
In this new fairy tale, Princess Annie is the younger sister to Gwen, the princess destined to be Sleeping Beauty. When Gwennie pricks her finger and the whole castle falls asleep, only Annie is awake, and only Annie--blessed (or cursed?) with being impervious to magic--can venture out beyond the rose-covered hedge for help. She must find Gwen's true love to kiss her awake. Joined by one of her father's guards, Liam, who happened to be out of the castle when the sleeping spell struck, Annie travels through a fairy tale land populated with characters both familiar and new as she tries to fix her sister and her family... and perhaps even find a true love of her own. (Can be read as a stand-alone book, or as part of the series.)
Description from Open Library.
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