Enchanted

Enchanted (Woodcutter Sisters #1)

by Alethea Kontis

2 stars

308 pages

Published May 8, 2012 by Harcourt Children's Books

This first half of the book was pretty amazing, and held so much potential! And then ... it just got weird and foundered and sank. I think the author was trying to cram every single fairy tale into one story - it just got too confusing and too lame. If she would have just stuck to one concept - the Frog Prince - things would have turned out much, much better.

Also, all the characters, with their odd names, made it that much more confusing.

I was so sad when this book ended, because so much was left wanting - a fabulous idea destroyed in the execution.

Towering

Towering

by Alex Flinn

2 stars

293 pages 

Published May 14, 2013 by HarperTeen

I am pretty bummed I had to give this book so few stars. It had such potential - part love story, part paranormal mystery - but the execution was lacking.

"Towering" is touted as a modern re-write of the Rapunzel tale, but the only tie-in the book contains is that one of the protagonists has long hair, which she cuts to make a rope so she can escape her tower prison/safe-house. The rest is an anti-drug PA (which I'm all for: Drugs=Bad!), but it just didn't jive with the spirit of the original Rapunzel tale. That, paired with poor character development, uneven pacing, and too many unanswered questions at the abrupt and unsatisfying ending made this book an unfortunate and forgettable work.

I did dig the book cover, though.