Saturday, May 18, 2013

Tahleen reviews: "The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom" by Christopher Healy

Title: The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom
Author: Christopher Healy
Publisher: Walden Pond Press, 2012

Rating: 4.5 stars

Love fairy tale retellings? Looking for something that will make you laugh out loud? Look no further.

We've all heard the stories. Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel. All saved by the ever-present Prince Charming. But what you might not have known is that Prince Charming is actually not one person. Yes, each princess was saved by a separate Prince, and they all have very distinct personalities. The only thing they have in common is they don't REALLY get credit for doing anything in the stories, since they don't have names. And for some, that's actually a good thing.

So what happens when Cinderella runs away to find adventure, and spoiled but good-hearted Prince Frederic goes after her? He somehow meets up with three other princes, of course: Prince Gustav, Prince Liam, and Prince Duncan. And they set off to find the girl, but end up trying to save the world. (Of course.)

This is one of the funniest and most delightful books I've read in a good, long time. The dialogue is just perfect. I felt like I was reading conversations that actually happened, that I would hear or have in my normal day. Except funnier. Just trust me, it's awesome.

The concept is brilliant too. Four prince charmings, all fairly clueless, teaming up to combine their different (and very specific) talents? Fantastic. And their talents are awesome too! I love that Healy made the princes figure out what their contributions could be, since they all weren't the traditional hero or nearly perfect.

Basically this book has it all. Romance (sort of), great characters, action, and hilarity. I can't wait to pick up its sequel, The Hero's Guide to Storming the Castle, which is out  now.

Disclosure: I got this book from my local library.

5 comments:

  1. I've been wanting to read this -- it looks like great MG comic fantasy!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This sounds like a fun read! I love twists on fairy tale stories.

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a fun review-this reminds me of how much I enjoyed reading this book and how excited I am to check out the sequel!

    ReplyDelete
  4. YAY! I'm so glad that you loved The Hero's Guide. It was one of my favorite reads last year, and Storming the Castle is great too. I just loved Duncan - oh and Mr. Troll! And the Bandit King! And I even loved the witch! :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. This was such a fabulous book and a great twist on some classic fairy tales. I loved how distinct all the Princes were.

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts with Thumbnails