Disclaimer: If you haven’t read the first book in the series, A Tale of Magic…, I would strongly recommend reading that book before delving into this novel. Have you ever dreamed of a faraway land with magic, talking animals, and witches? In this land, magic has just been legalized, or at least that is what everyone thinks. A Tale of Witchcraft… is a one-of-a-kind book! The author, Chris Colfer, grabs readers from the very beginning into a fast-paced, meaningful, and magical tale of friendship and betrayal. The main protagonist, Brystal Evergreen, is known as the Fairy Godmother—the strongest fairy. Brystal’s generosity and optimistic nature fuel her ever-growing passion for teaching young girls and boys how to use their magic for good. The world is calm and happy, and it seems as if no one dislikes magic. The magical community has worked so hard to be accepted by the Northern, Western, Southern, and Eastern Kingdoms. Acceptance is hard to find when one is different from everyone else. Even if one tries to fit in, only the truest of friends will accept them for who they are. The book opens with the rise of an ancient organization, The Brotherhood. The Brotherhood has been in the shadows for millennia. They have a philosophy that states the world is made to be ruled by man, and anything that seems to defy their belief has to be eliminated, which is the magical community! This beginning enveloped me in a sea of thoughts. How would an organization—with no magic—have a chance at ridding the world of magic? In previous books by Chris Colfer, the beginnings always had a significance, so, at the time, I was unsure what the relevance of The Brotherhood would be until I ventured further into the book. How would you handle a deadly curse that subjects you to oppression? Would you listen to the negative thoughts in your head—formed from the curse—or would you fight it? After fixing a dam in the Western Kingdom, Brystal’s conscience starts to backfire on her. For example, when the Western Kingdom praised the Fairy Council—a group of fairies striving to help others—Brystal became clouded with pessimistic thoughts. As the novel continues to develop, the curse aggravates Brystal’s mental state, putting her life on the line. Not by coincidence, a witch, Mistress Mara, arrives from her rival school to recruit new students. As the praised Fairy Godmother, Brystal thought that she was the only one who could fix her problems, and by doing so, she pushed away some of her best friends, especially Lucy. Brystal soon realizes that the only way to break the curse is by fighting the negativity and believing in herself! Brystal guides the reader through the book while she struggles with her rebounding negative thoughts. Similar to Chris Colfer’s other novels, A Tale of Witchcraft… expands on the theme of acceptance within oneself and others, while including a spring of adventure with the turn of every page. A Tale of Witchcraft… by Chris Colfer. Little Brown Books for Young Readers, 2020. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process!
Chris Colfer
The Land of Stories, Reviewed by Nora, 12
Imagine if Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Snow White, and Rumplestiltskin were all real. Imagine if all the fairy tale characters lived together, in another world. It’s not possible right? That’s what Alex and Conner Bailey think, that is until they are magically transported to this fictional world. What happened to Goldilocks after she left the three bears’ house? How did Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty all marry Prince Charming without marrying the same man? What really happened to the Little Mermaid at the end of her story? All these questions and more, are answered in Chris Colfer’s wonderfully spun story of the fairy tale world. Most adventure books have one character who’s out of the ordinary, who’s super powerful, right from the start. Not this series. Not only is there one, normal protagonist, there are two somewhat average co-protagonists. Twins, named Alex and Conner Bailey. Alex is a bookworm, and Conner is something of a class clown. Later in the series, they both become more powerful, but they stay characters that real people can sympathize with, and feel like aren’t some super-powerful character that’s like nobody else. The twins’ whole world turns upside down when they discover that there is another dimension: A fairy tale dimension. The twins are thrown into one adventure of a lifetime after another. From flying a ship across the clouds in hopes to stop the evil Enchantress who cursed Sleeping Beauty, to battling the Evil Queen who wanted to kill Snow White, to climbing Rapunzel’s tower, or being kidnapped by trolls and goblins. The six-book series is one that I’ve returned to time and again since I read it for the first time when I was eight. Now, at age twelve, I still enjoy it. Not only are Alex and Conner funny, intriguing characters, but it is so interesting to learn what Chris Colfer imagined had happened to your favorite fairy tale characters after their stories are over. Snow White, Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, Goldilocks, Jack, and the Fairy Godmother are just a few of the characters you get to meet within the series. And there are so many other things that aren’t in the original fairy tales that make the fairy tales so much more interesting. Like why was the Evil Queen so evil? What made her turn from a lovely young woman to a terrifying monarch? And was there a reason that the Prince Charmings just happened to find Snow White or Sleeping Beauty? Were they searching for something else? Another thing that I love about The Land of Stories is that it’s easy to see yourself within the pages. Maybe you’re a bookworm, like Alex, or a class clown, like Connor. Maybe you yourself have a twin. Maybe you see yourself in Goldilocks, or one of the fairies from the Fairy Kingdom. I would recommend The Land of Stories to anyone ages nine and up. The stories do get scarier as they go on, but the first one is not that scary, and is okay for a slightly younger audience. The Land of Stories by Chris Colfer. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2016. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process! Want more fairy tale-themed stories? Check out the stories that young writers came up with during our Saturday Writing Workshop with the theme Fairy Tales with a Twist.
