Welcome to a world where magic spills from the tip of a pen. THE PRINCESS AND THE PAGE is Christina Farley's first middle grade, releasing from Scholastic Press. Make sure you enter the $25 gift card giveaway at the end of this post!
ABOUT THE BOOK
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
CHRISTINA FARLEY is the author of the bestselling Gilded series. Prior to that, she worked as an international teacher and at a top secret job for Disney where she was known to scatter pixie dust before the sun rose. When not traveling the world or creating imaginary ones, she spends time with her family in Clermont, Florida with her husband and two sons where they are busy preparing for the next World Cup, baking cheesecakes, and raising a pet dragon that's in disguise as a cockatiel. You can visit her online at ChristinaFarley.com.
MY REVIEW
I love a good fairy tale as much as the next princess and I was so excited to hear that Christina was writing one about a princess and a magical pen! It sounded like exactly the type of book my younger self would have loved, and I have been anxious to read it! A princess, an evil step-sister, a dragon, a magical castle (based on a real castle!), and a whole slew of other fairy tale characters? Definitely count me in!
From the very beginning, I felt like Keira was living in her own twisted version of a fairy tale. Her mother doesn't allow any pens in the house - only pencils - and she is not allowed to read or write any fiction. It's kind of crazy, and I can't really blame her for having a secret stash of writing supplies. There's a secret, magical pen though, and I actually kind of enjoyed how the explanation was spread throughout the book. It made for a great mystery and as the story progressed, made it easier to understand Keira's mom's crazy rules.
Most of the characters are very likeable - at least the ones who aren't villains! I really enjoyed watching Keira's friendship with Chet develop and grow. They make a great team and it was fun to see them sleuthing together. It was also nice that there was no hints of romance or anything underneath their friendship. It seems like every fairy tale princess ends up with a prince at the end, but anything more than friendship would have felt forced, I think. Bella, on the other hand, kind of annoyed me, but I can definitely understand why she and Keira are such good friends. They seem to balance each other out and have each other's backs even when they disagree. I'd love to see more of Keira, Bella, and Chet!
I think my favorite part of The Princess & The Page was the mystery surrounding the pen and the fairy tale. From the blue light emanating from the pen, to the WW symbol on the case and everywhere in Keira's story, to the ghosts in the castle and the people who are in both the story and real life, there was never a dull moment. Even when Keira is going about her planned activities for the day, there's always something strange afoot and a mystery to be solved. If she doesn't continue writing stories, I think she'd make a great detective.
Overall, this was a really fun story that kept me hooked and left me wanting more. I could definitely see this book being a standalone - the story wraps up nicely at the end and doesn't leave too many loose ends. I still have plenty of questions that I hope might be answered in a sequel - or a prequel about Keira's grandmother! - but at least there isn't a cliffhanger or anything that would make for a very agonizing wait. I would definitely recommend this to a younger crowd of readers, especially anyone who loves princesses, castles, magic, and even a good villain or two. It would be a really great book for a parent or older sibling or even babysitter to read with a younger child. I can't wait to see what Christina has up her sleeves next! A strong 4/5 from me.
CONTINUE THE BOOK TOUR
One (1) lucky winner will receive:
$25 gift card to their favorite book vendor. Giveaway open internationally. Enter below or HERE.
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