The time has come, it’s finals week! I’m incredibly stressed out and I totally forgot to plan a few blogposts for this week, so I asked on Twitter if there was someone who wanted to guest post. Luckily, Lili from Utopia State of Mind came to my rescue and offered to share her Frogkisser! review on my blog! I’m incredibly grateful, and very excited because I love Lili’s blog and I really enjoy reading her reviews. So, without further ado, here’s the review!
Title: Frogkisser!
Author: Garth Nix
Genres: YA, Fantasy
Goodreads
The last thing she needs is a prince. The first thing she needs is some magic.
Poor Princess Anya. Forced to live with her evil stepmother’s new husband, her evil stepstepfather. Plagued with an unfortunate ability to break curses with a magic-assisted kiss. And forced to go on the run when her stepstepfather decides to make the kingdom entirely his own.
Aided by a loyal talking dog, a boy thief trapped in the body of a newt, and some extraordinarily mischievous wizards, Anya sets off on a Quest that, if she plays it right, will ultimately free her land—and teach her a thing or two about the use of power, the effectiveness of a well-placed pucker, and the finding of friends in places both high and low.
“If I’m not back by nightfall, come and take a very careful look…but I don’t expect to need rescuing. I’m not that kind of princess” (230)
There is just one more thing that gets me even more than great heroes, heroes/heroines who are not ambitious but are called to act, because they must. Frogkisser is a contemporary look at a variety of fairy tale elements with a protagonist you can’t help but love.
Anya only wants to be left alone to read. Morven, her sister, only wants to be wooed. And their evil sorcerer of a stepstepfather really wants to be King. But when Anya makes a sister promise to transform Morven’s latest suitor from a frog back to a man, she may have bitten off more than she can chew. Her simple promise transforms itself not only into a quest for witches tears and druid’s blood, but a quest that asks Anya can she sit back and allow Morven to be Queen?
This book consists of a great mix of fairy tale elements, quirky side characters, and an unlikely heroine. All who want evil consuming magic, tricky witches, and magic carpets look no further for these and more. The side characters are wonderful not only in their ability to be unusual, but also they are supportive. We have large orange newts, otters turned to weasels, and a royal puppy. And these pieces of the story are only made better by our heroine, who doesn’t set out to be one.
Anya does not want to be a queen. All she wants to do is fulfill her sisters promise and go back to her library. She does not want to be a hero. Her real love is reading (whose isn’t?) and she desires knowledge. Anya is clever, funny, and trusting. She is like a modern re-visioning of my favorite heroines from my childhood. In her first real outing beyond the castle walls, Anya sees the real problems of the impoverished and the tolls that living without a quasi ‘Bill of Rights and Wrongs’ has taken. Along the way she also sees that magic isn’t all it’s cracked up to be and power has the power to corrupt. More importantly she is challenged to question the royal order, her own identity, and ask herself does she have what it takes to be a heroine? To be Queen?
This fantastic story is also not about romance, it is totally focused on her personal journey and identity search. Her title and quest become a way to re-tell fairy tales. She does not simply sit in a chair and kiss her magical frog back into becoming. Anya goes on her own quest and takes her own agency into her own hands. Anya realizes she cannot take the easy way out and hide in her books, she must find it in her heart to stand up, if she can. So to summarize, this wonderful book has everything I would want: a good protagonist who loves books, fairy tale elements, and a unicorn. Find your inner hero inside these pages and become enchanted by this lovely story.
Well that’s all folks. I’m so happy Laura let me come onto her blog to share my Garth Nix love with you. If you’re interested, check out the Goodreads or go ahead and buy yourself a copy from Amazon. I hope you check out the book and do come and visit me and my blog. You can find me here at Utopia State of Mind, twitter, goodreads, and instagram. I’d love to be friends and gush about books.
Thank you again Lili, for sharing this review with me and making sure my blog isn’t incredibly empty this week! I hope you’ll all check out her blog, because it’s great (:
Green Tea & Paperbacks 