Book Review: The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer

The Wishing Spell

Chris Colfer

438 Pages

Published July 17th 2012 by Little, Brown Young Readers

Alex and Conner Bailey's world is about to change, in this fast-paced adventure that uniquely combines our modern day world with the enchanting realm of classic fairy tales.
"The Land of Stories" tells the tale of twins Alex and Conner. Through the mysterious powers of a cherished book of stories, they leave their world behind and find themselves in a foreign land full of wonder and magic where they come face-to-face with the fairy tale characters they grew up reading about.
But after a series of encounters with witches, wolves, goblins, and trolls alike, getting back home is going to be harder than they thought.

When Alex and Conner are stricken by grief from their father's tragic death, they look for any chance to escape the world for a bit. Imagine their surprise when they fall through a fairy tale book, straight into a world full of goblins, trolls, and the big bad wolf! This was a cute, quick read for me and I can't wait for the sequel. 

Characters

Alex: She was so in love with the world she fell into and didn't think of any of the consequences. Although she was the smart one in school, exceedingly so, she didn't seem to have much common sense when it came to tramping through dangerous forests and other terrors in this fairy-tale world. Besides that, I liked how kind she was and her overall personality.

Conner: He was the twin who struggled in school but was better able to keep a level head in the new world, always thinking before acting on some meaningless whim. He was strong for his age and was an entertaining character to read about. 

Mr. Froggy & Others: There was a whole slew of minor characters in this book where you go to learn their stories as well. Mr. Froggy is a man trapped in a frog's body, and he was so lovable  Then you can't forget about Goldilocks, who is running away from crimes that aren't her fault, prissy Little Red Riding Hood, and as always, the evil queen who may not have been so evil after all.

Plot

The plot was very much childish, but that is to be expected in a middle grade story. I loved how all the different fairy-tales from my childhood were included in one story, putting interesting twists on all of them. I couldn't help smiling at some of the events in this book. 

Things I liked:

1) I liked getting to know everyone's stories, not just the main characters. I liked seeing the evil queens side of things, as well as the wolves and the whole crew.

2) The quest that Alex and Conner embarked on was an enjoyable adventure. I loved reading about them travelling through woods and into many kingdoms, meeting all the people the thought only existed in stories.

3) I really loved the plot twists, even though I could see most of them coming far before they did. The ending was a perfect twist and exactly what I would have expected.

Writing Style

I was a little bit worried about this at first, seeing as how it was written by an actor, not an established author. I was pleasantly surprised in his story-telling genius. Chris Colfer is really able to  turn words into a thriving story, and because of his wit and style I enthusiastically await the sequel.