Little, Brown Young Readers The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell

As a child, I often dreamed up amazing adventures that I would have. I imagined the worlds I might travel to and the characters I might meet. I think most children who love reading as much as I did (mostly thanks to a certain Potter series...) imagined what would happen if the characters they loved so much were actually real.That is the magic of The Wishing Spell. For adults, there is a certain excitement reading about characters you loved so dearly as a child, while for the children it is the thrill of imagining being able to visit characters that have probably become their best friends. As an adult reading it, I found myself with butterflies as Alex and Conner met some of my childhood heroes, wishing I could be there with a camera in hand. The experience is something like a child visiting Disneyland and meeting all those treasured friends in the flesh. That is the beauty of this story.The plot itself was very basic. Alex and Conner find themselves being sucked into the not-so-imaginably titled Land of Stories - their favourite fairy-tale book as young children, full of stories about Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Red Riding Hood, and Goldilocks, among others. They then encounter a problem: how do they get home? What ensues is a quest for items that will take them throughout all the many kingdoms of the Land of Stories - as detailed on the handy map at the beginning of the book - before they can get home. But the further Alex and Conner go on their journey, the more secrets they uncover both about themselves and the characters they know and love.As a young adult, I picked up The Land of Stories because I enjoy fantasy and fairy-tales - this is a story for the Disney fanatics. It took a while to get going but once it did, I found myself warming to the story and to the characters. Admittedly, while I was gripped by the idea of meeting fairy-tale characters, Colfer has a lot of work to do on his storytelling: it was very basic, predictable and the characters were shallow cliches. Secrets uncovered at the end I had guessed in the first few chapters, and Alex and Conner didn't really come alive for me. Generally, though, our beloved fairy-tale friends were safe in Colfer's hands as they wouldn't have been in the hands of so many: the worst you'll find is Red Riding Hood's tendency to throw tantrums, and some cringe-worthy names of unnamed characters (The Princesses are all married to Charming brothers, two of whom are called Chase and Chandler, and their father is called Chester - I have to say I groaned a bit at the American names!).But all that said, I DID enjoy the book. I had to knock off two stars for the way the story was told, but I don't think this is a bad first attempt from Colfer at all. Whether you're an adult purchasing this for yourself, or it's being purchased for a child, I think there's something in it for all fairy-tale lovers to enjoy. Give it a chance and you'll wish you were there with Alex and Conner, sneaking in to Cinderella's Ball, climbing Rapunzel's tower, or fleeing the Evil Queen!

Read Septimus Heap and Magic Thief Series, so if you liked them, then these are probably for you too. For younger readers? Of course. But I'm into my 40's and is still a cracking read. Thank you Mr Colfer - don't be put off by the glee connection if it wasn't your cup of tea - the guy is an epic author!

At first, when I started reading this book, I didn't like this book that much. I thought it was boring, poorly written and way too many unnecessary metaphors. It got better after page 80, where they are dumped into this new world. But I still didn't like it that much, I thought that Alex was annoying, too reckless and couldn't listen to reason.But then the story really began and it got better and better. I liked the characters, the plot and all the different trials they had to go through. It even made me cry near the end.Plus I loved the art at the start of every chapter. An amazing idea.It's definitely a book you should read if you like middle-grade adventure/fantasy books and if you can read through the start without a problem.

We were tipped it by a young boy, who was clutching his book and loudly wailing that it was the last one in the series. So of course I asked what it was. Now our 8 year old daughter is devouring this first book and excitedly informs me of the developments. I think I may have to read it too, to share the memory... I think it may become our most memorable series post HPotter. {Edit, this has probably the most recommended series I give to age 9-10 year olds].

One of my favourite childhood memories is walking through my home town on a Saturday morning, one hand holding onto my mother's and clutching in my hot little other hand a new and beautifully illustrated Ladybird Book retelling the story of either Cinderella, Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty (or some other equally inspirational heroine or hero)and being absolutely desperate to get home and start reading it to myself. Today as I devoured Chris Colfer's masterpiece in one sitting, I relived the joy of about one hundred of those Saturday mornings.I just adored this book. It answered questions that had always been lurking in the back of my mind since I first experienced the joy of reading fairy tales for myself and it gave me a new perspective on reading fairy tales to the children I teach. The plot was so intricately woven that the surprises kept on coming until almost the very last page and nothing felt forced or out of place. I loved that not all the characters were good but that that there were elements of goodness in some of the most unexpected characters. Despite having all the very best features of a fairy tale, this book didn't so much make me suspend disbelief as throw it into The Thorn Bush Pit and I loved it all the more for that.Chris Colfer isn't just a talented writer; he's also a great storyteller and I just can't wait to see what he comes up with next.p.s. Who knew Goldilocks was so rock and roll?