Banished from her village, a young shape shifter sets out on a journey to find her place in the world...
The first of four "Before the Fairytale" stories, "The Girl With No Name" is told in a deceptively simple storybook style with the flavor of an original Grimm's fable, but don't expect your typical "once upon a time.."once upon a time scenario. This is a coming of age tale, humorously interwoven with social commentary.
This story is recommended for older children to adult readers (9 & up) but may not be suitable for younger children.GOODREADS
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Who doesn't like fairy-tales? And even if you don't ,you've probably been introduced to some in your youth. Hansel and Gretel, Snow White, Red Riding Hood Mulan...wait, Mulan is a Disney movie...
The Goodreads description of the book is fairly accurate. "Before the Fairytale", is indeed written in a storybook way and very easy to read. I, being a fan of the Brothers Grimm, could find some of that in this book.
Like most fairy tales there isn't much characterization .
Except for The nameless girl and Leifhound: The main character referrred to as The Girl , changes a lot and learns a lot about the world and its people. Leifhound turns out to be a very wise prince. I think as far as secondary characters go, Leifhound might be the one I liked the most, because for a prince he's something different. He wants to be a good king and does everything possible so Uritz can have a good future.
Other memorable characters are the bookshop owner that helps the girl and when the girl meets the witch. When she meets the witch, this scene is very well depicted as frightening and different from the other places the girl has visited.
The girl at first starts off on her journey wanting to find her father. She comes back to the town she was born in after years without having found her dad. This is kind of disappointing though for an ending. It's not what I expected but endings are never to a person's expectations.
Although this is a fairy tale and a fantasy novel. The pegasus and unicorns took me off guard.
It's not a bad thing and it worked in the book but it was surprising and unexpected.
I enjoyed reading this book just like I enjoy reading any fairy tale book. It's amusing and simple. Plus there's a wonderfully wise prince.
Grade:
It's interesting they just mention her as "the girl".
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