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Classic fairy tales never really go out of style. But fractured fairy tales—classic stories with some fun new changes—make those old favorites fresh and fun again. And Hamster Princess: Harriet the Invincible by author Ursula Vernon takes the classic story of Sleeping Beauty and gives it a new and fun-filled twist.
The story introduces daring and headstrong princess Harriet Hamsterbone, a hamster princess who has grown up under a curse. After her father failed to invite the evil fairy Ratshade to the celebration of the princess's birth, the fairy cursed her to prick her finger on a hamster wheel on her twelfth birthday and die. While a trio of good fairies lessens the curse, she still grows up knowing that something terrible is coming. As she grows, though, she figures out a way to use the curse to her advantage—and she manages to change her own story.
Harriet is definitely not the typical fairy tale princess, who sits in a faraway castle, singing with the woodland creatures as she waits for her prince to come and whisk her away to her happily-ever-after. Instead, she figures that, because of the curse, she’ll have to stay alive until her twelfth birthday, when the curse will take effect—which means that, until then, she’s virtually indestructible. So, instead of sitting in her castle, waiting to be put to sleep, she decides that she’ll spend her time going on adventures and battling monsters. She’s a strong and courageous and lovably spunky character—and readers will cheer her on through every battle and every outrageous adventure.
But, of course, that’s not the end of the story. When it comes time for the curse to go into effect, Harriet ends up changing her own fairy tale before setting out on yet another adventure to fix what’s been done. What follows is surprising and clever and action-packed—and just plain fun to read. Not only is the story entertaining, but it’s also written with a smart sense of humor that will keep both young readers and their parents laughing and cheering from beginning to end.
For readers who love clever stories and daring heroines, Ursula Vernon’s Hamster Princess: Harriet the Invincible is a wildly entertaining adventure. It’s the kind of book that you won’t want to put down at night—and when you finish, you’ll want to check out more books in the series, too.
Listen to the review on Shelf Discovery:
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