Once Upon a Marigold

Rating:
Summary: "Part everything but the kitchen sink"
Review: The cover of my copy of this book bears the above caption. The story is just that--and, dissappointing. An earlier reviewer aptly used the word "corny." It's "mush" that will appeal to the recreational reading of middle school girls.

The 266 pages of this story posing as narrative is nearly linear and shallow like a fairy tale. Ed, the troll/foster father, and his rival, a tooth fairy, are simply that in name. There is little magical or interesting about them in the writing. Marigold's paranormal "curse" is more appealing than horrific. The book survives on farce with sterotypical motifs that will appeal, I suppose, to a younger reading audience.

Christian builds things like a boy preoccupied with LEGOS. Yet his biggest creation, the flying machine, is simply that--no description. Marigold wants a sharing relationship versus a title and dowry. Dogs abound--some think and make wisecracks. Olympia, "stepmother," mimicks Cruella DeVille.

Reading this fairy tale is akin to picking up that title in the family section at Blockbuster to appease your young children. You hope that it's wholesome and that it has some substance and merit. Yet, typcially, you discover it's shallow and that it also contains an adult suggestion of sexuality such as what is depicted with Rollo's girlfriend's seductive behavior with the protagonist.

The interspersion of big vocabulary words in the narrative seems contrived in the flow of dialogue. Even more distracting for me--many sentences end with prepositions.

The author does have a flair for writing. At the end, she brings together all the events and problems solved in summation. But then, preposterously, she matter-of-factly informs the reader that Olympia has survived her fall to the depths of a river and has returned. Is a sequel contemplated? I hope not.





Rating:
Summary: Awsome book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: The humour in this book is phenomenal. Some would say that I am a bit "grown-up" for faerie tales, but I loved this story.
A boy named Chris runs away from his family, and is found by a troll in the forest. They live in a cave together for 12 years while Edric (the troll) works on his campaign against the tooth faerie, and Chris watched the Princess Marigold through his telescope.
Across the waterfall, in the castle, lives a royal family. Queen Olympia is absolutely horrific. She tries to find a groom for her youngest daughter so that she alone can rule the kingdom. Young Marigold doesn't want to marry any of the suitors, which angers her mother. Marigold then begins a correspondence with the boy across the waterfall, by "p-mail" (pigeon-mail). They finally meet when Chris sets off to get a job at the castle. Their love is a forbidden one, but they vow to make it work. When Olympia sets up a marriage between Marigold and Mangus, everything that could go wrong does.
My favorite characters in this story are Marigold's father, the king, for his wonderous sense of humor, and Cate, one of Chris's dogs, for her sense of pride and loyalty. I would absolutely reccommened this book for all ages.

Rating:
Summary: Once Upon A Predictable Book
Review: This book seemed to flow strangely. The family acted as though it was impossible to stop Queen Olympia in the beginning, but then, all of a sudden, the family fights back. I thought that was weird, and it was strange that Marigold's family risked everything they did for someone they did not know at all, Christian. I could predict all the endings for this book, and I could not stand the ending where huge things occurred in nigh on four pages. The ending was sloppy, predictable and too quick. It was too perfect of an ending, most true fairy tales don't end so perfectly. The one thing about this book that annoyed me the most was how Christian and Marigold, children themselves, fell in love so quickly and acted like spouses. If you want a story that is complex in nature, worth your time, or realistic, you should not read this book.

Rating:
Summary: The Perfect Ending
Review: What a cute, fun story! I loved how author Jean Ferris let the characters talk like people nowadays, and it gave the book a funny, irreverent tone. When Chris and Princess Marigold start "p-mailing" (that's pigeon mailing), Chris knows he really has no chance with her. But things start to look up when Chris gets a job working in the castle to get closer to his best friend and love interest. Marigold soon figures out that he's her p-mailing partner and is thrilled, but she's about to be forced by her evil mother, the queen, to marry a guy she has no feelings for. Can Chris and Marigold foil the queen's dastardly plans? Just maybe, with the help of an ailing king, a lovesick troll, and 2 devoted dogs!
This is an hilarious book with predictable, but always fun, twists and turns! I throroughly enjoyed the plot, but the characters were the best part. Marigold is the anti-princess, being only somewhat pretty, interested in books and bad jokes. Chris was found in a forest when he was young by his "foster father," the highly amusing troll, Ed. Ed is staging a showdown against the tooth fairy, Queen Mab, who he claims has an unfair monopoly over the tooth business and is incompetent in her job. Even Ed's dogs are full of personality! This is a light-hearted, topsy-turvy fairy tale to treasure!