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Half Upon a Time James Riley 9781416995944 Books

Download As PDF : Half Upon a Time James Riley 9781416995944 Books

Half Upon a Time James Riley 9781416995944 Books

James Riley does a brilliant job at throwing in numerous beloved fairy tales and twisting them into an engaging, fast paced plot that both middle grade and adult readers will enjoy. There's action, there's adventure, betrayal and of course plenty of sarcasm and wit that make this a one of kind story.

What's not to enjoy about Jack, the story's main character who's failed his training in how to save princess. He's goofy, funny, clumsy and really just a fun character to get to know. He's someone who's relatable and I really enjoyed the way he grew into the story's hero. Then there's May, the princess who literally fell from the sky and landed in front of Jack and can't remember much other than her Grandmother was kidnapped and she was being chased. This princess isn't your normal damsel in distress, nor is she wearing the normal princess get up. This princess is introduced in style complete with a "Punk Princess" t-shirt and all.

There's a huge cast of fairy tale characters that are introduces through out the story, and they're definitely not the characters I remember reading about when I was younger. I really enjoyed their twists and creative touch James gave to this fun mesh up of stories. One of the best twists is with May's Grandmother. She's not the dear old sweet lady May remembers her to be, and let me just say this granny knows a thing or too about being evil. Or maybe I should say she takes evil to a whole new interesting level.

Half Upon A Time is a fabulously, humorous story full of twisted fairy tales, a grand adventure mixed with two relatable characters that makes for an unforgettable read that will make you laugh out loud and leave you wanting more. I'm really looking forward to reading the sequel, Twice Upon A Time, and I definitely recommend picking this book up!


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Half Upon a Time James Riley 9781416995944 Books Reviews

A great blend of fairytales and blunders in a magical realm close to this one. I love the random magic tools from the standard (bag bigger inside, fast boots, magic book, magic mirror, flying broom) to the non-standard (fire-shooting ring, invisibility hood, knife can't cut you) to the really non-standard (flower bridle).
What I really liked was that the story didn't come to a close. Some trilogies feel like the author said all she/he wanted in the first book and just tacked on extra bad guys for the sequels. Not here. We have a definite overarching plot.
Jack was great. He made mistakes but not so many you think him incompetent. He's a bit sarcastic, but not overly so (not like May, who was annoying until she met the imp).
A couple times the narration zoomed out to omniscient pov, which was disconcerting but short enough to not detract too badly.
I did have a couple questions that went unanswered. They were moments of, "Why don't they try this?" Still, the characters cleverly surprised me (flower bridle, should've seen that coming).
Ahem. If Jack is knocked unconscious for hours, he won't run up dozens of flights of stairs and tackle dragons right afterward. He especially won't ignore it when May whacks him on the head for saying something stupid.
"Life's no fairy tale for Jack. After all, his father's been missing ever since that incident with the beanstalk and the giant, and his grandfather keeps pushing him to get out and find a princess to rescue. Who'd want to rescue a snobby, entitled princess anyway? Especially one who falls out of the sky wearing a shirt that says PUNK PRINCESS and still denies she's royalty. In fact, May doesn't even believe in magic. Yeah, what's that about?" (from the book jacket)

In the beginning of this story, we find Jack playing the hero in a training exercise. He is supposed to rescue the princess, but Jack does things his own way and it doesn't go so well. Luckily it was only training. On the way home, Jack's grandfather is explaining to him how important it is for him to learn to be a hero and rescue & marry a princess. Jack says something like there aren't any unmarried princesses around here and it's not like one is going to fall out of the sky... When that's exactly what happens. A girl (May), who appears to be a princess (according to her shirt anyway), falls out of the sky right in their path. She seems to be from our "normal" world and she has somehow fallen through a portal of sorts to Jack's world of magic, giants, fairies, etc. In other words, the world of Fairy Tales. A Huntsman is chasing May and her grandmother is missing. And it seems as if, somehow, May is related to Snow White (who has been missing for some time). Jack ends up on an adventure after all, trying to help May and rescue her grandmother.

My Opinion
Okay, first I must admit that I have a thing for these kinds of stories. I've seen quite a few written for younger readers in our school library. For instance, Goldie Socks & the Three Libearians, The Three Little Pigs & the Somewhat Bad Wolf and Three Silly Billies. Not to mention some of my recent favorites for young adults such as the Cinder series and Rump. I love the new twist put on an old story.

The story of Jack, May and Prince Phillip pulled me in right away. The characters are flawed and likable. And the situations range from funny to edge of the seat adventurous. This story brings in characters from many different stories, including Little Red Riding Hood, the Wolf, Snow White, the Evil Queen, the Huntsman and many more.

The book is cleverly written and fast paced. I am quite excited to read the next two, Twice Upon a Time and Once Upon the End. The end of this book left many questions that must be answered...

Recommended to
This would be a great book for kids in grades 4-8 (depending on reading level). I also think it's a great book to read aloud and share with your kids. Any kids who enjoy adventure stories or princess or hero stories should enjoy this book. Quite a few of the 4th & 5th graders at our school are reading this.

Similar Books
Rump The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin by Liesl Shurtliff
James Riley does a brilliant job at throwing in numerous beloved fairy tales and twisting them into an engaging, fast paced plot that both middle grade and adult readers will enjoy. There's action, there's adventure, betrayal and of course plenty of sarcasm and wit that make this a one of kind story.

What's not to enjoy about Jack, the story's main character who's failed his training in how to save princess. He's goofy, funny, clumsy and really just a fun character to get to know. He's someone who's relatable and I really enjoyed the way he grew into the story's hero. Then there's May, the princess who literally fell from the sky and landed in front of Jack and can't remember much other than her Grandmother was kidnapped and she was being chased. This princess isn't your normal damsel in distress, nor is she wearing the normal princess get up. This princess is introduced in style complete with a "Punk Princess" t-shirt and all.

There's a huge cast of fairy tale characters that are introduces through out the story, and they're definitely not the characters I remember reading about when I was younger. I really enjoyed their twists and creative touch James gave to this fun mesh up of stories. One of the best twists is with May's Grandmother. She's not the dear old sweet lady May remembers her to be, and let me just say this granny knows a thing or too about being evil. Or maybe I should say she takes evil to a whole new interesting level.

Half Upon A Time is a fabulously, humorous story full of twisted fairy tales, a grand adventure mixed with two relatable characters that makes for an unforgettable read that will make you laugh out loud and leave you wanting more. I'm really looking forward to reading the sequel, Twice Upon A Time, and I definitely recommend picking this book up!