Ratings

Content Ratings based on a 0-5 scale where
0 = no objectionable content and
5 = an excessive or disturbing level of content

Guide to Rating System

LANGUAGE

VIOLENCE

SEXUAL CONTENT

ADULT THEMES

Ratings Explanation

Language:  References to cursing such as, “I cursed, then cursed again.”

Violence:  The princess poisons people, putting them into a deep sleep.  The princesses dance in steel shoes that bloody their feet.  There are a couple instances of aggression.

Sexual Content:  Prince Varile has several children out of wedlock.

Adult Themes:  Witchery and spells are used.  Reveka grew up in the care of nuns without her father or mother.  She was mistreated and abused.  Some characters drink wine.

Synopsis

Twelve princesses suffer from a puzzling (if silly) curse, and anyone who ends it will win a reward. Reveka, a sharp-witted and irreverent apprentice herbalist, wants that reward. But her investigations lead to deeper mysteries and a daunting choice—will she break the curse at the peril of her own soul?

This was a fun book that incorporated familiar fairy tales and mythology all rolled into one.  If you love new re-tellings of old tales this book will please you.  It had humor and adventure.  Reveka is a likable, fun girl with a curious mind and a good heart.   Age guide for this book says 8 and up.  I found there were many larger, harder words in this book that most younger (8-12) children would not understand (flotsam, incarnadine).  This might be a great read aloud book so parents could help younger readers understand new words.  My favorite quote from the book is, “I’d never met a fate so gruesome that a good sleep didn’t put a slightly better face on it.”