I think, perhaps, that I am too old to read the stories in Book of Enchantments. I can feel that they have a certain kind of magic about them that, due to cynicism or age, I cannot connect with. I do not say that these are bad stories, quite the opposite. These are the stories that you should read your daughters and be proud of the women they will grow up to be. These are fractured fairy tales at the very best. Stories with strong, cunning, self reliant women who triumph not because they are beautiful, but because they are wise.
There are, of course, three stories that touched me very deeply. "Roses by Moonlight," "Stronger than Time" and "Cruel Sisters" are stories that harken back to the old tales, where you were meant to learn something from the sorrow and suffering of others. There is no "Happily Ever After" for these characters, the best we can hope for them is a bittersweet resolution, but know in our heart of hearts that it is probably impossible. Instead of the usual fairy tale that follows the hero or the princess, these stories follow those were are left behind. They teach us that our actions, and sometimes our inaction, can irrevocably change our lives. Do we speak out against our siblings, when we know they wrong us? Do we rush headlong into our delights and find out at the last minute that we've missed our window of opportunity? These three stories are the gems of this book and I encourage anyone, young or old, to read them because they speak to our darkest fears, our fondest hopes, and to the child in us all.
If I had been 13 when I read this for the first time instead of 27, I think I would have been madly in love with the stories and the storyteller. Patricia Wrede has a remarkable way with words for children that really speaks to the angst that teens and tweens feel as they inhabit this world between child and adult. Shes takes the vanity, the insecurities, and eagerness of youth and tells you "its ok, this is normal, and it will make you strong." I would without hesitation recommend this collection of short stories to anyone who feels that perhaps they don't quite fit in because it will help you find your place in a world of stories. For someone who loves Gail Carson Levine, but is willing to dip into the darker side of the stories. I think this would be the perfect bridge between the Disney-fied fairy tale and the dark disturbing world of Grimms and Perrault and English bards.
*This blog is part of a grant Medfield has been awarded through the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Library and Services Technology Act administered by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.
