Simultaneously a hysterically funny story, a spot-on critique of fairy-tale tropes, and a celebration of friendship, inclusion, and the wonderful, sometimes puzzling complexity of the real world.
What happens when a princess discovers that her Happily Ever After isn’t really all that happy? When Princess Rosamund (aka Sleeping Beauty) flees the prince who awakens her with a nonconsensual kiss, she passes through a Door of Opportunity and finds herself at the Home Educational Academy (HEA), site of the Princess Protection Program, where princesses (and one prince) from a variety of fairy-tales have escaped the stories they didn’t want to be a part of. (The one prince, Charlie, is in search of another prince.)
The fairy godmother headmistress of the HEA explains that the princesses are there to learn about the real world—and so they do, discovering cell phones and selfies, reciting the differences between different social media platforms, and figuring out what jorts and jeggings are. And when Rosamund sneaks off campus with Rana (from The Frog Prince) and Sirena (from The Little Mermaid), she discovers the joys of pizza and the ickiness of teenage boys.
Each of the princesses tries to learn, though each remains troubled by her past (for example Margaret, aka Snow White, finds apples triggering). The longer she is there, however, the more questions Rosamund has: about where former HEA students have gone, about the fearsome Uponatimes who lurk to send princesses back to their stories, and about the real motives of the fairy godmother. Can she and the other princesses discover the truth and find the courage to stand up for themselves and create their own stories?
If you or your young readers enjoyed the Barbie movie, chances are you’ll like this, as it uses a similar (but nevertheless original) device of contrasting the difference between a fictitious realm and the real world in order to make broad social points. The spot-on messages about confidence, self-worth, and community action are wrapped in a purely delightful package, making this a highly recommended read. (And without giving any spoilers, I’ll just say that author Alex London gives us one of the best takes on unicorns that I’ve ever seen.)
Rosamund reads as White, Cindy (Cinderella) is Black, and Rana is olive-skinned. Most other characters read as White.
