by Cameron Dokey
This is a wonderful retelling of the Sleeping Beauty story. It unfolds the life of the princess Aurore, growing up well aware of what is supposed to happen on her sixteenth birthday, living under the constrictions of the curse and her parents\’ attempts to protect her from it. She tries to make the best of it, in spite of being forbidden ordinary things like using a knife at the dinner table or doing embroidery. Luckily her cousin introduces her to the great outdoors, so when odd and frightful things start to happen in her kingdom (as a result of her curse, it appears) she sets her eyes on the broader horizon, takes matters into her own hands, and determines to change her fate. Of course things don\’t turn out exactly as expected, but that\’s what makes Beauty Sleep fun to read. The characters are really human, the princess is full of life and spirit, and the story has quite a few twists. I really enjoyed it, and only wish it had been longer and a bit more fleshed-out.
Rating: 3/5 186 pages, 2002
3 Responses
186 pages is rather short! Is it YA–you don\’t have it labeled as such. Sounds like a great story; Sleeping Beauty has always been one of my favorites.
Yes, it is YA. I\’d forgotten to add that label, thanks for reminding me!
This sounds like a good read. It was only recently that I first read of Cameron Donkey and the Once Upon a Time series, and I\’m very interesting in giving it a try.