East & Once Upon a Winter's Night

Both of these books retell and expand the Norwegian fairy tale East of the Sun and West of the Moon. If you want to read a traditional version, there is one here, although the annotations are a little odd.

In East, by Edith Pattou, Rose is the youngest child of a superstitious mother and a map-maker turned farmer. Although Rose's mother wants her to settle down, Rose has a wandering spirit and longs for adventure. Told from the point of view of five different characters: Father, Neddy, Rose, White Bear, Troll Queen, it explores what happens when a young girl follows her own destiny and discovers a world of magic.

Once Upon a Winter's Night by Dennis L. McKiernan sets the same story in France where Camille and her large family are huddled in their cottage to wait out the winter when a large white bear brings them a message from the Prince of Summerland in Faery. He has heard her singing in a field and asks for her hand in marriage (offering a substantial sum of money to her parents). Although Camille is unsure, she hopes that her ill younger brother will benefit from her sacrifice. Soon however, she falls in love with the prince and then must find a way to save him.

These books tell the same general story although they take it in different directions and imbue it with different flavors. Pattou's story is intriguing because the multiple points of view give it more facets and depth, even though McKiernan's version tells the story in much more detail, drawing out each segment of the tale. The second version is more romantic in some respects and also more adult (recommended for older teens) but I really enjoyed both books: the way that East stuck to the 'real world' (except for the magic, of course) and the way that Once Upon a Winter Night explored Faery. Fantasy fans, in particular those who enjoy fairy tales, should definitely check these out.

• If this book sounds interesting, consider these: Wicked Lovely, Spirit Fox, Firebird, or Black Pearls

The Soprano Sorceress by L.E. Modesitt, Jr.

Anna is a music instructor from Iowa - she aspired to be a singer, but didn't quite make the cut before she had children and quit trying. Unfortunately, nothing in her life is going quite right - her oldest daughter has died, her marriage has ended, and her career is at a standstill. The same moment she wishes she were anywhere else, a sorceress in Erde is casting a spell to summon a sorceress from another world. Anna suddenly finds herself in a foreign world where music causes magic to happen - her training means that she is a formidable sorceress. But trouble is brewing - a neighboring country is destroying the land and planning to invade. The defenders hope Anna will help them and she reluctantly realizes that people will be out to kill her whether she fights or not and steps up to build a life in the midst of the chaos.

I have to admit that the premise of the book was interesting. I kept reading because I was curious about how things were going to wrap up. But other than that...it was kind of boring. There was a sort of pattern because every time Anna meets someone new, they don't believe that she's a sorceress, so she does a spell; they comment on how young and pretty she looks, she explains that she's much older than she looks and has grown children; the youngsters and servants are suspicious, she wins them over; she doesn't like things so she forces them to change... Perhaps part of it was just my mood, but as 'realistic' as it was (assuming it could happen in the first place), it was kind of repetitive and, for some reason, I couldn't even bring myself to be sympathetic with Anna. Honestly, I think that if it sounds interesting, you're going to have to decide for yourself - if you like it, great, but if you think it's too slow to start, just know that it doesn't get any better.

A note: this is the first in The Songspell Cycle, followed by The Spellsong War, Darksong Rising, The Shadow Sorceress, and Shadow Singer.

• If this book sounds interesting, consider these: Princess Nevermore, The Harper Hall Trilogy, or The Keys to the Kingdom

Princess Academy by Shannon Hale

Miri lives with her father and sister on Mount Eskel. Their small village has been mining the mountain quarries for generations, cutting blocks of precious, marbled linden. Miri, who is small for her age, has never been allowed to work and she feels useless in her community. One year, a delegate from the king announces that the priests have divined that their small town is the place where the prince heir's bride lives. All girls of the proper age are required to attend the princess academy where they will learn enough to make them 'fit' to marry the prince. At the end of a year, he will come to a ball at the academy and choose one of them. Miri's life is turned upside down, but she realizes, as she starts to do well in her lessons, that she might finally be good at something - and she starts to learn more about her heritage as well. But her lessons will all be more important than she thinks: when danger threatens, all of her skills will be put to the test.

I really enjoyed this book. The community where Miri lives has an oral tradition expressed in music - the language and story help to reproduce the lyricism for readers which adds to the feel throughout the book. The story itself is also rather unique and interesting, and the characters are realistic. Based on the characters, it might be more appealing to girls, but overall, I would recommend this book to fantasy fans.

• If this book sounds interesting, consider these: Annals of the Western Shore, Princess Nevermore, or East

Firebird by Mercedes Lackey

Ilya is the middle son of a boyar (although he claims to be a tsar). While his brothers spend all of their time beating one another up in an attempt to become their father's heir, Ilya spends his time hiding out and learning religion and mythology from the priest and the shaman who live on the land. When someone starts stealing the tsar's prized cherries, Ilya sneaks out and discovers that they are being taken by a magical bird-woman called the Firebird. But, as he soon realizes, seeing the Firebird has changed his life forever - suddenly, his life gets far more interesting.

This is a great Russian fairy tale. Even though it's very different from Western tales, the Russian culture really comes through, and anyone who has been exposed to Eastern fairy tales will recognize plot points. The story starts a little slow, I thought - and Ilya wasn't really one of my favorite characters. But overall, the book is definitely worth reading - particularly for readers who enjoy fairy tales or fantasy stories set in 'real life'.

• If this book sounds interesting, consider these: Fablehaven, Spindle's End, Bound, or East

Dark Lord of Derkholm & Year of the Griffin by Diana Wynne Jones

The Wizard Derk and his son, Blade, live in a world of magic that has been turned into a real-life fantasy theme park by an off-worlder named Mr. Chesney. In various ways, Mr. Chesney has blackmailed everyone in the world, ensuring that they will host the hundreds of 'Pilgrims' who come through each year expecting a fantasy safari which includes: hazards, battles for the forces of good, and defeating a Dark Lord at the end of the tour, all with the assistance of a wizardly tour guide. This year, the Committee has named Derk the Dark Lord - not only does he have to find an artistic way to die at the end of each Pilgrim Party but he's also in charge of making sure everything else goes smoothly. When a sudden accident rearranges all of his plans, however, things suddenly get even more complicated.

In the sequel, Year of the Griffin, the youngest griffin daughter, Elda, is old enough to start learning magic. Kit and Blade have made names for themselves as some of the most powerful wizards in the world and have gone off to another continent with the other siblings to negotiate treaties. Meanwhile, Derk and Mara have their hands full at home with new children, so Elda ends up going to the University to study. Unfortunately, the older wizards have all retired and the new professors (including one obsessed with getting to the moon) have only learned what they needed to know for the Pilgrim tours. Many of Elda's new friends have people who don't want them to be at the school, so when Derk suggests some new reading material, they all start to learn magic outside of class and use it to protect themselves. The only problem is that they aren't sure how to control it all and the professors have never heard of any of it...

These books are so much fun - it's a unique direction for fantasy and very well done. Even though the first book is relatively long, it read quickly and held my attention. The second was also good, although it didn't seem much like a sequel, particularly since almost all of the main characters are different. I did really like the characters in both books (although I kept getting a couple of the students confused in the second). Overall - I definitely recommend these books to fantasy readers - especially if you're looking for something fun and a little different.

• If this book sounds interesting, consider these: Fablehaven, Howl's Moving Castle, The Magic and the Healing, or Spirit Fox