UnEnchanted

UnEnchanted by Chandra Hahn
middle school & up

Mina is living a fairy tale life, which isn't as great as it sounds. Not when you're exceptionally clumsy and crazy about a guy who barely knows you exist. Things get worse when she winds up saving his life while on a field trip. In the aftermath, she discovers a well-kept family secret and gets noticed by her crush.



I like this new trend of turning fairy tales on their ear. Now it seems to be hip for the damsels to do their own rescuing. Although, I do feel like Mina could have done a little bit more. She relied fairly heavily on the knowledge of someone else to get out of trouble. Maybe though, that was just necessary to get the exposition out of the way and set up for a series. I did really enjoy the book; Mina is pretty funny. Actually, I enjoyed it so much I went right ahead and bought the second book. (Man, I love my Kindle.)

This book would be perfect for a Creative Writing class. Use this as an example and then challenge the students to write their own reinvented fairy tale.

Verdict: recommended