Module 9 Poetry, Humor, and New Media

Enchanted

by Alethea Kontis 

Kontis, A. (2012). Enchanted. New York, NY: Graphia.

In this mashed up fairy tale Sunday Woodcutter, the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter, holds magical powers that bring chaos, danger, and love into her life.  Although Sunday is only sixteen, she finds comfort in the woods where she likes to write in her journal. She is careful to write only about past events as her writing often has the ability to come true with unexpected consequences.  She soon meets a kindly frog that from his manners and knowledge makes it obvious he is a prince turned into a frog by some sort of magic.  Soon Sunday’s love for Rumble, the frog prince, breaks the curse.  However, Sunday is unaware the curse has been broken and fears Rumble was killed in a terrible storm.  The prince, however, has returned to the castle to regain his strength and find a way to have Sunday fall in love with him in his human form.  Of course, with six sisters and magical powers falling in love is not easy.  Readers hold their breath waiting to see if true love will really prevail and what consequences will result with either ending.

Through allusion the author creates a different but familiar story that will engage readers.  Both the cover and title lead readers to expect a classic fairy tale, however, the text itself alters traditional stories to create pleasant surprises and an entertaining plot.  Using the incongruity of mixed up fairy tales and irony the author has created a story that allows readers to be amused by the altered resolutions.  Young readers will need to have a developed sense of humor to appreciate the humor contained in the story, but all readers can appreciate the plot and characters.  Kontis has created characters that break the traditional mold of Prince and Princess that will appeal to today’s young adults.  The use of plot twists keeps the reader entangled in the story and leads them to wonder if this fairy tale will have the expected traditional ending. 

As for my personal feelings toward this story, I anticipated this would be a new favorite for me.  Although it isn’t a new all time favorite, it is an extremely well written story with a creative premise.  However, I think the story is a little overreaching at the expense of developing some spectacular ideas.  I especially enjoyed the interaction between the characters, which I think young adults will also appreciate.  The characters seemed to mimic authentic interactions between friends and family which often includes gentle ribbing that only occurs when people are truly comfortable with each other. The humor in the book is higher level which was appealing to me, but younger readers might not see the book as humorous.  It would be a great teaching tool to help develop a more mature sense of appreciation.  Overall, it is a well written book with great character interactions, a creative premise, advance humor, and engaging plot twists.