The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell (review)

As soon as I heard Chris Colfer was writing a book, I knew I had to buy it. It didn’t matter what it was about. I would’ve bought Fifty Shades of Grey if Chris Colfer had written it. When I heard the book was all about fairy tales, I did a happy dance, because stories with spins on classic fairy tales are my favorites. So I went to the bookstore and bought The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell last week.

I got addicted to this book so fast, it’s not even funny. Favorite book of the summer, hands down. Also, the cover is gorgeous.

When Alex and Conner’s grandmother gives them a book of fairy tales, they don’t expect anything out of the ordinary to happen. But the book is magical, and they fall—literally—into the fairy tale world they’d always read about. The twins quickly learn that the story doesn’t stop after “happily ever after.” Goldilocks is a wanted fugitive after breaking and entering into the three bears’ cottage; Red Riding Hood has become self-absorbed after getting her own kingdom; and Sleeping Beauty struggles to keep her kingdom awake after one hundred years of sleep. Worst of all, the Evil Queen has escaped from prison and is searching for the Wishing Spell, the same spell that Alex and Conner need to return home.

With the help of a journal belonging to the only person who has ever used the Wishing Spell, the twins are off on a journey to collect the magical objects needed to activate the spell. They’re searching for items like a lock of Rapunzel’s hair and Cinderella’s glass slipper all while trying to keep away from the Big Bad Wolf Pack, a gang of wolves descended from Red Riding Hood’s Big Bad Wolf that has orders from the Evil Queen to capture them.

I could go on and on and on about how clever this book is, but I think you should just read it yourself. Chris Colfer has been working on this book since elementary school, but it’s not strictly a middle grade novel. At 21, I was captivated by the twists he put on well-known stories. He even surprised me in some places, taking the story in different directions than I expected. Now I’m eagerly waiting for him to write the next book in the series!

If you love fairy tales, pick up The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell. You’re not too old for it, I promise!

And his author photo is just too adorable for me to handle!