Book Review: Cloaked

Cloaked by Alex Flinn

Published by HarperCollins on February 8th 2011
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 341

Goodreads

I’m not your average hero. I actually wasn’t your average anything. Just a poor guy working an after-school job at a South Beach shoe repair shop to help his mom make ends meet. But a little magic changed it all.
It all started with the curse. And the frognapping. And one hot-looking princess, who asked me to lead a rescue mission.

There wasn’t a fairy godmother or any of that. And even though I fell in love along the way, what happened to me is unlike any fairy tale I’ve ever heard. Before I knew it, I was spying with a flock of enchanted swans, talking (yes, talking!) to a fox named Todd, and nearly trampled by giants in the Keys.

Don’t believe me? I didn’t believe it either. But you’ll see. Because I knew it all was true, the second I got CLOAKED.

It's been a while since I read Beastly, which was a novel I enjoyed immensely and then instantly thought, geez I hope this author writes more fairy tale novels soon. So I was excited to see another fairy tale rendition from Flinn.

I love the quotes at the beginning of each chapter. They are from a fairy tale and some I honestly have not read in a long time so it really resonated with the story and with myself as a fairy tale lover. So, this story is about Johnny, a boy who is good with shoes and runs a shoe repair business for his mother while she works another job just so they can pay their bills. So when the much talked about princess from a far off land comes to stay at the hotel he works near, he can't help but try to sneak a peak at her.

What ends up happening is being suckered into a quest for a beautiful woman involving a magic cloak, a frog prince and a whole wad of cash as incentive. If that was not enough, if he rescues the frog prince, he will get to marry the princess! Of course, he thinks she is quite insane to think magic exists at all, until he puts on the cloak and ends up in his own house by just thinking about wanting to be there.

From there out, Johnny ends up on a quest involving enchanted swans, a fox who can talk, and even giants. I love that this novel encompasses so many different fairy tales in one. It's a fun and funny adventure involving really finding out the truth about yourself and those around you. There's some peril, you really don't want to mess with giants after all, and even some budding romance as Johnny's best friend Meghan ends up along for part of the ride, having a special kind of magic herself.

Final Verdict:

All in all, this probably is one of my favorite fairy tale retellings and it's because of the great writing and the fantastic characters. Definitely a book to read if you enjoy fairy tales as much as I do.

What is your favorite retold fairy tale?

Kristen

Kristen is the co-blog owner of The Book Monsters. I am a twenty-something year old who is passionate about reading. I am a Library Media Specialist in an elementary school in the suburbs of Chicago. When I'm not reading, I'm attending bookish events, spending time with my hubby, or catching up on TV shows (I am forever behind!).

Comments

Lauren @ Story Bound says:

July 11, 2012 at 8:16 pm

I just read this book yesterday and I absolutely loved it! I’m a HUGE Fairy Tale lover so I read anything and everything fairy tale related. Have you read A Kiss In Time – it’s a retelling of Sleeping Beauty by Alex Flinn. Loved it so much! Anything by Jessica Day George, Kill Me Softly is awesome, Entwined, I just read Sisters Red and enjoyed it, and there’s lots more. I actually did a top ten fairy tale retellings post on my blog not that long ago. Sorry for the length of this comment, I get a little carried away when it comes to fairy tales!

Kristen says:

July 12, 2012 at 6:33 am

I love fairy tales as well Lauren. I have Kiss in Time but haven’t read it yet. I also love Jessica Day George and Jackson Pearce. Will have to check out your post!