EVER AFTER HIGH: THE STORYBOOK OF LEGENDS by Shannon Hale

Apple White, Briar Beauty, Raven Queen, Maddie Hatter and the other children of Ever After characters attend Ever After High. In their second year, they sign a pack to fulfill their destiny and replay their parents' stories. Headmaster Grimm has warned them that not signing would cause everyone in their story to "poof" out of existence. So they have to sign, right? But Raven Queen isn't sure she wants to be the Evil Queen like her mother. She wants to make her own choices and decide her own destiny. Is she willing to risk her own existence - and Apple White and Prince Charming's happily-ever-after to get what she wants?

This is a really fun fairy tale story! The ever-after-isms - some of the cheesy and cliche' parts of classic fairy tales - sprinkled throughout the story were sometimes distracting. And sometimes I had to remind myself who some of the secondary characters were supposed to be. But the driving story of fate verses choice was completely captivating! I have already bought a copy for the school library and another for a gift and I can't wait to read what comes next in this series!

4 out of 5 stars
There is no AR rating at this time.

There's a great interactive website for the series here. There are also some FREE teaser stories available for e-readers - just a few pages of a character's story to give you a sense of the character. I read these before the book came out and I enjoyed them. Here are what they look like:
          

THE UNFAIREST OF THEM ALL by Shannon Hale

Legacy Day did not quite go the way everyone planned and now the fallout is apparent - Royals and Rebels food fighting in the castleteria, fairy tale characters wrestling with their destiny and their personal desires, and one of the core characters in danger of banishment forever. Will Raven's choices on Legacy Day drive a wedge between the Royals and Rebels so deep that it cannot be fixed, or can students from both sides pull together for one of their own?

I enjoyed this chapter in the Ever After high series even more than I enjoyed the first one! While the main characters, Raven and Apple, wrestle with the implications of Raven's Legacy Day choice for their individual stories, they are also dealing with the repercussions on their school lives. How can Apple be a leader if she doesn't know what is going to happen to her storied path to become queen? Is Raven responsible for all the horrible things happening at Ever After High? While the girls wrestle with their personal choices and questions, they also get to work together on something bigger and more important than individual destiny. The world building and character development grow nicely in this story that will satisfy fans of the first book.

5 out of 5 stars
AR reading level of 5.1

Book three, A Wonderlandiful World releases August 26, 2014

CINDERELLA STAYS LATE by Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams

Cinderella is the new student at The Grimm Academy. She connects with Red, Snow and Rapunzel, and they become great friends. The step-sisters are there, too, looking to cause as much trouble for Cinda as they can. Someone else is trying to cause trouble at the school, too. Can Cinda and her friends figure out what is really going on at The Grimm Academy?

This was excellent! This would be perfect for readers who already enjoy the Whatever After series and fans of the Ever After High book, Storybook of Legends. The characters are likable. The fairy tale elements aren't cheesy - something I worry about when I start a book like this. The world-building is fantastic; I especially loved the magical library. Some issues are left unresolved for book two, and I personally can't wait to read it. I told my students about this book when we previewed some of the books that will be coming in our Scholastic book fair later this month. I predict this will be one of my best sellers - and I'll be the first in line to buy it because my nieces are going to love this one. Photos of the next two books are shown below.

5 out of 5 stars
No AR reading level at this time. Books one and two release on March 25th, but may be available through Scholastic sooner. Book three is scheduled to release in June 2014.

* I received an electronic copy of this book from the publisher for free in the hope that I would review it honestly on my blog. Regardless, I only review books I enjoyed. I don’t believe in passing on negative reviews. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

      

A WONDERLANDIFUL WORLD by Shannon Hale

I debated whether or not I was going to post a review on this book. I have enjoyed this series thus far, but this book didn't feel quite the same to me. Frankly, I was disappointed. I was going to keep my opinions to myself as I don't like to post a negative review of something an author and publisher have put significant work into, but as I have had students (and parents) also read the book and have similar reactions, I thought I would go ahead and post a couple observations. Maybe this will help other readers be prepared for the differences in this book compared to the first two.

First, the point of view character changed from the first two books, which was an abrupt shift. Not "bad," just different and unexpected. Second, the influence of Wonderland was annoying to me as I don't care for Alice and Wonderland. That is a matter of preference. Some reviewers have loved this aspect while others have not. I'm just one of the "nots."

SPOILER ALERT: Do NOT read farther if you don't want to read a SPOILER.
My final frustration was that in the end, when all the action has finished, most of the characters forget the entire events of the story!

What?!

Ignoring the first two issues I noted, I could have easily given this 4 or 4.5 stars. I really got into the rhythm of the new characters and enjoyed watching them evolve over the story. But having almost all of them completely forget what happened really disappointed me. It was like watching a TV show and having it all be a dream in the end. I'm not sure why you would want to go to the trouble of telling a story only a couple characters will remember in the end. And with a change of author for the next portion of the series, I don't know if that will be happily resolved later down the line. I don't know if I will read the next book in the series. This choice of ending really surprised me from this author and from the powers-that-be who launched this franchise.