So Ariel is a mermaid, but she really loves human things. She is always collecting things from shipwrecks and going to the surface to talk to birds and see land. One night she is watching a ship that is bringing Prince Eric home. A huge storm occurs and causes the ship to be destroyed.
When she gets home her father discovers her treasure trove of human items and destroys them. In typical, teenage fashion, she throws a temper tantrum and goes to see the evil witch Ursula, who takes her voice in exchange for giving her legs. Ariel has three days to get Eric to kiss her, if he does she will be a human forever- but if he doesn’t then she will turn back into a mermaid and belong to Ursula.
That’s not good.
Ariel goes topside but has difficulties getting Eric to kiss her, as he doesn’t want to take advantage of a mute girl and is in love with the girl who saved him (couldn’t see her only heard her); along with Ursula’s lackeys getting in the way. Ursula transforms herself into a beautiful woman, takes Ariel’s voice, puts a spell on Eric, and gets him to agree to marry her. Ariel and friends are trying to stop the wedding, but will they be able to in time? Or is it too late?
Most Romantic Moment: Kiss the Girl
This is a great song and a great scene. You have the perfect atmosphere with the blue lagoon, a rowboat for two, a group singing in perfect harmony a romantic song; and to top it all off you have them in the weeping willow!
I love it!
I LOVE weeping willows and find them beautiful, magical, and incredibly romantic. I love this part of the song.
So today marks a very special day here at Jane Austen Runs My Life. It is our fifth anniversary of blogging!
Yay!
Thank you all who have been a part
So I was trying to think of something for the fifth year-the traditional gift being wood.
I thought and I thought…and I had nothing.
All I could think of is what Nick says in Gone Girl:
“There’s no good gift for wood.”
So I started doing another post and when I was looking through my pics and I saw this:
And it hit me! Boats are made out of wood! Why not give myself a boat for my anniversary.
I thought I could do a little boat like in The Phantom of the Opera
And I didn’t want one that would sink like in The Little Mermaid.
I want something strong and sturdy. Something that has the ability to wage through every storm, obstacle, or army navy that comes my way. I want Captain Wentworth’s boat.
And if you give the girl a boat, chances are, she’s going to want a captain to go with it. And not just any captain, oh no, I want this one:
Yep, I want him with his broodiness, good humor, and amazing writing skills/romantic heart. How can you resist such words?
I only have one reply:
*swoon*
So thanks for the past five years of awesomeness, and here’s to many more!
Day 24) X is for X: Choose a book whose author has an X in their name
An X?
I couldn’t think of anything, of any name that had an X in it. I decided that I would just shelve it for now and come back to it later.
But then the days passed and we grew closer and closer to the 24th and I had no idea what to pick.
But then my friend returned my book Beastly,by AleX Flinn, that I had let her borrow. I looked at it and I knew!
This was the book I was going to use for my X.
Beastly (Kendra Chronicles #1) by Alex Flinn
So I don’t know exactly how I stumbled onto this book. But I read it, loved it, and then went on to read everything else Flinn wrote.
Flinn is a master teller at taking fairy tales and rewriting them in modern times with youth audiences and characters.
Now I read this years ago, a few years after it was published and just absolutely loved it. Then I heard the movie was coming out based on it, and tracked that film; so excited to see it on the screen and dragging two of my friends with me. But then I saw it:
It was horrible. I did not like it one bit. They just cut the heart and soul of the book leaving a shadow of what it was. The book was much better.
Now when I first read the book I had only previously seen Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and read the tale it was based on. Since then, I have seen a few other things and I have noticed that Flinn pulls from both La Belle et la Bête
And the Beauty and the Beast TV show from the ’80s.
In fact one of the characters is called Lindy in the book and Linda Hamilton played “Belle” in the TV show. Coincidence? I think not. Plus the way he looks, the way he protect Lindy, havoc on the subway, etc.
Well that’s enough of that, let’s check out the book.
So we start in a way I have never seen a retelling of a fairy tale start before. With IMing between a bunch of different fairy tale characters. We have the little mermaid from The Little Mermaid, the Bear from Snow White and Rose Red, the frog prince from The Frog Prince, and the Beast from Beauty and the Beast, And who is the chat room run by? Mr. Anderson.
No, not that Mr. Anderson. Anderson as in Hans Christian Andersen.
So then we flashback to how our Beast, became a beast.
Part 1: A Prince and a Witch
Kyle Kingsbury is a freshman at a private school, Tuttle, and the son of the very wealthy news anchor, Rob Kingsbury. Kyle is a perfect dreamboat, utter perfection in height, looks, etc.
But while the outside is a treat, how he acts is the exact opposite.
All he cares about is his looks and popularity, hurting and being cruel to others around him. This year they are getting ready for homecoming and have their election for freshman Prince, of which Kyle is nominated. As they start voting, one person speaks out.
Kendra Hilferty is not what most would call beautiful. She has a strange green hair, is rather plain, and dresses in black “gothish” type clothing. She is upset about how this contest is all about looks instead of who they are, telling Kyle he is ugly where it really counts.
Kyle is angry over what Kendra said so he decides to play a trick on her. He invites her to the Homecoming dance, all the while planning on going with his real girlfriend, Sloane, and roasting Kendra.
She’ll get what’s coming to her.
When Sloane hears that Kyle will be going with Kendra, she is livid, but Kyle calms her down when he tells her about his “joke”. Kyle doesn’t really like Sloane, she’s really annoying and bratty, but she is the hottest girl and after tonight is going to let him come to her house while her parents are out…well as long as he brings an orchid.
Kyle goes home and tries to talk to his dad, but he doesn’t care. Kyle doesn’t have a mom as she left years ago and has never tried to contact him. His dad is super shallow and only cares about himself and his needs, never thinking of his child or the example he is setting.
That night Kyle is ready to go to the ball, dance I mean (I’m reading too many fairy tales), when it turns out his maid Madga didn’t buy the orchid but bought a single, white rose. Sloane is furious about there being no orchid and refuses to have the rose. However, there is a scholarship student taking the tickets who exclaims over its beauty. Kyle gives it to her, the only genuine, nice thing he has ever done.
How sweet!
When Kendra arrives and discovers what he has done she tells him he will pay for what he has done and will be as ugly on the outside as he truly is on the inside.
She’ll get what’s coming to her.
Kyle is upset, and scared, but continues to do what is expected as Prince of Homecoming. But at twelve o’clock that night Kendra appears to him and reveals she is a witch, and Kyle is turned into a beast.
NOOOOOOO!
Part 2: The Beast
When Kyle’s father discovers the transformation, he carts him all over the United States to see what they can do. But nothing can change him.
He cuts his hair, it grows back. He slices his skin, it instantly heals. Kendra gives him a magic mirror that allows him to see anyone he wants, and she uses it to “call” him throughout the book. Nothing can destroy him, and nothing can change him back except if he could find someone to love him in this bestial form. And he has two years, because of his gift of the rose, to find it or be stuck as a beast forever!
And this is what I don’t like about the film. They just give him a bunch of tattoos, but that isn’t as hard to love as something that doesn’t even look human. Plus they cut out how long he has to be a beast, removing his first year of angst, anxiety, and depression and being pushed apart from the rest of the world.
Part 3: The Castle
Yes, Kyle’s father can’t stand the sight of him and ships him off to an old brownstone in Brooklyn which has old windows that can’t open and no one can come in and see him. He sends Magda to take care of him and things to amuse him.
Kyle decides that he is no longer Kyle. After careful consideration, he chooses Adrian as it speaks of his new nature. He tries to find love online, but Kendra warns him that won’t work.
After deciding he will spend the rest of his life alone, he blackmails his father into providing him a tutor. The father complies, but selects a blind tutor, that way no one will hear of what his son is.
Will, the tutor, comes into Adrian’s life and he and Magda become his only friend, besides those who also have been transformed that he IMs. This is really interesting as they follow what occurs in those stories too.
Adrian discovers that Will used to have sight, but lost it as he aged. Magda had a family, but they weren’t allowed into the country so she is alone now. Adrian calls Kendra and works a deal that if he finds his love to break the spell, Kendra will grant the wishes of the others.
Adrian begins to read and study as he has nothing else in his life.
Something else he does with his time is watch people from his former life and school. One day he looks up the girl he gave the rose to, Lindy. Lindy is from a poor neighborhood and is a scholarship student. Her father is a drug addict and pusher, and she tries as hard as she can to take care of him. She spends as much time as she can reading, the library being her refuge.
Part 4: The Intruder in the Garden
One night everything changes. Adrian hears a crash and discovers that someone is trying to break into the house.
He goes to protect it and threatens the man with police. The man, in fear for his life, offers to trade his daughter for his life. He shows Adrian a picture and it is Lindy.
Adrian is horrified that he would do such a thing, but accepts as he wants to protect her and has hope that maybe she is the one to break the spell.
Lindy moves in, and things do not go according to Adrian’s plan. Lindy is furious and wants to leave. Will at first feels the same way, but after meeting her father agrees with Adrian’s solution.
After giving him a lot of time, Lindy starts to come around as she is just as lonely. At first she is weirded out by Adrian’s appearance, but as their friendship grows she begins to enjoy being around him.
Part 5: Time Lapses, Autumn and Winter
Adrian begins to care more about Lindy’s feelings than his own desires to have the curse broken and gets his dad to rent them a place in the country where they are freer to roam and hangout. He also decides to release Lindy from her commitment to stay with him, and she decides to remain there.
How sweet!
However, one night Lindy says how she is worried about her father and Adrian shows her the mirror. When she looks into it, she sees her father, sick and shaking. She leaves to go take care of him and promises to return.
Months pass and no Lindy.
Adrian starts to become depressed and decides that he will be a beast forever.
They move back to the brownstone and still no Lindy.
Adrian watches her in the mirror but she never comes to him. All have given up hope except Magda, who keeps encouraging Adrian. It comes down to the final day and still no Lindy.
Then at night Adrian hears Lindy scream and looks her up in the mirror. She is being held up for money owed by her dad. Adrian takes off in the subway, not caring who sees him, but going to her aid.
When he arrives, the other pusher is so freaked at his appearance he shoots Adrian, who continues to run at him tossing the gun aside and saving Lindy. As Adrian starts bleeding, Lindy says the words he has always desperately wanted to hear:
Instantly, he is transformed into Kyle again.
Part 6: Happily Ever After
The police come and after they deal with that mess they return to the brownstone. When they get there it is revealed that Magda is really Kendra.
She too had to serve a sentence and Kyle’s breaking of his spell has allowed her to return home to her family. Will’s eyes are healed and three pick up their lives; Will teaching at Tuttle and Lindy and Kyle attending. They continue to live at the brownstone, a happy family, with Kyle being a better person.
In the end we hear from the chat group how each has completed their own journey, some with happy endings and others with ones that were not quite what they expected.
Let me just start with this, George you will be missed.
So as this book is about true and false love, I decided to go with the song that has been on the radio nonstop, Last Christmas by Wham!
I love Wham! I’ve been obsessed with them for a looong time. This isn’t my favorite by them, for the longest time I didn’t even like this song; but after hearing it on the radio constantly I grew to really love it.
It was written by the late, great George Michael and tells the tale of someone giving their heart to someone, only to have it broken as they were unfaithful.
But luckily they find someone to give their heart to that will protect it.
It has been extremely popular and been constantly redone by other artists. Wham! is my favorite, not just because I love the band, but because it is nice to hear the broken heart from a guy’s point of view instead of always a woman.
Day 6) F is for Free: Choose a book you got for Free
Princess Nevermore by Dian Curtis Regan
Do you remember the Scholastic book fairs they used to have at school? I loved it. There were bunch of books at the school and in the catalog. Even though we couldn’t spend a lot, my parents would always buy me at least one item. No matter how many books I already owned, I could always use more.
Well if you bought so many and did a certain amount in school you were able to get a free book! I was so excited and picked out a ton of different books I wanted to get.
But my mom pointed out that the free book had to be $4.50 or under. So we looked through the catalog and it turned out that there were only two books that were eligible.
Yeah, what a scam! Anyways, out of the two books Princess Nevermore, intrigued me. I read it and quickly loved it!
Now one of the reasons I choose this book to include in the 30 day challenge is that is seems to be one no one knows about which I think is a shame as it is a great book and needs more attention.
Princess Quinnella, Quinn for short, lives in Mandria, a magical world that exists under our feet! Once they lived in the world of men, but had to relocate as magic with humankind wasn’t working out.
See ya!
The only place to view our world from Mandria is in the wizard Melikar’s chambers. There he has a magic pool that gives the Mandrians a view into our world, but we cannot see into their’s.
Quinn has grown up dreaming and wishing to visit the other world. She and Melikar’s assistant, Cam, have conspired on how to get there.
Quinn feels as if time is running out as she will soon be sixteen: a woman, betrothed, and focusing on ruling her kingdom.
One day she is visiting Melikar when out of nowhere Cam comes crashing into her, his magic ring transporting him there instead of where he was desiring to go. Melikar tells Cam to check the magic book and see what is wrong with it.
Cam goes and gets an idea, he decides that now is the time to send them to outer Earth. He shoots Quinn a look, and she quickly catches on and distracts Melikar until it is too late.
“Anger, fear, love, and mirth.
Send Quinn and Cam to outer earth.”
The pool’s water comes down and surrounds Quinn dragging her up and over to the other side.
Not good
And just Quinn!
As you can guess Melikar is furious! Not only was Quinn sent into the other world, but there is no way to bring her back until she choose to return, a clause that Quinn has no clue off.
Not good
Yes, Cam was foolish and acted too quickly or else he would have realized that it was a bad idea.
In order to bring the princess back, she has to go back to the pool, wish with all her heart to return, and turn in the pool, stirring it. And the catch, the spell can only be done once and is strong only for a quarter moon, that’s seven days. If she misses her window, she will never be able to return.
The first thing they must do is buy some time, drugging the royal family so that they will sleep through most of time that Quinn is away.
Yes, like in Sleeping Beauty
Quinn find herself in the real world and is unsure what to do next. She always planned for her to be with Cam and them being able to visit the world, but return whenever they desired.
Then a girl comes across her path, one she sees daily coming to the pool and wishing for beauty. A boy calls out her name, Sarah, and she calls him Adam. Adam tells her they need to leave now as Mondo has declared it is time to go.
Quinn decides to follow them as they make her curious and she has no idea what else she can do.
She follows them onto a giant dragon creature, a bus, and is questioned by Sarah and her brother is surprised when Mondo recognizes that she is from Mandria and gives the sign of the Lorik, a symbol to seal an oath and mark of friendship in this case. Mondo takes Quinn with them to their apartment.
Quinn shares the history of who she is with Adam being surprised and completely taken with her; and Sara slightly jealous at her beauty and the attention Quinn is receiving.
The next day they head off to school, Quinn fascinated and lost and confused. At first Sarah is helpful and kind to her, but then when her long time crush shows interest in Quinn and continues to ignore Sarah.
Not good
Quinn and Adam grow closer as he not only teaches her about the world, but they begin to fall for each other.
However, while young love blooms; Mondo is not pleased with it. Quinn can’t understand why he would be so upset over it.
As for Quinn she finds herself wondering about Adam. He isn’t royal, but she could abdicate her throne for her cousin and live in the human world, them visiting back and forth.
It could work, like The Little Mermaid
Back in Mandria, Cam and Melikar have to take another into their confidence. Ameka, Quinn’s tutor comes to Melikar’s place and discovers Quinn’s disappearance. They grow worried as Quinn not only seems to not want to leave that world, but Melikar can sense danger coming as Quinn has the magic ring.
Not good
Quinn found the magic ring stuck on her dress and promised not to use it, unless absolutely necessary. Unfortunately, she used it to get pizza, zap Zach, and get apples for lunch. However, Zach senses that there is something weird about her and gets Sarah, who only wants to impress him, to ‘fess up about her cousin.
Halloween approaches and Adam asks her to the dance. Quinn is thrilled to go with him, but then Zach enters and the testosterone goes flying as he tries to bully them into letting him take Quinn. They decide to “duel”, Quinn choosing jousting.
Them’s fighting words!
As there are no horses in the city for the teens to access, Adam’s friend Roger develops a “modern day” jousting. Adam does well, but Zach cheats and wins Quinn as his date. Zach isn’t interested in Quinn, but wants her secrets of magic.
This is bad.
The day of the dance, Quinn tries to speak to a hurt Adam, but he manages to elude her at every turn. That night as she prepares for the ball, Mondo decides it is time to tell his story.
He was a nobleman and used to visit with Melikar, just like Quinn. He would look at the wishing pool and see a girl come everyday. He feel head over heels for her and asked Melikar to send him over. He promised to remain there for a few hours and bring her back.
Sadly, she never came so Mondo went in search for her as he couldn’t go back without her. He found her, but she wouldn’t leave so he remained above. The two married and had a son.
Yes, but that’s not the whole story. When Mondo arrived the year was 1830. One year in Mandria was three years on Earth. Mondo was happy with Hannah, even though she aged more rapidly than him. But he was only thirty-four when she died at the age of seventy. And while they had love there were a lot of issues with it. They had to move around A LOT, pretend to be mother and son; grandmother and son, etc. By the time he lost her, and his son as he left him with anger over his lack of aging; he thought about going back but it was too late with all the modern convinces to head back to the Middle Ages.
So now Quinn has a choice to make. Should she stay in our world or return home? Risk the lack of aging for her love?
And with Zach’s intentions, what will happen to her? Will she even be able to make that choice?
I’m not revealing the end as I thought it was too good. I loved this story and how the characters were and the ending. An ending I thought was better than Age of Adalind and all those other films that have a similar premise.
It is hard to find a copy of it, but try your local library. It is definitely worth a read.
So today’s carol I thought about how Quinn’s not sure if she will make it home, and settled on I’ll Be Home for Christmas.
I’ll Be Home for Christmas was written about and for the soilders serving overseas and wishing to be home with their loved ones. The song is supposed to be from the view of a soldier, asking them to get things ready, even though he isn’t sure he’ll be back.
It was written in 1943 by Kim Gannon and Walter Kent. No one would record it, as they thought it was too sad, until Gannon sang it to Bing Crosby who loved it. Bing Crosby was the first to record it, but it went on to be recorded by numerous singers.
Now I remember first hearing it be sung by a woman, not a man, and went with Karen Carpenter’s version.
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