I thought I would end 2017 with a post about an amazing
books series that everyone should read. Enjoy!
As much as I love reading, I’m happy I listened to this
series on audio. Chris Colfer himself recorded for this series and his voice
just brings the whole series together. His voice for Mother Goose alone makes
these books worth listening to. I actually hope someone doesn’t make this
series into movies because the audio books are so much better than any movie
could be.
6th
Grade and Up
The Wishing Spell (The Land of Stories
#1)
Through the mysterious powers of a
cherished book of stories, twins Alex and Conner leave their world behind and
find themselves in a foreign land full of wonder and magic where they come
face-to-face with the fairy tale characters they grew up reading about.
But after a
series of encounters with witches, wolves, goblins, and trolls alike, getting
back home is going to be harder than they thought.
This book is extremely clever in every way. All the
fairy tales you grew up with in one story told in a completely different way.
For one thing, these aren’t the Disney versions we’ve grown accustom to. These
are the original Fairy Tales and they are much darker. And second, what if the
Prince Charmings in Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty were actually
three brothers! That really blew my mind. And that’s only part of a spoiler.
There are even bigger secrets waiting for you in this book.
The Enchantress Returns (The Land of
Stories #2)
Alex and
Conner Bailey have not been back to the magical Land of Stories since their
adventures in The Wishing Spell ended. But one night, they learn the famed
Enchantress who cursed Sleeping Beauty has kidnapped their mother! Against the
will of their grandmother, the twins must find their own way into the Land of
Stories to rescue their mother and save the fairy tale world from the greatest
threat it's ever faced.
Chris Colfer’s adaptation of Mother Goose is absolute
genius. She is nothing like anything you’ve seen before. Every word out of her
mouth is brilliant and made my mom and I crack up.
All the fairy tales line up in a way that make sense
but is hard to follow sometimes. Don’t get me wrong these books are awesome but
with each character having their own story with so much depth that it made my
head spin.
WARNING: If you haven’t read the first two books
don’t read the rest of this post. TOO MANY SPOILLERS!!
A Grimm Warning (The Land of Stories)
Connor Bailey thinks his fairy-tale
adventures are behind him - until he discovers a mysterious clue left by the
famous Brothers Grimm. With help from his classmate Bree and the outlandish
Mother Goose, Conner sets off on a mission across Europe to crack a
two-hundred-year-old code.
Meanwhile, Alex Bailey is training to
become the next Fairy Godmother but her attempts at granting wishes never go as
planned. Will she ever be truly ready to lead the Fairy Council?
When all signs
point to disaster for the Land of Stories, Connor and Alex must join forces
with their friends and enemies to save the day. But nothing can prepare them
for the coming battle... or for the secret that will change the twins' lives
forever.
This story switches between Conner and Alex’s points of
view, which I enjoyed very much especially Conner’s parts. Conner is my
favorite character in this whole book series, not including Mother Goose. He
has a twisted sense of humor and is always quick with a sarcastic comment,
which more hilarious than the last.
I don’t know how Chris Colfer is going to outdo
Conner’s adventure through Europe. It is
brilliant. Not only is his friend Bree along for the ride but also a
special guest. There’s a twist with the guest that’s so great, I practically
cheered with joy.
Beyond the Kingdoms (The Land of Stories
#4)
Fairy tales and classic stories collide.
The Masked Man is on the loose in the
Land of Stories, and it's up to Alex and Conner Bailey to stop him...except
Alex has been thrown off the Fairy Council, and no one will believe they're in
danger.
With only the help of the ragtag
group of Goldilocks, Jack, Red Riding Hood, and Mother Goose and her gander,
Lester, the Bailey twins discover the Masked Man's secret scheme: He possesses
a powerful magic potion that turns every book it touches into a portal, and he
is recruiting an army of literature's greatest villains!
So begins a
race through the magical Land of Oz, the fantastical world of Neverland, the
madness of Wonderland, and beyond. Can Alex and Conner catch up to the Masked
Man, or will they be one step behind until it's too late?
If I had this magic potion, I’d go into the Harry
Potter books. Wouldn’t everyone? I mostly want to see what house I would be
sorted into. Probably HufflePuff. I wouldn’t mind that. What books would you
want to travel in, post in the comment section?
I’ll be honest; I’ve never been very interested in any
of the other literary worlds mentioned in this book. I’m more into worlds like
ChalkZone where you can draw anything and it becomes real or the Toy Box World
from Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends.
But Chris Colfer’s writing got me interested. I’ll have to read these books if
I can find the time. It might be hard to believe but I do have a life outside
of this blog.
An Author’s Odyssey (The Land of Stories
#5)
Conner learns that the only place to
fight the Masked Man's literary army is inside his own short stories.
When the twins
and their friends enter worlds crafted from Conner's imagination, finding
allies no one else could have ever dreamed of, the race begins to put an end to
the Masked Man's reign of terror. Can the twins finally restore peace in the
fairy tale world?
Fight literary characters with literary characters. We
get to meet some new out of this world characters based on the already amazing
characters. We also learn that writer put more of themselves into their stories
than they realize.
Listening to this story made me wish I could write my
own stories. I’m only good at writing fanfiction and book reviews. I’m
beginning to write my own comic stories. They aren’t great but I’m getting
better.
Worlds Collide (The Land of Stories #6)
Conner and Alex must brave the impossible. All of the
Land of Stories fairy tale characters – heroes and villains – are no longer
confined within their world!
With mayhem brewing in the Big Apple, Conner and Alex
will have to win their biggest battle yet.
Like I said in my review for
the 3rd book, I didn’t think Chris Colfer could outdo the Europe
adventure. But he somehow managed to do so. I still think the Europe adventure
was the best but in this story he has some of the characters on an airplane! It
goes exactly the way you’d think it would go! But I won’t spoil that part of
the book. I’ll just say that Chris Colfer has outdone himself again. This book
starts great and ends great. I hope you all will love these books as much as my
mom and I did.
Well that’s it for 2017! See you all next
year!
