Gail Carson Levine

A spiteful fairy. A beautiful princess. An outstretched finger. A spindle. A hundred-year snooze. A charming prince. A kiss. All the familiar ingredients. But wait! Where did that extra prince come from? And those fairy gifts that were never there before? And what does a flock of balding sheep have to do with anything? Gail Carson Levine has waved her magic wand over the old standby of "Sleeping Beauty" and presto! It reappears, transformed, sparkling and hilarious. Chuckles and giggles are guaranteed.

Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep

Wren Hardwick

Do you like retelling of fairy-tales? Gail Carson Levine is the author for you. She is witty, and pokes fun at fairy-tales all the while making you love the story even more.

“What a hideous baby, the fairy Arabella thought. She said, “my gift to Sonora is beauty.” She touched the baby’s yellow squooshed-up face with her wand.” 
– Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep by Gail Carson Levine

Just by the first page, you can grasp the humor Levine puts in her words. Her use of run-on sentences leaves you out of breath and laughing from the repetitiveness. 

In Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep, a retelling of a French fairy tale called Sleeping Beauty by Charles Perrault (or “The Beauty Sleeping in the Wood”) or German fairy tale called Little Briar Rose by the Brothers Grimm, a little girl named Sonora is given gifts by multiple fairies. Some of those gifts include beauty, gracefulness, good health, intelligence, brilliance (same thing? Hmm) and last... but not least... pricking herself with a spindle and dying!

The one-month old baby Sonora talks a fairy (yes, talks!) into making the whole town fall asleep with her when the time comes… when will that time be? Aurora decided then and there that she would pick the perfect time for it to happen.

She was so smart that it bothered everyone she came in contact with. I mean, wouldn't you hate a small little girl telling you how to do your job more efficiently? I know I would. 

The King and Queen have arranged a marriage to a Prince! Sonora didn't think she liked him though…he was very boring. She will wait till he leaves to prick herself so she didn't have to marry him.

Wait? What’s that? Her mother is running around the corner with a spindle yelling treason? What will happen? Will Sonora prick her finger just in time or time too soon or time too late? Will she marry the Prince? Will he sleep too? Will Sonora get the ending she wants?

Levine has a splash of humor you will not find anyone else. Using plays on words and awkward humor, this is perfect for a story for a young girl or for a grown woman who can’t get enough of fairy-tales (cough me). I will always be a fan of Levine’s writing.

Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep

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