Sunday 13 February 2011

Review: A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn


I absolutely loved Beastly, so I was really excited to read A Kiss in Time because like Beastly, it was another retelling of a fairytale. A Kiss in Time retells the story of Sleeping Beauty, and places it in an imaginary country and kingdom, and once Talia, the sleeping beauty in this case, awakens 300 years later it's in our time.

I absolutely loved A Kiss in Time! It was a fast-paced read, it was funny and it was also incredibly sweet. The story alternated between Talia and Jack's points of view, and I thought that Alex Flinn nailed it! I thought the alternating POV's worked perfectly, and they complimented each other once it got the part where it swapped between Jack and Talia.

Both Jack and Talia were easy to relate to and they were very well defined and believable. Talia was naive and innocent because she was used to living a sheltered life, and since it had occurred 300 years earlier it was even more sheltered than usual. :P Jack was more of a lose cannon, he acted out to get attention because he thought his parents didn't care about him. I loved them apart and I adored them together. I think Jack and Talia have easily become one of my favourite fictious couples. :D

Despite the story being about Jack and Talia's budding romance and the whole sleeping beauty concept, it also had a large focus on the whole parent-child relationship, which was subtle and very well done. And since it was a story about teenagers, it covered the popular topic of growing up and deciding what you want to do with your life. It even made me think of a short essay I read in an English class about fairy tales. This essay talked about a bunch of stuff, but the thing it reminded me of was how it said the idea we should take away from Sleeping Beauty is the long period of sleep she undergoes rather than the kiss. It referred to a theory about how the sleep represents a period of growing up and realizing what you want rather than what your parents tell you to want, and I think Talia did do that. She clearly had the thoughts before she fell asleep, but it was only after she woke up that she realized she should actually do the things that she wanted to do. Even Jack seems to go through his own period of 'awakening' in this story. It really was a story about growing up, and about following your heart, in more ways than one.

 I also loved the 'witch' in this story, Malvolia. She was much more than just your stereotypical 'bad guy' and I like that she became more than just a cliche. The other minor characters like Meryl (Jack's sister), Travis (Jack's best friend), and both Talia and Jack's parents, may have been smaller characters, but they all stood out to me. Talia's father, I'm never going to forget because he was described as looking like the Burger King. I also loved Meryl's character, she was pretty much an outcast, and I loved how Talia interacted with her. :)

I loved A Kiss in Time, and I think it's a story that everyone will love, especially if you're like me and have a huge soft spot for fairy tales. :D

Now I'm curious, what's your favourite fairy tale?  Do you prefer Disney versions, retellings or the more original stories like the ones the Grimm's Brothers? I personally love anything by Disney...I don't even know if I could choose a favourite. I'm a big Little Mermaid fan, and I love Beauty and the Beast and Sleeping Beauty too :D

 Happy Reading!!!

♪♫ Ambur

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