Beauty Sleep by Cameron Dokey

8 Stars

"The Princess Aurore has had an unusual childhood. Cursed at birth, Aurore is fated to prick her finger at age sixteen and sleep for one hundred years--until a prince awakens her with a kiss. ... On her sixteenth birthday, Aurore learns that the impending curse will harm not only her, but the entire kingdom as well. Unwilling to cause suffering, she will embark on a quest to end the evil magic. The princess's bravery will be rewarded as she finds adventure, enchantment, a handsome prince, and ultimately, her destiny." (Taken from the back cover.)

Okay, so as you can tell, this is a retelling of the fairy tale "The Sleeping Beauty." I know several of you have already read this book (and many of Cameron Dokey's other fairy tale re-tellings), but thought I'd throw this one up here as I just re-read it. This book is probably not my favorite of Dokey's fairy tale books, but I can say it is a great version of Sleeping Beauty. One of my favorites. I am impressed at Dokey's ability to take the predictability out of a well-known tale while still leaving the bones intact. She follows the story and sticks to it, but you are somehow still left in suspense about the ending. And, while her writing is not EXCELLENT, it is good and she has some really beautiful and poetic moments. In this book in particular, I also enjoy her ability to take a princess that in many versions of the tale really doesn't do much, and turn into someone that has heart, bravery, and intelligence. I would highly recommend this book to anyone that is a romantic or who likes the tale of "The Sleeping Beauty."