Tween Tuesday: The Wide-Awake Princess by ED Baker

Tween Tuesday is a weekly meme created and hosted by the GreenBeanTeenQueen. Check her out!

5 yummy peanut butter cookies!

Cover Love: I do love this cover, and I am not sure why. It just works for me! However, it is not very accurate with the way Annie is described in the book. I think she is adorable in this picture!

Why I Wanted To Read This: Um, a fractured fairy tale? Sign me up! I actually had not read any of E.D. Baker's other books but liked this one enough to look into others (and was delighted to find that my new library has all of them!). Here is the synopsis from GoodReads:
In this new stand-alone fairy tale, Princess Annie is the younger sister to Gwen, the princess destined to be Sleeping Beauty. When Gwennie pricks her finger and the whole castle falls asleep, only Annie is awake, and only Annie, blessed (or cursed?) with being impervious to magic, can venture out beyond the rose-covered hedge for help. She must find Gwen's true love to kiss her awake.

But who is her true love? The irritating Digby? The happy-go-lucky Prince Andreas, who is holding a contest to find his bride? The conniving Clarence, whose sinister motives couldn't possibly spell true love? Joined by one of her father's guards, Liam, who happened to be out of the castle when the sleeping spell struck, Annie travels through a fairy tale land populated with characters both familiar and new as she tries to fix her sister and her family . . . and perhaps even find a true love of her own.

I Kept Reading Because: Great writing and a good adventure kept my interest. I also loved the little romance.

Romance?: Yes! And although it is such a sweet, predictable romance, I loved that storyline.

What I Liked (& Didn't): Fractured (or re-imagined) fairy tales is a favorite genre of mine and this one didn't disappoint. I loved how Annie's journey introduced her to several other fairy tales or fairy tale characters (like Hansel & Gretel). She even took part in a version of The Princess and the Pea.

One of the best things about this fairy tale is that the main character, while being female, goes out on her own to save her family. She is very empowered, and smart, and courageous.

The princes in this world are kind of idiots. With everyone being blessed by magic in some way (looks, talents, nature) most of them only rely on these things. Because Annie is untouched (and cannot be touched) by magic, she has had to develop her smarts and personality. It makes her much more interesting and the rest of the characters pretty dumb.

But, I love how being untouched by magic also affects the looks of those whose looks have been magically altered. That was a nice touch in the story, but it made for a lonely Annie! (If Annie is too close a nose might start getting longer or a mole might start growing on a cheek, etc...)

To Sum Up: I just adored this story and will be reading more ED Baker books soon! I have added it to my order for this fall and I know several readers who will enjoy this book!