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Gr 8–10—Flinn's latest fairy-tale mash-up revisits the witch from Beastly (HarperTeen, 2007). The story jumps right in with Kendra explaining how she came to be a witch. In 1666, she fled her plague-ridden village in England with her little brother (and only surviving family member). The young witch was unaware of the full extent of her powers and near starving when she wandered lost in a vast forest with Charlie. The two stumbled upon a cottage that was constructed of sweet-smelling gingerbread, but as soon as the first delicious bite was swallowed, a witch captured them...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

Flinn here re-imagines four fairy tales, connected through Kendra, the witch who put the spell on Kyle in Beastly. Kendra explains how, in the seventeenth century, an evil witch living in a gingerbread house helped her develop her powers ("Hansel and Gretel"). Then she introduces Emma, a modern-day girl who's thrilled that her stepfather's daughter, the beautiful and kind Lisette, has just joined the family ("Cinderella"). When Lisette steals the attention of...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

Flinn re-imagines four fairy tales, connected through Kendra, the witch from <i>Beastly</i>. The traditional tales are faithfully transposed into beli...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

Kendra Hilferty, a five-hundred-year-old witch who chooses to live as a teen, shares tales—which happen to include eyewitness accounts of “Hansel and Gretel,” “The Princess and the Pea,” and “The Little Mermaid”—from her long life. Magic, far from being a vehicle for good in these stories, is usually an agent of chaos; surprises and role reversals abound. Interspersed between these supernatural stories is a contemporary inversion of “Cinderella.” When mousy, bookish Emma first meet...Log In or Sign Up to Read More