For Biddle's Sake!: A Review

Hello, my lovelies!

So excited to share another of The Princess Tales with you! I can’t believe there’s only one more after this.

For Biddle’s Sake! by Gail Carson Levine

4.5 Stars

The young maiden, Parsley, will eat nothing but parsley, which in Snettering-on-Snoakes grows only in the fairy Bombina's garden. All is well -- until Bombina is released from the fairy queen's dungeon. Her crime? Failing to get along with humans. And turning them into toads!

Meanwhile, twin princes Randolph and Rudolph are causing trouble at Biddle Castle and pinning everything on their younger brother, Tansy. Prince Tansy cares about Biddle. Randolph and Rudolph don't. But one of the twins will be king, unless Prince Tansy accepts help from a green Biddlebum Toad!

A delightful retelling of the little-known German fairy tale "Puddocky," this fifth Princess Tale from Newbery Honor author Gail Carson Levine shows that nothing is quite as it seems and that anything is possible, with a dash of magic and a barrel of love.

-From Goodreads

I’m not going to lie- I didn’t know what fairy tale this was retelling until I read the Goodreads description about two minutes before reading this. Before that I thought it was a strange mix of Rapunzel and The Frog Prince with some other stuff mixed in. I’ve never heard of Puddocky before but a quick search of it on Google and it is definitely what this story is based on.

But even without knowing the original tale, I really liked this story.

What I Liked:

This author does the same things right over and over again- the characters are great, the light romance is sweet, and the plot and narrative style are on point.

I love Parsley and Tansy. They’re cute and watching them grow up together is fun. Individually they’re good characters, especially Parsley, who we are not only told is lovable but also shown. The story focuses on her and she’s a delight from start to finish. I can almost picture the adorable smile of hers that the author mentions again and again. She’s kind and good but also has a bit of spunk and sass to her that is really fun to see. Of all the girls in this series, she’s the one I have the most vivid picture of in my mind.

Tansy felt like a mix of Cinderellis and Princess Sonora, which I thought was cool since they would have been his ancestors. So it was fun to see the author incorporate that into the story.

The relationship between Parsley and Tansy is so stinkin’ cute! As with the others, the romance is light enough to be shared even with a younger audience. But it’s also developed so well- cute and sweet and a delight to read. I loved watching the way it progressed over the course of the story.

The plot of this one was fun and interesting, especially since I wasn’t familiar with the original tale and so I had no idea what to expect. And as always the narrative style was as fun as ever.

What I Didn’t Like:

One of the downsides of reading a series so fast is getting to see the similarities in the stories. While sometimes they’re fun callbacks, other times they just end up feeling like recycled ideas.

Tansy’s brothers felt a bit recycled to me, a lot like Burt and Ralph from the last story- the two brothers who are thick as thieves and have no use for their little brother. While they were good characters I also felt like they were a bit too close to the other brothers for my taste.

Also, in the context of the story I guess it made sense but Parsley is sort of stolen from her parents by the fairy without it really seeming like a bad thing. That sort of made me puzzled, like I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to be happy that she’d been taken away from her family or not. It sort of made sense in context but also sort of just didn’t quite sit right with me.

And as I mentioned last week, I’m not a fan of the way the King and Queen are named. But I won’t rant about that all over again…

Overview:

All in all, it was a really good story. I loved the characters and plot and narration and the way it all fit together. And I discovered a new fairy tale! Always a plus. Would highly recommend- especially, as always, to be read aloud to a younger audience.

I can’t believe next week is the last book! Be sure to come back for that, as well as a giveaway announcement. And I’ll be back on Monday to talk about writing again.

Until the next time we meet, don’t forget to live happily ever after <3

~Jennifer Sauer, the Ivory Palace Princess

P.S. Let’s Chat! What really obscure fairy tale would you like to see retold?