Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Review: Castle Waiting

As you may know (or maybe you don't...) I was on the Cybils Graphic Novel nominating commitee this past two months. As a result, you get to be treated to reviews of my favorite books from this past experince. Lucky you! We start of with our first novel... Castle Waiting.

Castle Waiting by Linda Medley

Everyone knows that when Sleeping Beauty woke up from her 100 year sleep that she left the kingdom with her handsome prince. Well, what happened to the castle that was left behind?

Castle Waiting tells us the story we never find out: what the people who live at the castle do after their princess, and the only heir to the throne, leaves. Decades later, a small group of stragglers continues to live out their lives in the castle, a place that has become a safe home for all sorts of people. Follow the lives of the Groundskeeper (who also happens to be a stork), Lady Jain (who ran away from an abusive husband), a bearded nun, a crazy doctor obsessed with avoiding the plague, and a whole host of interesting characters.

Although this is a graphic novel, it really doesn’t seem like you are reading one. The characters, plots and storylines are just as developed as any book, and this 400-page fairytale-like story is no exception. Seasoned fairytale readers with be delighted with occasional references to fairy-lore, while newcomers are just as likely to be enchanted with this magical world. My biggest complaint about the book was that it ended! I sure hope Linda Medley is planning on writing more about the world of Castle Waiting, because I’m not ready to say good-bye to these characters yet.

Shady Glade Rating: 10/10!


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1 comment:

Erin said...

That sounds really great! Thanks for the review.