1520, Volume 1

A fantasy kingdom is the setting for this new magical transformation story. Zelos is a young heir to the throne in a land ravaged by poverty; Ana is maid to the spoiled princess of a neighboring land that is steeped in wealth. Both are 15 years old, and both end up taking a bite of a poisoned dessert that the prime minister was trying to feed to the princess. Moments later they are 10 years old. Trial and error shows them that if Ana laughs or Zelos cries, Ana, or Zelos, will go back to normal age, but the other will shrink to the size of a five-year-old. It's a strange and arbitrary curse that stretches the boundaries of disbelief, but this is a book that doesn't take itself too seriously from the start. Once all of that exposition and setup is out of the way, the duo heads off to find an herbalist that might be able to cure them; along the way, they get involved in a smalltown drama involving human sacrifice and haunted forests. This first volume ends in the middle of that story's action, making this unsatisfying as a stand-alone read but tantalizing for the promise of what else can be done with the series' strange premise. (Sept.)