The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell

When twins Alex and Conner receive a fairy tale collection for their 12th birthday, the brother and sister are soon sucked inside the book’s pages. They find themselves in a world where Happily Ever After already happened, where the Big Bad Wolf’s pack is hell-bent on vengeance, Snow White’s wicked queen has escaped incarceration, and Red Riding Hood has ascended to her own kingdom. In narrating his own book, Colfer—of Glee fame—lacks the charisma he so frequently displays on television, and is outmatched by the book’s large cast of fairy tale characters. Snow White, the Evil Queen, Goldilocks, Alex, Conner, and most everyone else sound too similar: all of them reduced to a low, throaty whisper. Additionally, Colfer’s narration is almost indistinguishable from the voices he creates for his characters. This is particularly unfortunate because his book is filled with larger-than-life characters—requiring a dramatic and larger-than-life performance. Ages 8–up. A Little, Brown hardcover. (July)