I Put A Spell On You

A classic fairy tale with new and exciting twists and turns sounds like a hit, but, unfortunately this read was a little disappointing. At first glance, it had the ingredients to be the perfect book for me, but then it just fell flat. After I was done reading--and even while I was reading--the story just never seemed to get off the ground.

“Spelled” shows how Betsy Schow took the land of Oz (beloved by those who first read it in L. Frank Baum’s “The Wizard of Oz” and saw it brought to life by MGM and Judy Garland in the 1939 film adaptation) and used modern pop culture to bring it into the future. “Spelled” tells the story of Dorthea, referred to throughout the book as Dot, the cursed princess of the Emerald City. The curse, which has plagued her family for generations, tells of how a royal princess will set all of Oz ablaze--which brings us to the fact that she is kept under strict house arrest (purely for preventative measures, of course).

Although she gets sick and tired living her life within the walls of the palace, Dot confides in Verte, the wizened old witch who lives in the castle, and the two of them have developed quite the bond. At one of the fantastic balls thrown in the palace, Dot finds out that she has been arranged to marry Kato, a stuck up prince that is definitely not the man that Dot envisioned spending her future with. With the prospects of her future not looking bright, Dot roams the gardens of the palace only to stumble upon a young girl who gives her a wishing star. Figuring that her life couldn’t possibly get any worse, Dot makes a wish, but she is surprised to find that her wish didn’t end up quite how she envisioned.

Unbeknownst to Dot, the young girl who gave her the wishing star was an evil witch in disguise--and the star itself was cursed. Oz is thrown into chaos by Dot’s wish: Verte has gone missing (presumed dead), Kato is turning into a beast, Dot is forced into an unlikely alliance with Rexi, a palace serving girl, and her parents are stranded in some strange place called Kansas. With everything crumbling down around her, Dot realizes that the life she so hurriedly wished away wasn’t quite as bad as she thought. An adventure ensues as Dot, Kato, and Rexi set out to find the only person who can right everything that has been wronged--The Wizard of Oz.

In theory, this book has everything that you could want, but it just didn’t seem to come together. The characters seemed flat and one dimensional, the action never really reached the climax that I was hoping it would, and there were places where the plot just became hard to follow. One of the things that stood out (both positively and negatively) were the humorous ways that Schow mixed modern pop culture references with classic fairy tale references and incorporated them into Oz. Because she is a princess--and princesses always need to be up to date on the latest fashions--Dot is often found commenting on the newest Hans Christian Louboutins or the latest Glenda Original gowns. I appreciated some of the clever references that Schow slipped into the narrative, but I felt that she became too liberal with them and what worked best as a sprinkling often became over-saturated.

For someone who is a fan of fairy tales, or someone who enjoys the wit that comes with retelling a classic tale, then this book is for you, but be advised that there are places where you can get bogged down or indifferent as a reader.

2.5 out of 5 stars.