Book Reviews by Ehlen Administration

Fairy Godmothers of The Four Directions by Jennifer Morse My rating: 4 of 5 stars Have you ever wondered what happened to Cinderella after happily ever after? Surely she had some serious PTSD after the trauma of her past, right? Well, yeah. So how do you heal from a history of child abuse so that you can be an effective Queen? You ask the Fairy Godmothers of the Four Directions to help you heal. As a social worker I loved the use of the Cinderella story to illustrate healing from trauma as serious as death and child abuse. The writing was filled with healing imagery and illustrated the journey to wholeness that Cinderella had to take in order to step into her role as princess. I think that everyone can take pieces of this story and apply it to your own journey - we all have parts of our past that we have to work through, even if they aren’t as serious as those Cinderella had to overcome. I found myself contemplating different aspects of my personality and how I related to those ...

Taming Tigers by Daisy White My rating: 4 of 5 stars Not all fairy tales are about finding the handsome prince. Sometimes he’s the ancillary character, and the real challenge is killing the evil king. But how is a poor seamstress to take on one of the most evil warlords in the region? Once again, Daisy White offers a strong female character rising above her circumstances to save the day. This one involves an actual physical journey in addition to a metaphoric one, and it is a harrowing journey full of ghosts, tigers and discoveries. I really enjoyed the love story being simultaneously central and peripheral, and the solution complicated. I’ve only just discovered Daisy White’s fiction but am thoroughly enjoying her grasp of complex situations and characters spun into a relatively short story. If you like engaging quick reads that leave far more to ponder than your typical YA fiction, I highly recommend anything by Daisy White. View all my reviews Please note, while there m...