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Cloaked

by Alex Flinn (Goodreads Author)

3.62 of 5 stars 3.62 · rating details · 6,976 ratings · 1,004 reviews

I’m not your average hero. I actually wasn’t your average anything. Just a poor guy working an after-school job at a South Beach shoe repair shop to help his mom make ends meet. But a little magic changed it all.

It all started with the curse. And the frognapping. And one hot-looking princess, who asked me to lead a rescue mission.

There wasn’t a fairy godmother or any of th...more

Paperback, 337 pages

Published February 14th 2012 by HarperTeen (first published February 1st 2011)

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May 04, 2011 Cara rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, fairy-tales, male-protagonist, fantasy

Before anything I have to mention that for some reason I assumed that this was a re-telling of Red Riding Hood , and for those of you (probably not too many because I'm exceptionally dim sometimes) who thought it was as well I'm here to tell you it isn't. There is a cloak in the story, but no oblivious girls or furry looking grandmothers in sight.

This story follows the life of Johnny, a seventeen-year-old who aspires to be a shoe designer, but what he does is help out with his family's business...more Before anything I have to mention that for some reason I assumed that this was a re-telling of Red Riding Hood , and for those of you (probably not too many because I'm exceptionally dim sometimes) who thought it was as well I'm here to tell you it isn't. There is a cloak in the story, but no oblivious girls or furry looking grandmothers in sight.

This story follows the life of Johnny, a seventeen-year-old who aspires to be a shoe designer, but what he does is help out with his family's business. They repair shoes in South Beach, Florida. It's just him and his mom, and his dad has been missing for years. Unfortunately they have a hard time making ends meet, but with some luck or fate you could say, a princess comes to town that will seem to have the key (or more like money) to make all those problems go away. The princess claims that her brother has been turned into a frog and she thinks Johnny is the right person to find him and bring him back. What ensues is a whirlwind adventure, and Johnny gets a lot more out of it than he had anticipated.

I'm a huge fan of fairy tale re-tellings and though I did enjoy this I gotta say it was a bit of an overload. The fairy tales used here aren't that commonly known by people (myself included), and it felt too stuffed. Too many events happening and too many storylines for one story. I felt like we were jumping from crisis to crisis ALL the time. But then again that was probably what the author was trying to achieve; the feeling that our character was almost literally flying by the seat of his pants. All that aside I did appreciate the magical elements, and how they were interwoven in the storyline. I'm getting too clever for my own good though (probably not true but...) because I could see the "twists" coming most of the time, but fairytales are often that way. Meghan, who is Johnny's best friend, is a great character and I loved the relationship between them.

What made this story good, even though it felt hurried, was Johnny. He tries hard to help his mom, and he has a vision of how things should be. But at the same time he has his faults. He's convinced the money will fix everything and he'll do almost anything so he and his mom can have a better life. How can you not like a character like that?

Now for what has been irking me since I read this book: Does anyone know why there is a red flower on the cover? I do not remember a red flower being mentioned, or somebody saying something about a red flower. I'm baffled, stumped, and it's really nagging at me. I feel like I missed something, so if anyone can inform me I would greatly appreciate it.
(less)

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Apr 01, 2011 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: hilarious, suprisingly-good

OHMYGOD! Alex Flinn is a girl, I mean a woman! All this time, I thought she was a guy. Like a man-man. Like Rick Riordan who retells(is this even a verb?) Greek, Roman and Egyptian mythology. This would totally change my perspective in reading his---I mean her books.

I am so regretting that OHMYGOD. Oh here I go again, using the Lord's name in vain. I swore not to but it's hard when you're so surprised. Honestly, I am.

Anyway, I read the premise and I do not know what retelling would this be. It...more

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Mar 08, 2011 Isamlq rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I vowed not to take the book too seriously and just to go with where it would take me given the constant reference to its nature.. It is a FAIRY TALE RETELLING. So just take it at face value and don’t expect any mind-blowing revelations (Although any such revelations would not be unwelcome.)

Am I glad I attacked it with this light perspective. I most definitely enjoyed CLOAKED. Once I had shucked off my expectations, Johnny’s story became entertaining though of course, most definitely unbelievab...more

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Jan 04, 2013 Lectus rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: abandoned

Via http://onlectus.blogspot.com/2013/01/...

This book would make a wonder animated movie for children. Yes, for CHILDREN!

Johnny is poor, and he works in the family's shoe repair business in South Beach and secretly wishes to be a famous shoe designer. Her mom has just taken a second job because they don't even make enough in the business to pay the bills.

One day, a princess (real princess from another country) comes to South Beach and, what are the odds? - meets Johnny! Even more, she asks for...more

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Mar 31, 2013 Andrea at Reading Lark rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 3-stars, fairy-tale-inspired, fantasy, read-in-2011, young-adult

Review Posted on Reading Lark on 3/26/11: http://readinglark.blogspot.com/2011/...

Cloaked is another modern retelling of classic fairy tales. However, this one doesn't just focus on one tale in particular like the other retellings Alex Flinn has done. Cloaked has several fairy tale allusions - some of them coming from tales that are quite obscure. Some of the references were totally lost on me. This is one time where I was super grateful for the Author's Note at the end of the book. Flinn explai...more Review Posted on Reading Lark on 3/26/11: http://readinglark.blogspot.com/2011/...

Cloaked is another modern retelling of classic fairy tales. However, this one doesn't just focus on one tale in particular like the other retellings Alex Flinn has done. Cloaked has several fairy tale allusions - some of them coming from tales that are quite obscure. Some of the references were totally lost on me. This is one time where I was super grateful for the Author's Note at the end of the book. Flinn explains all of her source material in this section.

This installment from Alex Flinn focuses on young Johnny, a teen who is struggling to help his mother make ends meet in the family shoe repair business. His father disappeared when he was a toddler and since then his mother has had to shoulder the financial burdens all on her own. Johnny hates seeing his mother so worried and overworked. Everything changes for him the day Princess Victoriana shows up in the hotel where the shoe repair shop is located. She offers him a way to end his family's financial struggles if he will help her track down her brother - who has been turned into a frog by an evil witch. Johnny's adventures traveling throughout the Florida Keys, Europe, and New York City help him see that magic truly does exist and often the things we love most are right in front of our face.

I found this to be a cute and interesting read, but it wasn't anything special. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed. I didn't take to this book as I did to Beastly and A Kiss in Time. Perhaps it was because I had always loved Beauty and the Beast and Sleeping Beauty. Reading Alex Flinn's previous retellings was like playing a game to see where I could find the familiar moments from some of my old favorites. In this book I was unable to do that.

I also just felt the writing wasn't as good in this one as it was in the two previous books. I can't place my finger on exactly what it was about the writing in this one that didn't speak to me, but I did find times where I just couldn't bring myself to keep reading. Overall, this is a cute, clean book and I would recommend it to people who enjoy retellings. However, if you are expecting the romance and strong characters that we have seen from Alex Flinn in the past, you may be disappointed with the read.

One Last Gripe: I felt like all the fairy tales were being thrown at me in rapid succession. I would have preferred the story to focus on one or two tales in detail instead of so many at once.

My Favorite Thing About This Book: The Elves and the Shoemakers references

First Sentence: I've never seen a princess before.

Favorite Character: Meg

Least Favorite Character: Philippe(less)

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Apr 25, 2011 Misty rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: cover-appeal, folklore-myth-fable-fairy-tall-tale, read-in-2011, retelling, contemporary

Being the fan of fairy tales that I am, I had heard of Alex Flinn, of course. But for whatever reason, I had never read anything by her, so Cloaked is my first. And I have to start by saying: SHE USED THE ELVES AND THE SHOEMAKER!!!

Let me set the scene for you:
Misty, as a small child, had 3 books she was obsessed with. One was The Velveteen Rabbit, which we don't need to discuss here, other than to say she still has it, of course. The other 2 were fairy tales: somebody's (?) beautiful version of

...more Being the fan of fairy tales that I am, I had heard of Alex Flinn, of course. But for whatever reason, I had never read anything by her, so Cloaked is my first. And I have to start by saying: SHE USED THE ELVES AND THE SHOEMAKER!!!

Let me set the scene for you:
Misty, as a small child, had 3 books she was obsessed with. One was The Velveteen Rabbit, which we don't need to discuss here, other than to say she still has it, of course. The other 2 were fairy tales: somebody's (?) beautiful version of The Twelve Dancing Princesses, and 2 copies of The Elves and the Shoemaker (one was a Little Golden Book, the other was part of a fairy tale series).
Misty read The Elves and the Shoemaker constantly, and always hoped to catch little cobbler elves doing something -- anything -- to her shoes.
Misty dreamed about the day she'd see them, and even though it would make her sad to see them go, she wanted to make tiny clothes for them. (If you don't know what Misty is talking about, go read the story)

[I'm now done speaking in creepy 3rd person; you can relax.]
So, years later, I've often said "I wish someone would do something with The Elves and the Shoemaker. But I'm afraid they'd make it creepy, and I liked my Elves."
Well, among other tales (this is a mash-up), Flinn uses The Elves and the Shoemaker, and she didn't make them creepy! It's incorporated in such a sweet, cute way. I just had to start with that, because it made me endlessly happy to see the tale even included. And I think it was a good indicator of the story over all. It makes use of some lesser known tales right alongside the more obvious ones, and it uses them all in a way that I can't help but describe as cute.

It's sweet, it's wholesome, it's completely kid-friendly -- but this isn't to say that it's saccharine or boring. One of the things I discovered reading my first Flinn is that she is genuinely funny. Like really lol funny. Her writing has an air of playfulness and silliness that's enjoyable to read, and makes for a nice balance to the darker, more depressing tones many fairy tale retellings take. It's fun and refreshing and thoroughly modern, and I think will appeal to a variety of readers because of that. In a strange way, it reminds me of The Sea of Monsters, the 2nd book in the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan. That's partly due to the location and the quest aspect of it, and some of the character interactions. But it's also got the same silly/funny style that works for lots of age groups and style preferences.

There are a few things I want to point out quickly: Alex Flinn writes in accents. If you watch my video, you'll see what I mean -- I'm reading it as written (albeit a little over the top and ridiculously...) There are characters with French and German (?) accents in the book, and things are spelled/pronounced accordingly. I found it amusing, and think it adds to the charm and silliness, but it bears keeping in mind because I know things like this can irritate or frustrate some readers. I would suggest popping online somewhere, like Amazon, where you can look inside, and see if this bothers you before you decide to buy it.

Also, I think some people may find Johnny irritating. I liked him, but he can be completely bumbling and clueless. I found this to be in keeping with fairy tales in general, actually (men in fairy tales seem to be either riding up on white horses to save the day, or doing incredibly stupid things), but some readers may wish for him to wake up a bit and use the brain we know he has. But the great thing about him being kind of clueless is Meg -- Meg is a great foil for Johnny, and she's intriguing and strong and really interesting. It's fun to watch them work through things together, and to know what's really going on when Johnny is completely lost.

You can see me reading an excerpt of this with a ridiculous French accent here...
(Oh, we also interviewed Flinn. :D )(less)

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Feb 20, 2013 Anne rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fairytale, read-in-2011

3.5 stars
If you go into this with the expectation that this is a light fairytale retelling, you'll probably like this one.

I was expecting it to be a modern version of The Frog Prince, and even though that is one of the main fairytales in this book, it's not the only one. At the end of the Book, Flinn lists all of the stories that she drew from, and there were waaay more than I was expecting. One of the stories I wasn't even familiar with (The Salad?). There are (I felt) three main retellings goi...more

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Nov 29, 2011 Michelle rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, teen

I really enjoyed Alex Flinn’s modernized fairy tales, Beastly and a Kiss in Time, so I was really looking forward to this newest book. I felt it didn’t really deliver. There were so many pieces of different fairy tales involved that it got to be a little much. [return][return]Johnny works in his mother’s shoe repair shop in a pricey hotel. In his spare time he designs shoes. Then the princess Victoriana checks into the hotel. She asks for his help in rescuing her brother who has been turned into...more

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May 11, 2013 Yavee Samson rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

So, I was excited to read this book because the author was Alex Flinn. But, can i just say that Johnny is the most stupid and dumbest male leading character I have ever encountered in my whole life. Still, I gave it 5 stars because when I am reading it I don't know why I can't put it down. It's like magic itself; enchanting the reader not to put the book down. Anyways, my favorite part is when Johnny realizes his own stupidity and didn't make any second choices to make a move. Also, I am very ha...more

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Mar 29, 2013 Deborah Takahashi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: teen-fantasy

Seventeen-year-old Johnny literally lives for shoes. He spends a majority of his time in the shoe repair store his mother owns waiting for a something exciting. Unfortunately, Johnny and his mom are flat broke and can barely get by until Princess Victoriana visits Miami. Known as the stereotypical party girl/rich girl, she is not what she seems. In fact, she is actually searching for her brother who has been missing for quite some time. In order to find him, she asks Johnny to be her "knight in...more

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Mar 05, 2013 Samantha rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really enjoyed this book. When I first read the description I honestly thought that it would be really stupid. But it wasn't. It was actually really fun. I didn't like the occasional OMG...or the lies that Johnny sometimes told and justified them by saying it was the only right thing to do. Other than that though, it was really enjoyable.
While I was reading this book, I felt like I was among friends. Maybe that's weird, but that's what made me want to keep reading.
When Johnny first meets th...more

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Feb 21, 2013 Kilahht2slim rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book by far TOPS the suspenseful book I read in the past, "The Outsiders". The suspense in this book was like NO OTHER. "Cloaked" had me on the edge of my seat at ALL TIMES. I could never put this book down. I would end up skipping dinner, going to bed late, and not paying my cellphone any attention while reading this book. Its like I was wrapped around-attached to "Cloaked". I felt as if I was right there in the story, watching as all the events happened. This book is VERY detailed and des...more This book by far TOPS the suspenseful book I read in the past, "The Outsiders". The suspense in this book was like NO OTHER. "Cloaked" had me on the edge of my seat at ALL TIMES. I could never put this book down. I would end up skipping dinner, going to bed late, and not paying my cellphone any attention while reading this book. Its like I was wrapped around-attached to "Cloaked". I felt as if I was right there in the story, watching as all the events happened. This book is VERY detailed and descriptive. Every time I would go to put my book down, I wouldn't. You wanted to know what was happening next. I couldn't sleep without knowing what would happen next. I kept reading "Cloaked" soo much that i finished it in 4 days. The main character Johnny was poor and he had a best friend named Meg who was secretly in love with him but, he didnt know and Meg wasn't likely to tell him either. One day, When Johnny's day seemed like an ordinary day...He was brought into something he didnt believe in. MAGIC ! He got to experience first hand what magic was like thanks to the beautiful princess Victoriana. See, Victoriana's brother Philipe was turned into a frog by a witch who was disguised as the most beautiful girl you could dream of. She got Philipe to fall in love with her and she led him in her house where she turned him into a frog. Ever since then no one has seen him in his human form. Victoriana picked Johnny for the quest to find her brother after watching how dedicated Johnny was working at his shoe repair shop just to make ends meet. Before, Setting off to his quest Meg who was also a secret witch(A good witch, Of Couse :P)gave him a ring. She told him,"If your ever in trouble, put the ring on". Johnny went through soo much adversities to find the prince. It surprised me when Johnny stopped at a hotel and met a pretty lady who turned out to be a witch in disguise (The one who turned the prince into a frog) and she came to kill Johnny so he wont find the prince. It also surprised me when the fox ,Todd , who helped Johnny along the way was really Johnny's father who hasn't been seen for years. And when Johnny was in trouble, He did what he was told-put on the ring. That's when he found out everything about Meg and how she was a witch. Johnny got a lot of help along the way and he had to return the favors to humans who were turned into swans. They asked him to find the sister who could turn them back into humans. Johhny- tall, skinny, trustworthy, and true went through a lot of things during his quest just to find the prince, Philipe-tall,handsome,stuck-up,rude,and annoying while accompanied by Meg-Short, red hair, nice, heart felt, and true. This book was an ultimate success. I love the hell out of this book and will read any other book by this author. You should try it. :D (less)

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Dec 31, 2012 Annabel ♥ rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Not really anyone.

Shelves: cover-love, why-did-i-read-this-book, in-my-shelf-completed, one-star, review, sooo-cliche, what-the-heck-did-i-just-read, whhhaaat

I wasn't really expecting much from this book (don't really know why), so at least it wasn't a complete disappointment. No doubt I was still unimpressed. I haven't read Beastly , which is also by Alex Flinn, but I don't think I'll be reading it since this one was just plain annoying.

This book started out ok. About halfway through I was thinking it would be a 3-star rating. But 60% of the way through, this book fell apart. I ended up skimming through the second half and wishing that it would be...more

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Dec 26, 2012 Becky rated it 5 of 5 stars

When Beastly got made into a film last year I read the book and really enjoyed it (much better as a book anyway) and I really liked Flinn's writing style. I intended to read all her other books but just never got round to it, then I heard this one was coming out and i requested it at the library. It took absolutely ages to come in.
My friend and I tried to guess which fairytale this would be based on and of course we both guessed Little Red Riding Hood. We were both wrong, this is actually inspir...more

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Dec 12, 2012 Svenja rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 3-sterne

Alex Flinn hat in "Kissed" viele verschiedene traditionelle, teils auch etwas unbekannte, Märchen untergebracht. Besonders schön fand ich die einzelnen Zitate aus den Märchen am Anfang eines neuen Kapitels. Der Aufbau der Geschichte ähnelt zudem auch sehr dem Aufbau des üblichen Märchens.

Johnny ist ein netter Junge, der immer das richtige tun will. Als die Geschichte sich eine Zeit lang nur um ihn gedreht hat, fand ich es etwas langweilig, aber zum Glück ist da ja noch seine beste Freundin Meg....more

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Aug 25, 2012 Aaron rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Alex Flinn returns once again to her more recent focus on modernizing fairy tales. This time, she pulls in pieces from a number of more obscures stories from "The Frog Prince" and the "The Elves and the Shoemaker" to "The Six Swans" and "The Valiant Tailor."

Poor Johnny is continuing tradition by working in his family's shoe repair business, which is housed in one of the finest hotels in South Beach. You would figure that having such a swanky location would mean that there would be no problems in...more Alex Flinn returns once again to her more recent focus on modernizing fairy tales. This time, she pulls in pieces from a number of more obscures stories from "The Frog Prince" and the "The Elves and the Shoemaker" to "The Six Swans" and "The Valiant Tailor."

Poor Johnny is continuing tradition by working in his family's shoe repair business, which is housed in one of the finest hotels in South Beach. You would figure that having such a swanky location would mean that there would be no problems in the area of income, but Johnny and his mom or skirting homelessness. In fact, the electricity at their home is often being turned off because they just don't have enough money to pay the bills.

Johnny's father disappeared years before after an argument with his mother. While enough time has passed that they could have him declared legally dead, which would allow them to get some public support. His mom refuses to believe that her beloved is dead. He just can't back to them.

An opportunity arrives when the hotel where their shop is located becomes the temporary home of Princess Victoriana of small European country. She is a bit of a party girl, who is constantly followed by the paparazzi because of all the trouble she gets her self into.

Johnny catches the eye the princess, which makes his best friend Meg less than happy. Meg, whose family runs the neighboring coffee shop, has been his friend for ages ... and she has a crush on him. As a result, she is less than thrilled at the princess' interest in Johnny, whom Victoriana considers a "good boy." To his disappointment, she is not interested in him romantically, though. She needs his help.

Victoriana's brother Philippe has been turned into a frog , and she believes that Johnny has just what it takes to rescue him. The alternative is that she will have to marry a young (and dunce-like) princess from a neighboring country that is run by a witch ... the same witch who arranged for Philippe's change. If Johnny is successful, Victorianna has promised to marry him, which would help him not only get his family out of poverty, but help him achieve his dream of being a famous shoe designer.

And thus, the adventure begins. As you can imagine, Johnny ends up getting help from Meg along with a magical transportation cloak given to him by the princess as he finds himself completing a series of tasks involving various humans-turned-animals. There is a nice mixture of humor and adventure throughout this magical tales. While the reader has to dispense belief, that is to be expected since we have enterred the realm of fairy tales ... even if it is set in Florida rather than in some far of medieval-like realm. The humor reminded me of a blend of The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot and Heir Apparent by Vivian Vande Velde with a little bit of Once Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris.

This one is definitely worth a try if you are looking for a fun and light read with a guaranteed happy ending ... like all fairy tales.(less)

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Jul 08, 2012 Meg rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the worst Alex Flinn books I've ever read. Hell, this could quite possibly be one of my least favorite books I've ever read.

I LOVE Alex Flinn's books. I love her characters, the plots, her writing style, everything! I could read both Beastly, Breathing Underwater, and Breaking Point over and over and OVER AND OVER.

So when I saw this book at my school's library..I was pretty dang excited. Beastly is my favorite Flinn, so I was like...FAIRY RETELLING LETS GO.

Let me tell you, I've never be...more

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Jul 02, 2012 Barbara rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I met Alex Flynn at a conference last year and read one of her books (I won't say which one because I was seriously unimpressed by it) I just finished Cloaked. This one was an awesome page turner, I was immediately sucked into John the shoe repair guy's world. The mising father, the magic, the real life media-frenzy princess and the girl next door (okay the girl working in the coffee shop across the corridor from the shoe shop), it all flowed together into a really great story. Once I actually b...more

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Mar 16, 2012 Rachel rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Johnny is a seventeen-year-old boy who helps support his family by working in the family shoe store—as a cobbler. He has dreams of being a famous shoe designer some day, but for the time being, he must work long hours to help keep the lights on at home.

One day a princess arrives on the scene and asks for Johnny’s help in finding her brother, who has been turned into a frog by an evil witch. Johnny has trouble believing in magic, but he soon learns his doubt is misplaced when a magic object trans...more

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Mar 14, 2012 Karen Yingling rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Okay, definitely not my night for following plots, although this certainly had a lot of twists to follow. From the publisher: "Seventeen-year-old Johnny is approached at his family's struggling shoe repair shop in a Miami, Florida, hotel by Alorian Princess Victoriana, who asks him to find her brother who was turned into a frog. " Johnny's father abandoned his family, which is why he must work such long hours, but he loves designing shoes, which he hopes that Victoriana might wear to get him som...more

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Mar 09, 2012 Keri Payton added it · review of another edition

Shelves: fairy-tale, fantasy, young-adult, witches

Johnny repairs shoes all day in a fancy hotel in Florida. His dream to be a shoe designer flourishes when Princess Victoriana checks in. Johnny's best friend, Meg, convinces him to try and get the Princess to wear one of his shoe designs...but Princess Victoriana has her own proposition for Johnny. A quest.

Victoriana's older brother has was turned into a frog by a witch and has gone AWOL in Florida. In exchange for finding her brother, Victoriana offers Johnny something he never expected - her h...more

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Feb 25, 2012 Leigh Herondale rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own

Check out: http://hypnosomnus-leighmarbella.blog... and http://sybillinebooks.tumblr.com

Cloaked by Alex Flinn is a mash up of different fairy tales. And I was finally able to get a paperback copy of the book while looking for Bewitching by the same author a few days ago. The story’s hero is called Johnny who owns a shoe repair shop and his best friend Meg. Yes, there was a prince and princess involved as well.

I was actually very excited to read this novel since I enjoyed reading Ms. Flinn’s Beas...more

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Dec 10, 2011 Chrystal rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 50-book-challenge-2011, audio-book, library-book, young-adult

This was an amazing mash-up of a multitude of fairy tales. Throughout the book we stumble upon retellings of many classic and lesser known tales - "The Elves and the Shoemaker," "The Frog Prince," "The Six Swans," "The Golden Bird," and "The Brave Little Tailor." I love how Ms. Flinn updates and changes the tales to blend together into one amazing journey.

The hero, Johnny, is teenage a shoemaker, working in his family's shop and trying to help his mother make ends meet. He is the epitome of a r...more This was an amazing mash-up of a multitude of fairy tales. Throughout the book we stumble upon retellings of many classic and lesser known tales - "The Elves and the Shoemaker," "The Frog Prince," "The Six Swans," "The Golden Bird," and "The Brave Little Tailor." I love how Ms. Flinn updates and changes the tales to blend together into one amazing journey.

The hero, Johnny, is teenage a shoemaker, working in his family's shop and trying to help his mother make ends meet. He is the epitome of a responsible and reliable teenager, until he meets Princess Victoriana. Johnny suddenly goes from living a boring life to a full on adventure of a lifetime, all to help a princess in distress. Johnny takes chances that he would never have imagined before, he learns more about who he really is and figures out that nothing is ever as it seems. Johnny sure gets the experience of a lifetime - talking animals, finding out that magic exists, and traveling in unconventional ways.

I think my favourite character in the book has to be Meg, Johnny's best friend. She is smart, sassy and practical. Meg has been secretly in love with him forever and has been waiting for him to realize she is right here in front of him. Will Johnny end up with the European princess or magically fall in love with Meg?

The entire story is very lighthearted and very comedic in tone. It contains nothing that would make me consider this for older audiences and I think it could actually be read to people of all ages. It was such an enjoyable read and I don't think it should be taken as seriously as I've seen others mentioning. I also think it was enjoyable to me as I listened to the audio book version while driving a long distance, something nice and easy for the drive.

Oh and did I mention the shoes? The princess is a fashionista, Johnny is an aspiring shoe designer, and there are many quotes about shoes popping up all over the place throughout this book. This was a really fun aspect incorporated into the story.

I really like that the author added notes at the end to reference the different fairy tales that the story was based upon as I recognized a few and others I had no idea about. It's a great reference and I plan to look up quite a few to read for myself.(less)

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Nov 29, 2011 Sabrina rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Cloaked by Alex Flinn is a modern day fantasy with a number of fairytales from the Grimm mashed together. She neatly put the tales to make it flow and make it into one huge story, no interruptions in the transitions at all. Yes, I did have a some high expectations, because first of all, the previous book, Beastly was made into a movie and secondly I used to be obsessed with Grimm fairytales, I wanted to see how she would weave the stories together. The fairytales in this book were: The Elves and...more Cloaked by Alex Flinn is a modern day fantasy with a number of fairytales from the Grimm mashed together. She neatly put the tales to make it flow and make it into one huge story, no interruptions in the transitions at all. Yes, I did have a some high expectations, because first of all, the previous book, Beastly was made into a movie and secondly I used to be obsessed with Grimm fairytales, I wanted to see how she would weave the stories together. The fairytales in this book were: The Elves and the Shoemaker, The Frog Prince (one of the main stories), This Six Swans, The Golden Bird, The Valiant Tailor, The Salad and The Fisherman and His Wife. The book fell into a young adults comedy genre, which surprised me because I didn’t find the book the least bit funny. I always thought books that fell into that genre would be boring and just out of my league because I would never get the humour the author has put into the book. This was a very interesting book and entertaining to read.
Usually if a book was good, I’d finish it in a day or so, that’s what happened with this book. The thing that kept me reading was how Johnny, the main character of the story would play this quest out, his love life and his final decision at the end that would basically turn his whole pitiful life around. Johnny explains his own hardships at the beginning which made me sympathize and pity him. He didn’t have much trust in his own friend, which I kind of understand because of his situation with the Princess in all but he could’ve given a little more consideration for Meg. I thought Johnny was toying with her feelings till the Prince comes popping back into his human self and he finally notices Meg is the love his life, not Princess Victoriana. Before Johnny notices, the readers like myself would’ve been able to see that. The books events were REALLY predictable. I could predict one thing and what do you know, the prediction was true.
The only thing that bothered me was Johnny’s awareness, he was so oblivious with his surroundings, it’s not even laughable. Especially with Meg’s love for him, he just doesn’t get that Meg loves him, but he blocks her out, even when she was the one who he could depend on the most, rely on the most. “Yes. Yes, it is awful. But I say, “No, It’s just, she’s so beautiful. Meg stops rubbing my shoulders. “Hey, why’d you stop?” She walks away, not looking at me. “I have work to do, so do you”” (59). He used her, like a tissue, first using her, then staining her and then throwing her away once he was done with her.
Overall, I’d say this book was not the best of what I read but good enough to pass as ‘good read’. This book does fall into the young adults genre and like other reviewers said, this would be a good book for all ages to read. Even now, my sister is reading and she’s in grade 6. There are nothing bad that’ll defile children’s’ brains in this book.
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Nov 06, 2011 Kim rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks-read, young-adult, fairy-tale-ish, fantasy

I was so impressed with Beastly that I had to find another of Alex Flinn's titles! I was so excited to emerge myself into another one of her tales! However, it didn't take long to learn that this book, Cloaked, wasn't going to provide me with the magical tale that I found in the pages of Beastly.
I am a middle aged mother and grandmother finding true gems in the young adult section of late! Thus, I suppose that I should take into account that the writing and/or subject matter may tend to lean to...more

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Oct 20, 2011 Christine rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Here is the truth: I am a sucker for things that remind me of my childhood. This is probably why I am still so enthralled with Madeline, Babar, the Aristocats, and Harry Potter.
This book was totally a throwback.
The obvious first reminder: The Frog Prince. When I was young, and we were traveling back from my grandparents' house, mom always told me the story of The Frog Prince. Dad told Rumplestiltskin, but that's not relevant. Anyway, I loved that story. It's my favorite Disney movie, as a side...more Here is the truth: I am a sucker for things that remind me of my childhood. This is probably why I am still so enthralled with Madeline, Babar, the Aristocats, and Harry Potter.
This book was totally a throwback.
The obvious first reminder: The Frog Prince. When I was young, and we were traveling back from my grandparents' house, mom always told me the story of The Frog Prince. Dad told Rumplestiltskin, but that's not relevant. Anyway, I loved that story. It's my favorite Disney movie, as a side note.
The next story that I remember is the shoe maker. My grandparents are British, and I just remember my grandmother telling me this story and the story of the Fisherman and the Magic Carp. I don't know if her being British is relevant, but I associate these stories with Britain now, which is completely illogical, but hey! That's what happens.
Anyway, as you might have guessed, I loved this book. Alex Flinn is one of the writers I like best. I've read women authors who write from a male's point of view, and usually they fall into two categories: You have Stephenie Meyer writing Edward (highly unlikely how chivalrous he is) and then the type that writes the overly horny guy who constantly gets turned on. I don't know; maybe boys really are like the latter, but that's not what I particularly want to read. However, Alex Finn somehow manages to write male characters who seem real. There's the jerk in Beastly, the cocky and somewhat childish guy in A Kiss in Time, and then super sweet but awkward Johnny in this novel.
While I'm on the subject of characters, the ones in this book are awesome. Take the Princess, for example (I honestly can't remember her name). She was really cool. She acted so well that her own brother didn't believe Johnny when he told him the truth. That's crazy.
(view spoiler)
But seriously. Loved this book. I loved the characters and the pacing, and...yeah. All of it.
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Oct 04, 2011 Kim rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I like Alex Flinn's books. I can't wait to read what else she has to give us. Granted, I've only read a few of her books. Cloaked was really good. Not my favorite. I think Beastly is still my favorite for now, but Cloaked was really good. I kind of liked Johnny as a character, but Meg was more likable in my opinion. I don't know how I feel about everyone accepting magic as easily in this book. In Beastly and A Kiss in Time, the characters still hid what they did and how they did it because they...more

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Aug 27, 2011 Gemma rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I feel like the best word to describe Cloaked would be ‘cute’.

Cute can mean any number of things, with both negative and positive connotations depending on the context. There’s ‘little baby with chubby cheeks’ cute. There’s ‘guy with nice eyes and a pleasant smile’ cute. There’s ‘seven year old girl who purposely talks in a high pitched baby voices’ cute, which is annoying. There’s ‘don’t be cute with me’ cute, when you try to be witty and your parents get all offended and irritated.

Really, cute...more I feel like the best word to describe Cloaked would be ‘cute’.

Cute can mean any number of things, with both negative and positive connotations depending on the context. There’s ‘little baby with chubby cheeks’ cute. There’s ‘guy with nice eyes and a pleasant smile’ cute. There’s ‘seven year old girl who purposely talks in a high pitched baby voices’ cute, which is annoying. There’s ‘don’t be cute with me’ cute, when you try to be witty and your parents get all offended and irritated.

Really, cute is a terribly vague word. It’s like nice. Or good. Or interesting. It implies something decent, most of the time, but really doesn’t tell you anything about the subject you’re describing. And after you write it or say it or think it enough, it starts to sound funny. Cute.

So, I’ll elaborate. Cloaked is chick-flick cute. Kind of eye-roll inducing and sometimes the teensiest bit nauseating, but overall not that bad. My feeling on it can basically be summed up to a shrug and an “It was okay.”

I was fooled by the title and the red flower on the cover into thinking that this was based off of Little Red Riding Hood. It… wasn’t, at all. It was sort of a fairy tale combo, with elements of the Frog Prince, the one about the shoemaker and just… princesses. Like, the number one element of fairy tales: princesses. You can’t have a fairy tale without a princess.

Cloaked had its princess. She was sounded French, and reminded me of Harry Potter’s Fleur Delacoure, except not as fun or as colorful. Her name was Victoriana, which seemed to be trying a bit too hard to sound frilly. Cloaked also had its knight in shining armor, Johnny, who happens to be our narrator.

I think Johnny was my biggest problem with this book. To me, he sounded like a girl. Maybe it was the constant shoe talk, or the random quotes about shoes from things that seemed geared more towards females, like Roxanne or Into the Woods… Or maybe it was just the way he sounded, just… like a girl, not a guy. I don’t know. Something about it just seemed like it was written by a girl, which it was. Alex Flinn is a girl. And a lot of times (see Maximum Ride), when authors try to write from the perspective of someone of the opposite gender, they just… fail. Doesn’t matter what they say or what they talk about, readers just know it’s not quite right. It adds to the level of falseness.

Yes, there was definitely some falseness about Cloaked, or at least, some contrived-ness. It didn’t feel really there, not the way the other ones were. It felt fluffier, less set-up, easier to solve. Like the author just wanted to crank out another fairy tale retelling, but didn’t put the same amount of effort she put into her previous novels. The story was kind of flat, not as intriguing as Beastly or as fun as a Kiss in Time. It was kind of a quest story, where they’re trying to get the frog brother back, but there was never a sense of urgency. It’s like Dora the Explorer: we’re trying to get here, but first we have to go here, here and here. But we’ll make it to our destination, we know, so don’t get worried or scared. It was that same level of blasé-ness, which kept the story from being riveting or captivating.

Also, as with most chick flicks, it’s painfully predictable. I knew the ‘twists’ about who would end up with who and who’s actually whose dad from the moment the characters were introduced.

After thinking it through, I'm going to lower my rating from 3 to 2. Sorry, Alex. I just think you could have done a lot better here. (less)

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Aug 13, 2011 Ariana rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If you read Beastly by Alex Flinn then you should read Cloaked. I couldn't stop reading it. It's a play off of more than just one fairy tale. Beastly is a modern day version of Beauty and the Beast, but Cloaked is a modern day version mainly of the Elves and the Shoemaker, Princess and the Frog, and the Six Swans. It's about a boy who works at his family's shoe repair in South Beach Florida. One day a princess from Aloria comes and stays at the hotel he works at and asks him to go on what Johnny...more

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Jul 19, 2011 Mikela rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Wow, I loved this book. I loved how I never knew who Johnny was going to fall in love with. That got me upset at times, though, because I was also trying really hard to locate the direction in which Alex Flinn was going with Johnny's romance. In the end, she made the perfect match for Johnny, Meg. I'm glad they ended up together.
I also loved that Johnny is into shoe designing. I've never heard of a teenage boy who wants to design shoes, but I guess the male shoe designers today had to have star...more

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About Alex Flinn

I was born in a log cabin in the Big Woods of . . . okay, maybe not. I was born on Long Island, New York. When I was five years old, my mom said that I should be an author. I guess I must have nodded or something because, from that point on, every poem I ever wrote in school was submitted to Highlights or Cricket magazine. I was collecting rejection slips at age seven!

I learned to read early. But...more I was born in a log cabin in the Big Woods of . . . okay, maybe not. I was born on Long Island, New York. When I was five years old, my mom said that I should be an author. I guess I must have nodded or something because, from that point on, every poem I ever wrote in school was submitted to Highlights or Cricket magazine. I was collecting rejection slips at age seven!

I learned to read early. But I compensated for this early proficiency by absolutely refusing to read the programmed readers required by the school system -- workbooks where you read the story, then answered the questions. When the other kids were on Book 20, I was on Book 1! My teacher, Mrs. Zeiser, told my mother, "Alexandra marches to her own drummer." I don't think that was supposed to be a good thing. Now, when my daughter, Katie, brings home FCAT prep materials where you are supposed to read a passage and answer questions, I want to ask the teacher, "Does she really need to do this? She can read!!!"

My family moved to Miami when I was in middle school. I had a really hard time making friends, so I spent a lot of time reading and writing then. But unlike Christopher Paolini or Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, I never finished writing a novel. That was also when I learned to be a keen observer. By high school, I'd made some friends and gotten involved in various "gifted and talented" performing arts programs. I studied opera in college (I'm a coloratura -- the really loud, high-pitched sopranos.) and then went to law school.

It was law school that probably helped with my first novel. Breathing Underwater deals with the serious and all-too-common problem of dating violence. I based the book on my experiences interning with the State Attorney's Office and volunteering with battered women. I thought this was a really important topic, as 27 percent of teenage girls surveyed have been hit by a boyfriend. I'm happy that the book is so popular, and if you are reading this bio because the book was assigned for school, I'm happy about that too.

I started writing an early (and laughable) version of Breathing Underwater in college (I was really bored on a car trip with my parents). I didn't get back to it until I had my first daughter, Katie. I'm self-taught. I went to the library and took out books on writing. Then, I read a lot of young-adult novels by writers I admired, particularly Richard Peck. Reading his books is like listening to Mozart -- you learn the right way to write a novel. Then, you fill in your own style. I actually got to meet Richard Peck in person at a workshop of the Key West Literary Seminar. Lots of writers have been really helpful to me, especially Richard and fellow YA author, Joyce Sweeney.

I think I write for young-adults because I never quite got over being one. In my mind, I am still 13-years-old, running laps on the athletic field, wearing this really baggy white gymsuit. I'm continually amazed at the idea that I have a checking account and a mortgage. So I try to write books that gymsuit girl might enjoy. It's a way of going back to being 13...knowing what I know now.
Right now, I live half a mile away from my old middle school, in Palmetto Bay, a suburb of Miami, with my husband, Gene, and daughters, Katie and Meredith. (less)

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Breathing Underwater (Breathing Underwater #1)

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Quotes from Cloaked

“Seem like a lot of people wear shoes they can't walk in.” — 33 people liked it

“When you’ve found out that the person you love loves you, you can’t
delay. You have to hurry.” — 24 people liked it

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