The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom (The League of Princes, #1) in Into the Forest

Oct 07, 2014 Leah rated it really liked it

The trend in contemporary fairy-tale retellings subverts traditional motifs and plays against majority expectations. Princesses become warriors; villains get backstories. And, in The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom, the princes get the spotlight. Wait, you say, the tales have always given props to the heroes as princes rescuing the damsels in distress. Sure, that's common, but you usually read 90% of a tale from the princess POV or an omniscient POV focused on the princess's story. The princ ...more

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Sep 13, 2012 Samuel Valentino rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fairy-tales

One of the best fairy-tale inspired YA novels I've ever read, mainly because of the characters. Each prince had his own distinct personality, so much so that you'd be able to tell who was talking even if the narrative didn't say so. They were flawed, of course, but also had their good sides as well, which made them not so much the "this is no fairy tale" princes as much as real people. Likeable as well, each one.

One thing I liked in particular were Snow White's dwarfs (or dwarves, depending on h ...more

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Jun 05, 2012 Sam rated it it was amazing

Shelves: children-s-literature, other-adaptations

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Few books make me truly laugh out loud, but The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom did just that. I truly enjoyed the story and writing, and was sad to see the book end. All the attention that Mr. Healy’s book has received may speak for itself, but I felt compelled to share what I thought about the book as well.

I love fairy tales and really love their modern re-tellings. I have read many and enjoy seeing the characters reshape in new ways. The retelling in the form of the princes’ stories was a Few books make me truly laugh out loud, but The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom did just that. I truly enjoyed the story and writing, and was sad to see the book end. All the attention that Mr. Healy’s book has received may speak for itself, but I felt compelled to share what I thought about the book as well.

I love fairy tales and really love their modern re-tellings. I have read many and enjoy seeing the characters reshape in new ways. The retelling in the form of the princes’ stories was an entirely novel story to me. I always wondered about the princes, and it was interesting to finally see them get their own story. The princes’ characters were innovative and enchanting, they had great chemistry together, and the mixture of such different kinds of personalities was a true pleasure to watch unfold. Their interactions brought hilarious calamity and humor that made the book fly by.

Each prince is “charming” in his own way, though somewhat unconventionally. Liam is the heroic prince that one would expect from those tales, but his discovery that his kingdom does not love him for that reason and his subsequent quest to redeem his reputation and help his friends and their loves makes him even more beloved than expected. Frederic’s sheer determination despite his scaredy-cat nature makes him an easily respected and well-loved character. Despite his fear when the dwarves show up and his flight away from perceived danger, he returns to help his friend, because he truly evolves over the course of the story. Duncan’s social skills are dismal, but his blatant honesty makes him engaging and downright hilarious at times. Gustav’s unruly nature is one that causes some deal of frustration, but which one can find appealing to some degree, usually through laughter. They each have their quirks as well, but throughout the story, they learn to make their quirks work in their favor, rather than simply condemning that aspect about themselves.

The other characters are also varying degrees of endearing, funny, loathed, etc. Regardless of what you feel for the characters, it is generally a strong feeling. The dwarves are amusing, as they criticize Duncan and insist that they are “experts” at everything. The kind princesses are easy to love, while the cruel Sleeping Beauty, AKA Briar Rose, is easy to hate. You cannot help but hope for Lila’s success. She is such a fantastic character, one that is a good role model for the younger female readers. Even some of the characters that are theoretically villains are lovable, such as the Giant, Reese, who wants to make his mother proud by being kind and helpful.

The meta-moments of the novel made the story even more enjoyable and humorous. Those moments made the novel seem almost as if it were someone telling you a story. In the prologue, the narrator tells us that in Chapter 20, “our heroes… [are] sitting in just about the worst tavern in all of creation,” which sets us up to expect the heroes to fail. The narrator gives these bits of foreshadowing several times, warning you that something will happen soon, such as in the end of Chapter 12, when the narrator confirms Liam’s fear that the storming of Zaubera’s stronghold was going to be a “disaster.” When the characters do not necessarily know the back story or are unaware of something they should have picked up on, the narrator fills us in. The meta-literary moments truly add to the story.

I’ve been recommending this book to everyone I know, of all ages, and I eagerly await the next installment (which I assume there will be since the cover said "Book 1"). ...more

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