Review by Kirkus Book Review
"Sleeping Beauty" is the source for this second prince-focused novel based on Disney's animated classics. Betrothed to Princess Aurora since her birth, young Prince Phillip witnessed her being gifted by good fairies and doomed to death by the evil fairy Maleficent, although intervention by a good fairy weakened the curse to a long sleep until true love should awaken her. Assigned the task of defeating Maleficent before the curse takes hold on Aurora's 16th birthday, and with no say in the matter, Phillip's spent his childhood preparing for a battle he expects to lose--acquiring knightly skills, jousting in tournaments--all to facilitate his marriage to a girl he hasn't seen since her infancy. Resentful but struggling to accept his fate, Phillip and his squire, Johanna, foil a robbery, helped by magical vines. Soon three fairies arrive to tell a skeptical Phillip he possesses magic. By day, they train him to develop powers he'll need to defeat Maleficent; at night, he dreams of a girl, Briar Rose. They're separated by an impenetrable, thorny maze, so he never sees her face, but over time they get to know each other through their nocturnal conversations. As Phillip's showdown with Maleficent approaches, a devastating discovery undermines his confidence. The sympathetic characters, who largely read white, are well drawn. While their interactions often resemble repetitive, extended talk-therapy sessions, and readers will quickly grasp where the plot is headed, some action scenes pick up the pace. For fans of all things Disney. (Fantasy. 12-16) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
