Review of Bonnie’s Adventures in a Storybook World

[Brett Linette]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Bonnie’s Adventures in a Storybook World" by Kristie Schubert.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Bonnie’s Adventures in a Storybook World by Kristie Schubert is a children's book about hearing others and letting others hear you. Along with a gift for her mother, Bonnie treats herself to a new book. It's when she starts to read the said book that she finds herself trapped inside of it. Things could be worse; she could be alone. Anna, who claims to be Bonnie's lady-in-waiting, not only accompanies Bonnie but informs her of Rothbart and the spell that he has inflicted upon them. Mistaken for Princess Odette, Bonnie attempts to attract Prince Siegfried. Little does Bonnie know what determination can accomplish.

Bonnie has a mind of her own; while shopping for her mother, she refuses to get her mother the coffee mug that she wants, on account of her mother never letting her use her coffee mugs. I like how it's noted that the coffee mug is tan. In addition to the color of the mug, we're told that it's covered in hearts. The only thing that tops the description of the coffee mug is the description of the book store that Bonnie wanders off to. The author describes the book store down to its smell. When Bonnie breathed in the glorious scent of newly printed book pages, I felt as if I could smell the said aroma. I just want to go back and smell it again.

A romance is hinted at early on. This is due to the fact that Bonnie has to get a boy to fall in love with her in order to reverse the spell that was inflicted upon her as well as Anna. The boy that "Princess Odette" (Bonnie) ends up pursuing is Prince Siegfried. Despite getting off on the wrong foot, they manage to look past their first impressions of one another and get to know each other. The romance (if you want to call it that) is wholesome and sweet. While Prince Siegfried doesn't flirt with Princess Odette, he has a way of telling her that he likes her; the fact that he doesn't talk to girls but talks to her implies that she's special to him.

While a lot of authors put the love interest on a pedestal, it seems that the author of this book makes a point to hold all of the secondary characters in the same regard as one another. As interesting as Bonnie's relationship with Prince Siegfried is, it doesn't overshadow the other relationships in her life. Even Bonnie's relationship with her father is well-developed. This is despite it being relatively short. I would've liked to have a better understanding of the relationship between Bonnie and her mother, given that the plot of the story is derived from some unresolved conflict between them.

All things considered, I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. The story has such a positive message that marking it as anything less than perfect would be doing it a disservice. I like how the story gets its message across without having the characters preach it every five seconds. I'd recommend this book to those who like romance and suspense but at a minimum. Everything about this story (the action, the drama, the stakes, etc.) is very tame. While some could argue that Rothbart is scary, he's not going to give anyone nightmares, given that he's just a figment of Bonnie's imagination. The fact that there's as little as three errors in the entire book makes for a smooth reading experience.

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Bonnie’s Adventures in a Storybook World
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