The Wishing Spell (Land of Stories book 1)

Today I am reviewing the first book of the Land of Stories series, The Wishing Spell, written by Chris Colfer. This is a beautiful book, about the adventures of a pair of twins in a fairy tale land. Let me tell you more about it!

Alex and Conner Bailey are twins, who both look really alike – strawberry-blonde hair, blue eyes, and similar complexion. However, their habits and characteristics are not. Alex is neat, class topper, loves school and is bullied for being so smart. On the other hand, Conner is messy, finds school boring, has trouble staying awake in class and has many friends. Despite all this, the twins love each other and try to look out for the other. They do have one thing in common, that is, they both love fairy tales. Their grandma used to read them to the twins when they were little. However, they barely saw her, as she was always travelling the world with her friends and helping people. After their dad died in a car accident, they had to move out of their big house, into a small rental apartment. Their mom has to work overtime as a nurse in a hospital, and they don’t see her that much anymore. And when their twelfth birthdays rolled around, they were certain nothing special would happen on that day. The day started out normal, as usual, but when they got home, an incredibly special surprise was waiting for them….

It was none other than their grandmother! And she made it the most special birthday they ever had. She gave them their most favourite book- her treasured copy of fairy tales.

After a little while, Alex discovers that the book is behaving strangely. Its glowing. She doesn’t tell Conner about it, but he finds out about it anyways. It starts glowing and they hear birds twittering…. and suddenly, a bird flies out of it!!! Alex falls into it too, by mistake, and Conner follows. They realise…. they have fallen into…. the land of stories. Not just any stories, too. The stories are of classic fairy tales!

Their following adventure is one of a lifetime, with them meeting many strange, fairy tale characters, for example, oh, Goldilocks, Red Riding Hood, Jack (from Jack and the Beanstalk), a talking frog man, the Charming brothers and many more. The fairy tale characters live their original lives, but each with a special twist….

To go back home, the Bailey twins have to collect ingredients from all corners of that world, to make a wishing spell. They do so collecting help from the most unexpected places, all while competing against an evil queen, and with the help of a diary, written by an unknown person, they try to do so. The diary is much closer to home than they thought, and this quest will reveal the most astonishing family secrets. Secrets with a touch of magic….

This book is a laugh out loud read, with a novelty of its own. It has a captivating and complex plot, and it is really touching. It told us not to judge people before we knew their story and reasons (read the book and you will get what I mean).  My favourite character was Froggy because he was exceedingly kind and didn’t expect anything in return. I loved the storyline, because it was really original, adventurous and humorous. It wasn’t heavy at all, because everything was written in a way that kept you hooked. The changes in the stories of the fairy tale characters were very clever, not too much, but enough to make you look at them in a different light. You will laugh at the jokes, have sympathy for the sad parts, and feel as if you are having the adventure along with the characters. It is a beautifully written book, and I loved each part of it!!! I recommend this book for ages 9+. Another good thing about this book is that even an adult can read it. I am a fan of this series, and I recommend that you read this book!!!!!

I give this book 5 stars!!!