Chris didn’t like his home with all its rules and punishments for making messes (inventing, his favorite pastime, is messy in its very nature), so he ran away at the age of six and made a new home with a troll and two dogs in a multi-colored crystal cave. Princess Marigold could never be touched, because her fairy gift (which turned into a curse) was that she would be sensitive to the feelings of others, though unfortunately she became so sensitive she could sense others’ thoughts and feelings via touch. On his daily traipses through the forest, Chris could see Marigold on the palace terrace, and eventually he worked up enough courage to send her a ‘p-mail’ (pigeon delivered mail), and a friendship was quickly formed.After a year of p-mail, the two friends meet in person, just in time to thwart some suitors, stop a wedding, and, of course, prevent an evil queen from taking over the kingdom. This was a very cute and fun to read book. There’s always something going on, the pacing keeps up through the whole novel, and the plot is interesting enough to keep me reading. This is actually the second time I read the book, but when I finally decided to review it, I figured I needed to reread. All I really remembered was that I’d enjoyed it, a feeling I still had after the second reading.One thing that might bother a reader about the book is that while it is a fantasy world, they make plenty of current comments and jokes, like calling Marigold’s sisters blonde, but not dumb. Because the overall tone of the book was rather modern anyway, I only noticed these lines because I was reading it with my brain in review mode. If it had been a more serious fantasy book, where the author was building a complex world and culture, then these modern comments and names would have bothered me. Instead, this is just a story that happens to be set on a traditional fairytale world. Plus, the main character invents p-mail, which by the end of the book is used throughout the kingdom just like e-mail is today. Really, I think this book could have taken place in our world with some names and situations changed, but it’s more fun against a fairytale backdrop.Marigold’s curse, on the other hand, did bother me. It’s her fairy gift, yet somehow she can break it so she no longer accidentally reads people’s thoughts? All right, I’ll buy that, except they never really talk about it, except in the vaguest terms, and then it randomly breaks thorough no conscious actions from her, so that it can conveniently save Chris. I would have liked to have seen a bit more development of the curse and some setup on to how she might break it. The other thing that bothered me was some confusion on secondary character ages. But that’s a bit of a spoiler, so I’m sticking it at the end, past the parents’ rating. Not a giant spoiler (it’s pretty clear throughout the book this is going to happen), but still a spoiler.Read the rest at Bookwyrm Chrysalis
5/10I feel bad giving this such a low rating because I think there are a lot of young girls who would really, really like it. But, for me, it was just too juvenile...and that's coming from someone who LOVES children's and young adult literature.I know it's a little unfair to say that a middle-grade book (written for 9-12 year-olds) was "too juvenile." But I'm comparing it to other books for the same age group (The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, anyone?), and it can't even hold a candle against some of them.First of all, the characters all say dumb things that I guess are supposed to be funny. For example, from Marigold: "I'd rather be boiled in oil! The kind with cholesterol!" See? Painful. Then there's the troll who is constantly taking well-known phrases and accidentally changing them just enough that they make no sense at all. This is also supposed to be funny. The problem is, a 9-12 year-old is not going to know what the real phrase is so she won't be able to catch the humor, and it isn't clever enough for an adult to think it's funny. So, fail and fail.The plot itself was boring and predictable. Christian wants to meet Marigold. Done. Christian wants Marigold to like him. Done. Christian wants to be more than a peasant. Done. There were, um, count them, ZERO moments of tension. (Okay, I'm probably being a little harsh since a 9-year-old probably would have felt some drama in the dungeon or during the wedding...yes, there was a dungeon...for about 8 hours...really nail-biting). So here's my final take: I've been reading so many long books lately that I was just looking for something short and easy. This definitely fit the bill, but it made me ready to go back to more thought-provoking books. Also, a nine-year-old girl will like this book. I promise.
What do You think about Once Upon A Marigold (2004)?
I loved this book it was a little sappy for me but still a good book. It made me change my mind about princesses and queens. Some can have a big heart but others can be evil. Any who my favorite part of the book was when they were trapped in the prison cell trying to find a way out when marigold came down and tried to free them but ended up just getting herself in more danger until the father came and rescued them. It is a great book for young readers and makes a bond between you and your dad but grows an envy of queens. Its not your typical adventure, fairytale or romance novel. Its one of a kind.
—Lakin
Honestly, I probably would've adored this book back in junior high. Its a cute spin on the fairytale genre, but a little too predictable. A princess in distress who is the smart outcast of her sisters, an evil queen, a fatherly king, a prince in disguise, etc etc. Also, some of the lines in the story were corny to the max and the plot seems to move extremely slow in some places.The main reason though why I'm giving this one a 2 is because I didn't necessarily like some of the stereotypes that were being reinforced. Yes yes, its mostly just the classic stereotypes you find in fairytales surrounding women... but still. Come on.
—Samantha
I will admit I haven't read this book in many years, but from my own memories of reading it and rereading it as a middle/high school girl, I have absolutely no hesitation in giving it 5 stars. Even if I were to go back today, reread it, and despise the very pages it was written on, I would still give it 5 stars because it spoke to its reader when I was still that reader. And it spoke beautifully.Time has rendered me incapable of giving a lucid breakdown of all the ways in which this book is wonderful, but if you have a young/teenage/young-at-heart girl in your life that needs another book (and she will always need another book), give her this one.A disclaimer to assuage my own hesitance to gender books this strongly: I was, myself, a young girl when I read this. This book is marketed towards young girls. This does not mean I think only girls can, or should, read it. It's a charming love story set in a fantasy world, and that's something anyone of any gender identity should be able and encouraged to enjoy.
—Maeve MacLysaght
