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| View Larger Image | Water Song: A Retelling of "The Frog Prince" (Once Upon a Time)
by Suzanne Weyn
by Mahlon F. Craft
| | List Price: | $5.99 |  | | Available: | Usually ships in 24 hours | | | | | Sales Rank: | 62323 | | Studio: | Simon Pulse | | | Binding: | Mass Market Paperback | | Reading Level: | Young Adult | | Number Of Pages: | 208 | | Publication Date: | October 24, 2006 | | Publisher: | Simon Pulse |
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EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Product Description
"ONCE UPON A TIME"IS TIMELESS Young, beautiful, and wealthy, Emma Pennington is accustomed to a very comfortable life. Although war rages abroad, she hardly feels its effect. She and her mother travel from their home in Britain to the family estate in Belgium, never imagining that the war could reach them there. But it does. Soon Emma finds herself stranded in a war-torn country, utterly alone. Enemy troops fight to take over her estate, leaving her with no way to reach her family, and no way out. With all of her attention focused on survival and escape, Emma hardly expects to find love. But the war will teach her that life is unpredictable, people aren't always what they seem, and magic is lurking everywhere. |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 9 reviews)
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Fabulous retelling! 
I found this a fabulous retelling of The Frog Prince! As an author and collector of Fairy Tales...I read this and promptly added it to my personal collection, as well as suggesting it to my own readers! Loved it!
March 17, 2008 | |
Water Song
a great twist to the Frog Prince giving great info about the war along the way. Hilarious and engaging
February 08, 2008 | |
A Relatively Modern Tale.. 
Through the thick of World War I, our British heiress/heroine Emma Pennington continues her life as if there were no war at all. Her parents, soon fearing the wrath of battle, move Emma and her mother to their estate in Belgium, seeking safety in the form of just another vacation.
But soon they find themselves directly in tumult of war and in more danger than ever. Alone and in the hands of the enemies, a prisoner in her own home, Emma must choose her actions wisely. Should she wait out the storm, or brave the weather? And of course, how can she forget her "husband" Jack, the American soldier living in her room?
For the first time, we are presented with a modern era in a "Once Upon a Time..." book. It was obviously difficult for Weyn to balance history with fantasy in it, but overall, the effect was refreshing. I like that it's not all made up. But when it comes down to the actual writing...eh. It was the easiest of settings, two young people locked up in a single room, both good-looking and intelligent. And then, 170 pages in, "Oh yeah. You're the frog prince? You saved me? I (ignorantly) had no idea. I love you. Oh. And you're a good guy." Good theory, just bad...wording.
Granted, this is more a historical novel than one of fantasy (which is totally fine by me), the story is enjoyable, and a one-night read. It's something new to add to the series, and I'm glad someone at least tried. Not with a totally successful execution, but above mediocre for me.
October 06, 2007 | |
Best Once Upon a Time book YET!!!
So I wasn't expecting much because frankly I wasn't into Weyn's retelling of The Night Dance, but Water Song was SO GOOD! I loved it. I read up til page 15 the first day and the next night I finished the whole thing. Even after I finished it at 4AM I couldn't go to sleep. The historical bits were pretty accurate (from what I can remember from U.S. History class) and I was cheering the characters on every step of the way. High recommended to... well if you're reading this then you're already sucked in.
June 14, 2007 | |
Disappointing...and silly, too. 
I've read nearly all the books in the Once Upon A Time series, and I was looking forward to this one. However, it was quite a disappointing read. I didn't mind the beginning of the story; it started out okay, although it did seems to skip over a lot of things that might have made it easier to connect with the heroine. For example, her mother is killed by German bombs (this is set in WWI) while she is sitting next to her. We only hear about this, but don't actually experience it with Emma, the heroine. Not that I have a need to experience gruesome deaths, but I felt like the author just didn't feel like spending a lot of time developing Emma's character or her backstory. Suzanne Weyn doesn't spend a lot of time on the hero, Jack, either. She does take the time to explain that he knows some Native American/Creole healing potions that he learned from his mother. He apparently also learned how to "talk" to his mother's spirit, and maybe to even transport his spirit to other places...? What?? I think this is Weyn's way of introducing the "frog prince" connection; Jack is from the bayou and is a terrific swimmer, and his mother repeatedly "speaks" to him in dreams and tells him how he is a prince, and how he knows the water, etc. Emma and a minor character are both rescued from water by Jack while both are unconscious; this adds to the mystery -- "Who was that frog-man that rescued me?" Emma even asks Jack if he has magic to turn himself into a frog. This question, while German bombs explode outside, is just a bit of a silly paradox between fantasy and reality. I really think that Weyn makes the frog connection within the first part of the book. There are enough water references. She doesn't need to go so far as to have Jack's frogginess brought up nearly every page. Okay!! We get it!! Jack is the frog prince!! It just becomes silly, and almost seems like she is trying too hard. She didn't try too hard to create the relationship between the hero and heroine, though. They don't really have a relationship. I was surprised and bored when they decided they were in love with each other. They don't really have much connection at all, and therefore I didn't feel like I had any connection to them either. Weyn tries to make this a psychological fairy tale as many of the others in the series are. Themes of finding yourself, loving who you are, discovering truth, etc. are part of many of these books, but Weyn's efforts fall flat. She does try near the end of the story to have Jack realize that he is a great man, because Emma loves him, but that he was great all along, and it took her love to make him realize what was already true. Weyn's rendition of this self-discovery is even more awkward than the sentence I just wrote. What a shame. I was hoping it would be as good as some of the others in the series, but it wasn't. The best one so far in the series: The Storyteller's Daughter, by a LANDSLIDE. Read it and be satisfied.
January 14, 2007 | |
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