The key slid into an ancient looking keyhole with a click, and Una gave it a fierce twist. The door opened a crack, and Una gritted her teeth as she pushed hard on it with her shoulder and made her way through. She found herself on a path that zigzagged up a steep hill. Over the top, a long walk away, she could see the outline of a lone turret.

This is it. Una was in enemy territory now, and she wouldn't leave until she had discovered the Enemy's plans.

- from the back cover

 

I love this series. Highly recommended!

 

 

 

Just as good, if not better than the first one. 

 

Why do I have to stop reading? What has reality ever done for me??

When Una Fairchild stumbles upon a mysterious book buried deep in the basement of her school library, she thinks nothing of opening the cover and diving in. But instead of paging through a regular novel, Una suddenly finds herself Written In to the land of Story -- a world filled with Heroes and Villains and fairy tale characters.

 

But not everything in Story is as magical as it seems. Una must figure out why she has been Written In - and fast - before anyone else discovers her secret. Together with her new friend Peter and a talking cat named Sam, Una digs deep into Story's shadowy past. She quickly realizes that she is tied to the world in ways she never could have imagined -- and it might be up to her to save it.

 

Fabulous story, great characters - loved this!! Una is a terrific example of a strong female heroine.

 

Una finds an old book with the title: The Tale of Una Fairchild. She starts to read and next thing she knows, she is in the middle of the story. She is actually in the middle of an exam for students studying to be characters in a fairy tale. She meets Peter who is the hero-in-training and Snow, the Lady he is rescuing. Peter figures out Una has been Written In, which hasn't happened since the Muses were defeated. But, why is Una here now and who wrote her in?? And what really happened to the Muses?

 

This story is full of adventure and excitement and twists and turns. If you like fairy tales or twists on fairy tales, this book is for you. It reminded me a bit of The Accidental Hero (Review here), which I loved too.

 

Recommended to:

Grades 6 and up; anyone who likes fairy tales or fractured fairy tales!

Story's End -- Marissa Burt

Book 2 (final) of Storybound

 

 

I really don't do this book any justice by not remembering much about the first book, Storybound (I read it sometime back in 2012). I DO recall, however, mentioning it to a friend once and saying something like: "It wasn't a bad book, but it felt really flat and unexciting."

In a way, Story's End also felt the same way. There were no Feels. And while there was a really decent progression and great writing and narration, the entire thing just felt detached. And even kind of rushed. The build-up to the climactic ending battle didn't draw me in. None of it really drew me in.

But the characters were great, even if only on paper because they didn't feel alive either. I had trouble relating with the characters, and while I've never been one to love too much angst, the main character, Una Fairchild's secret back history and subsequent discovery of her secret birth would have merited at least a little bit of angst. But that didn't happen and we merrily breeze our way through the book as we roll closer to the ending.

Also, I don't remember who the character Snow is, but she ended up getting quite tiresome and annoying. Otherwise, the other characters were okay, I guess.

Nonetheless, Story's End makes a fairly good conclusion to a well-thought-out duology, and if I knew how to appreciate it better, then maybe I could have liked it a bit more.

 

 

***

 

This book is a pre-chosen participant in the following Reading Challenge(s):

• 2015 Reading Assignment Challenge hosted by Because Reading and Fantasy is More Fun

 

 

Una Fairchild is the quintessential outsider. At 12 she is invisible to everyone around her, including her foster mother who would rather talk to her cats than the child in her care. Una spends as much time as possible holed up in the library basement in the same spot. So when she finds a hooded figure in her usual spot and he refuses to acknowledfe her she is greatly upset. She is even more upset when she discovers a mysterious book with her name on it. Even more upsetting than that is discovering herself pulled into the book itself, where she learns that there is a whole other world populated with all the characters that make up all of our stories. But Story is in danger and she might be the only one able to save it.

This is the first book in a series meant for middle readers, between the ages of 9-12. It is an engaging fantasy full of adventure, heroism, and danger that should delight any reader of that age, particularly girls. As an adult I found the story a bit simplistic, though I was still entertained and in many ways see my 12 year old self in Una. I wasn't thrilled with the ending and found that too much was left dangling for my taste. I prefer, even books in a series to have a more pulled together ending and not end with a massive cliffhanger. I am, however, planning to read the next book, if only because of how much I liked Una and curiosity.