I had no idea what this book was about when I saw it at the library and decided to pick it up. It's a tiny little book about a fictional princess living inside her storybook and wanting to experience something new. Of course, there's more to it than that. Including what it truly means to be a friend and trying to save those you love along with yourself.

 

I was really blown away by the sweetness of this book. It's what I like to call a "tender read." I really liked the writing style and the little nudges to our own world and how we live as readers. The characters were all quirky, entertaining, and fun to read about. It's a lovely little book and I highly recommend it.

 

Also, I had no idea this was a series until I looked into it more. Well, looks like I am going to have to get my hands on the other books once I go back to the library!

A sweet, slight, meta fantasy about reading, dreaming, remembering and writing.

Apparently there are two sequels, which look ... ill-advised.

Sylvie is a twelve year old princess with a fabulous and fulfilling life. She is smart and feisty, has loving parents, and gets to have many adventures. The catch is that Sylvie is a character in a novel called The Great Good Thing and she only gets to live her fabulous life when a reader cracks open the book. Unfortunately, her book hasn't been read in a very long time, so its characters wander around the pages waiting to play their roles. All of that changes one day when Claire picks up the book and makes a deep connection with the story and Sylvie in particular. Sylvie soon finds herself wandering through Claire's dreams - a greater adventure than anything else she's experienced. And that's really just the beginning.

This is one of those stories that has a unique and fascinating premise and starts off with a bang, but doesn't quite keep its momentum. Although, I will admit it was fun at times to wrestle with the story's internal logic. And I swear I had the weirdest dreams of my life after putting this down. Also there were a few times when I felt a little blown away by the truth and import of what the author was saying about stories and memories. Ultimately, the execution just didn't match the story's promise. Too many loose ends and not enough of a cohesive plot.

The sequel about the same characters living in the digital world doesn't interest me at all.