Reviews: (by author)

(2 Reviews)

Dokey, Cameron. Beauty Sleep. New York: Simon Pulse, 2002. $5.99. ISBN: 0-7434-2221-X.

Cameron Dokey presents an entertaining read for young adults in her delightful retelling of the story of "Sleeping Beauty." Dokey gives voice to the Princess Aurore (Sleeping Beauty) who tells her own story, the story of her curse and her hundred-year "sleep." Aurore's parents allow her more agency than seen in the traditional tale, and she takes full advantage of this freedom and wisdom during the years before the curse is destined to take hold. Her explorations of her castle home and surrounding grounds provide opportunities for intrigue and adventure.

Dokey creates a fascinating magical world where magic is integrated into the fabric of society. However, magic takes on a special role, inhabitants do not use it so much as they absorb it into their being. This is troublesome for Aurore, who has two magic forces at work within her, the evil curse and the benevolent anti-curse, which modifies the death into a hundred-year sleep. The conflict between these two spells manifests themselves in terrifying nightmares from which Aurore suffers on the same night each month. Following her sixteenth birthday, the year the curse is destined to take hold, this conflict unleashes itself on the entire kingdom. Strange events begin to destroy the land, which force Aurore to make a difficult decision. To prevent future disasters from striking the kingdom, she leaves her beloved family and kingdom to enter the forbidden fôret, an enchanted forest that sets the scene for the next step of her journey.

This is a unique and enjoyable vision of the Sleeping Beauty tale told from the perspective of the typically mute heroine. Dokey's casual voice and narrative style brings the storyteller to life making it less like reading and more like listening. A perfect book for summer reading.

Highly recommended.
K.C. June 2003

Dokey, Cameron. Before Midnight. New York: Simon Pulse, 2007. ISBN-13: 978-1-4169-3471-4. $5.99.

In her fifth contribution to the Once Upon a Time series, Cameron Dokey retells one of the most beloved and well-known fairy tales, “Cinderella.” The creation of this version, Dokey explains in an author’s note, began with a question: “If Cinderella’s father is still alive, but takes no action to save or protect her, what might this say about both him and the woman to whom we are all accustomed to assigning the role of the bad guy?” (195). The answer to this question forms the intriguing premise of the novel.

When Etienne de Brabant’s wife dies in childbirth, he is shattered by the loss. He cannot bear to set eyes on the baby girl he blames for her mother’s death and so leaves her in the care of the servant Old Mathilde. Before disappearing from Cendrillon’s life for the next fifteen years, Etienne mysteriously leaves a baby boy named Raoul at the house to be raised alongside Cendrillon. Despite her noble birth, Cendrillon spends a contented childhood amongst the servants.

Cendrillon’s life turns upside down with the arrival of a new stepmother, Chantal de Saint-Andre, and two stepsisters, Anastasia and Amelie. Being a marriage solely of political convenience, Etienne does not accompany his new “family” to his country estate. Like Cendrillon, Chantal and her daughters have cause to be bitter; Etienne has abandoned all four of them. But what type of people are the stepmother and stepsisters? How do they treat Cendrillon? The nature of the relationship between them occupies a good deal of the novel and should not be given away here. Likewise, the events of the customary ball (which reunites Cendrillon with her father and reveals Raoul’s identity) cannot be revealed without spoiling the surprise.

Of the several books I have read in this series, Before Midnight stands out as one of the best. The plot is absorbing and the characters are well developed and dynamic. Another strength is the positive messages woven throughout the narrative—the strength of love, the power of forgiveness, and the importance of self-discovery and moral fortitude. This book is a must-read for any fan of fairy tales.

Highly recommended.
Kira Hall, June 2007

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