Spelled

April 27, 2015
Princess Dorthea (aka Dot) has grown up confined to the Emerald Palace under the threat of a family curse. Desperate to explore the outside world, Dot makes a naïve wish that upends the storybook kingdoms, allowing the evil Gray Witch to seize power and forcing the princess to flee her home—in her magical Hans Christian Louboutin silver and ruby slippers—with help from chimera Prince Kato and servant girl Rexi. Schow’s (Finished Being Fat) mishmash of fairy-tale settings, characters, and plot devices centers around her odd royal reworking of Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz; entitled Dot and her pun-laden narration (“Mother of Grimm!”) wear thin quickly. While the chapter titles (“Princess Bridezilla”) and epigraphs (“ ‘If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.’—Gretel from Candy Kills: A True Story”) are creative and relevant to each chapter’s plot, the story itself—which includes Dot dealing with a spell to undo, missing parents, multiple witches and wizards, budding romance, and her transformation into a fire-wielding priestess—is overly convoluted. Ages 12–up. Agent: Michelle Witte, Mansion Street Literary.