The Castle Corona looks like a palace. But to the royal family living inside, it is a prison. They are discontent, spoiled, and bored. When plucky peasant children Pia and Enzio are taken from their cruel master and recruited as poison testers for the king, they breathe new life into the claustrophobic Castle Corona. But orphans Pia and Enzio have secrets of their own, secrets regarding the thief rumored to be roaming the castle.
This is an odd, rambling book that isn't quite a fairy tale, but isn't really anything else either. Set in an Italianesque fantasy world, it features characters who suffer from the all too human plight of being frustrated with the faults of others but blind to one's own. The king and queen hoard their wealth but are unhappy. The princess is lazy and vain. One prince is weak; the other is hot-tempered. They are all unhappy, but they don't know why.
It's not until the orphans begin to shake things up that the family starts to realize why their rich and decadent life makes them so miserable. It has nothing to do with the quality of their life but the way that they're living it, and by the end of the book they begin to really see themselves for the first time. The rambling style and lack of action may bore less enthusiastic readers, but those who can make it all the way through will undoubtedly benefit from a message like that.
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Review by Lauren Shearer
Lauren Shearer writes words for fun and profit. She also makes films, but everyone knows you can't make a profit doing that. Her other hobby is consistently volunteering way too much of her time. You can read more of her reviews here.
|
Review by Lauren Shearer
Lauren Shearer writes words for fun and profit. She also makes films, but everyone knows you can't make a profit doing that. Her other hobby is consistently volunteering way too much of her time. You can read more of her reviews
here.
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