Spirited (Once upon a Time)

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I loved how you got the perspective from both sides. Would definately recamend this to people who love the retelling of fairy tales. Apr 23, Kayla rated it did not like it. The Beast was not a beast, merely a Native with a tragic past. Issue number one of many. If anything, the Beast was the heroine, whose prejudices make her rotten. There was an allusion in the book that the People were accustomed to moving to follow berries, fish, the changing leaves, and not out of fear.

This implies seasonal migration. They would not do that. Why bother building a wigwam if you are going to move from it? To put simply, it refers to going into battle with the aim of basically only touching the enemy and running away unharmed to show advanced skill. May 04, RumBelle rated it it was ok Shelves: Not my favorite of this series.

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With many of the others, I loved how the tale was re-imagined, in this one, things just did not fit, in my opinion. I did not like the characters, or the setting for this story. Jun 27, Kaylynn Johnsen rated it did not like it. Possibly the worst retelling of Beauty and the Beast ever. Best part, the poem in the opening of the book.

A Navajo Prayer, even though this book is about Algonquin tribes. Thank goodness for that prayer. Oct 16, Kaylean Whiting rated it liked it Shelves: I liked the story but I didn't think it was fast enough. Apr 21, Nicollette Winiewicz rated it really liked it Shelves: A retelling of Beauty and the Beast! Jun 15, Kier Myn Kobayashi rated it did not like it Shelves: I honestly do not remember much about of the overall plot, other than it was an intercultural romance between a native woman and a white man.

I did not like it at all. Feb 28, Meredith rated it liked it Shelves: I flew through this. I love Beauty and The Beast. The Last of The Mohicans is my husband's favorite movie. We watch it once a month, at least. So, I'm probably biased. This was definitely cheesy and flawed, but also enjoyable and a very quick read.

A guilty pleasure, for sure. Sep 03, Lydia rated it it was ok. So I feel it is only fair to note that I tore through this book and did like it for the most part but I have a couple gripes which is why it ended with a two instead of three or four star rating. Their origina So I feel it is only fair to note that I tore through this book and did like it for the most part but I have a couple gripes which is why it ended with a two instead of three or four star rating.

Nov 15, Srusnak rated it really liked it. I had fond memories of this book from my childhood, but that doesn't always bode well for my revised adult opinion of the item in question.

Once upon a Time

However when I reread this book I was pleasantly surprised to find I liked it even better. This book tells the tale of Isabella, a young englishwoman in the americas who while traveling to a fort with her physician father and a military escort, is ambushed by Native Americans. Fear, desperation, and courage characterize much of the first part of this novel a I had fond memories of this book from my childhood, but that doesn't always bode well for my revised adult opinion of the item in question.

Fear, desperation, and courage characterize much of the first part of this novel as Isabella and her father, the sole survivors and now prisoners, are desperate to escape and protect each other. However much of the second half of the book takes a different tone, once Isabella is injured in her escape attempt and is left alone with tribe, specifically the medicine man Wusamequin, who despite having lost much to the colonists admires her spirit and shelters her from the wraith of the rest of his people. This part of the book focuses strongly on the relationship between the two which evolves slowly from a hesitant somewhat reluctant mutual admiration, to understanding and friendship, and eventually even a budding romance.

Unlike many books targeted for younger audiences this book doesn't rush into or overdo the romance our two leads in fact, despite their strong attachment to each other, do not recognize their feelings as love until nearly the very end of the book. Nor does the book fall into the other trap of over-relying on conflict and action to keep up the readers interest.

It doesn't need the overblown sappy romance or constant attention grabbing conflict--it is well written enough that it's slower pace focusing primarily on relationships and evolving perspectives works beautifully on it's own. This is not to say the book glazes over the tougher realities of the situation. In fact, that is part of what makes the book so good--there is much hardship and loss, is no clear right side, no clear solution, and our two leads never quite see eye to eye despite having empathy for each others position.

But they don't have to. They only have to love each other enough that it's worth struggling through the unending tensions that they face coming from two different warring worlds. I don't know how this book will be viewed from the perspective of a reader of Native American descent. But I DO think this book is intended to be of the fantasy genre it is after all, the retelling of a fairytale and so any misrepresentations may be attributed to such.

Isabella and her father, who is a doctor, are going to Fort William Henry to help with a case of the pestilence. While on their way to the fort, Isabella, her father, and the group of soldiers they are with, are attacked by a group of Indians. Many are killed, and Isabella and her father are taken hostage by the Indians. It's here where Isabella meets Wusamequin, medicine man of his people. Wusamequin is instantly fascinated with Isabella, believing she is not like all the other British women he's encountered.

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Isabella's father manages to escape, but Isabella injures herself while on the run. Wusamequin heals her, and Isabella starts to form a connection with her captor. Isabella learns that Wusamequin's wife and son were murdered by British soldiers, and that he believes her to be some form of the spirit of his wife, Mahwah.

Over the next several days, the bond between Wusamequin and Isabella grows, and he even allows her to run back to her people, but she returns when she realizes that Wusamequin and his people are in trouble. The book concludes with a battle between the Indians and the British resulting with Isabella making a decision about where she wants to be for the rest of her life: Isabella Bella she is sometimes called is called Mahwah by Wusamequin which translates to "rose" in his people's language. The "beast" aspect of the story is really a metaphor for Isabella thinking Wusamequin is a "savage" and an uncivilized man.

I think out of all the "Once Upon a Time" books I've read so far, this retelling is my favorite. It didn't feel rushed like all the other books in the series, and I really felt like there was great character development and time for Isabella and Wusamequin to form a relationship without it seeming rushed or random.

The book had an excellent flow to it and was beautifully written. Fantastic details or Indian life, clothing, and the natural habitat where Isabella travels. Dec 09, Marianne Boricuan Bookworms rated it it was amazing Shelves: When I first started reading this book, I never really thought it would stick to the original "Beauty and the Beast" story.

I felt I was reading more of a Pocahontas retelling for some reason. This doesn't mean it was a bad retelling, oh no. It was a great story. Reading this series, I've found not to judge it with the original stories, because they're not like that at all. This story was refreshing. One of the few stories that doesn't have many plot holes nor it spontaneously inclu When I first started reading this book, I never really thought it would stick to the original "Beauty and the Beast" story. One of the few stories that doesn't have many plot holes nor it spontaneously includes a love story just for the fun of it.

This story revolves around Isabella Stevens, that's traveling the wilderness with her father, Dr. Stevens and a small British army escort.

Everything's great, until Indians attack. This story is set during the British-French-Indian war. The lead Indian attacking, spares Isabella's and her father's life because he sees a fighter spirit inside of Isabella. But when they're taken prisoner, Isabella decides to stay with the Indians so her father can go free.

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Wusamequin, the Indian shaman, sees a great spirit within Isabella, which is just what he longs to have after his wife and son were killed by a British Army. He longs to avenge their deaths and finally find peace withing himself. Could Isabella and Wusamequin each have what they're looking for? I really enjoyed it. I not only loved all the Mohican elements, but also really loved the way it was written. This was one of the only retellings that weren't "sprinkled" with lameness. There's no other way I can actually express that in words. All the other retellings just have "perfect" tame endings.

This one didn't disguise anything. There were a lot of killings, which I could have done without, but nevertheless were important to the storyline. The love between the major characters was greatly developed, not too fast or slow. The author really did a great job at developing everything, and even though it was a retelling, I could never really predict what was going to happen.

Nov 07, Emily Eastman rated it really liked it Shelves: I liked this book. It didn't grasp a 5 though because it was kind of wwierd. It changed things up a lot. The characters never stayed true to their character. For example, in the beginning Isabella said her father never said a bad thing about anyone.

Toward the end he sat around bad mouthing a soldier even though the soldier went back to rescue his daughter. It also would radomly throw things in without any explanation such as the little faerie people. One day Isabella just saw the medicne man ho I liked this book. One day Isabella just saw the medicne man holding them. The People's journey to The Land Beyond was pretty strange to. I loved how the author slowly made Isabella's love for the medicine man grow.

He loved her since the beginning but once she left she knew she needed him. I didn't like her weak character, though.

She always did what she was told. I wish she would've been more "I doing what I'm doing and you can't stop me". When she runs away to find her Indian love and proclaims she loves him when the cheif of the English who is trying to kill the Indians calls her to come home she has to pause to decide. I wish after all the trouble she went through to rescue the medicine man and say she loved him it would be a no without a thought.

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I did like her stuborness though how she wouldn't let the Indians burn her dear Captain William. She grabbed onto William wouldn't let go and sat there crying and begging them not to. Telling the medicine man he couldn't. Altogher there were things I didn't like but it was a great story with a happy ending and a story that I enjoyed reading.

This authors confuses is you but then just pulls together this beautiful ending. May 08, Mel Daily Prophecy rated it did not like it Shelves: I couldn't handle it any more. Half way I started to skim the pages. This book just doesn't work for me. My first book from this author was The rose bride and I gave it two stars in the end. My main problem with that book also happened here in Spirited: The story seemed to go on and on. I actually s I couldn't handle it any more. I actually started to skim most of the pages towards the ending and that is a bad sign for such a short book.

The beast in this story is a beast because he is a Native American. The way Isabella portrays him was annoying and the beastly features in the real story is what makes this so magical. Wusamequin is a healthy, good-looking guy, so the whole true nature of the story fell flat to me. Where I absolutely love the original Belle, Isabelle annoyed the heck out of me. She is whiny, arrogant and stupid. There is also something off about the writing-style. Jul 02, SheLove2Read rated it it was ok Shelves: Spirited is a mish mash of a book. This is marketed to the YA audience but I would have a hard time letting anyone under 17, unless they were VERY mature for their age, reading it due to the amount of violence in the book.

Granted, its not anything outside of what most likely actually happened during that time period, but the graphic nature of the story is NOT my idea of YA reading. The book started out fairly interesting, an unusual mix of 'Beauty and the Beast' crossed with 'Last of the Mohican Spirited is a mish mash of a book. The book started out fairly interesting, an unusual mix of 'Beauty and the Beast' crossed with 'Last of the Mohicans' for the plot, however it has some problems, in my view: While I agree that our ancestors did some truly horrible things to the Native Americans, to me this was written in a very "all or nothing" judgmental tone.

I started out reading Last of the Mohicans and ended up with Star Trek. To call this a "retelling" of Beauty and The Beast, to me at least, seems grossly unfair to the classic novel we all know and love. Lower end of C Jun 18, Jenben rated it liked it Shelves: Another book by Holder and another mixed review for her. I'm actually a little surprised that there are two retellings of Beauty and the Beast in this series.

Perhaps this one tended to not follow the "original" so much they decided to do another one, who knows. Again in her notes Holder says that her inspiration came from the Last of the Mohicans. I'm bothered that she doesn't just write her own book. I realize that this is a retelling of an original--Beauty and the Beast, b Another book by Holder and another mixed review for her.

I realize that this is a retelling of an original--Beauty and the Beast, but all the other authors in the series tend to come up with their own story. I was also disappointed that she was trying to do somewhat of a historical novel but then put in some pretty interesting things like demons, little pixie people, magical caves, and a new world in the afterlife that people could live in without completely dying. And now the positive. I found myself wanting to finish it and stayed up late to do so. I thought it had excellent points on the dangers of prejudice and judgment from both sides of the spectrum of course more so from the British.

The culture of the Indian villages was quite well set up and it was interesting to read. I also liked the idea of a Beauty and the Beast set in the early colonial Americans between a lady and an Indian--that was definitely unique. I thought this was a really good retelling of "The Last of the Mohicans". Though it dragged a little bit in the beginning, it quickly picks up. Nancy Holder is a very good writer who knows how to keep readers interested. The year is , and war between the French and the British colonies is underway.

Sixteen-year-old Isabella Stevens and her father have just arrived from England and are on their way to Fort William Henry to help wounded soldiers, when their traveling party is attacked by the na I thought this was a really good retelling of "The Last of the Mohicans". Sixteen-year-old Isabella Stevens and her father have just arrived from England and are on their way to Fort William Henry to help wounded soldiers, when their traveling party is attacked by the natives. One of them, a medicine man named Wusamequin is determined to avenge the deaths of his wife and infant son.

However, when he sees how brave Isabella is, he spares her and her father and takes them as prisoners. Isabella and her father know that unless they escape, they might very well be killed. So they flee in the middle of the night, but while her father escapes, Isabella is gravely injured. She is later found and treated by Wusamequin, who calls her Mahwah meaning "beautiful". The two slowly become friends, and later on, much more than that. While I'm not a racism advocate, I would say for historical reasons that Isabella and Wusamequin's initial perceptions of each other's race is realistic and believable.

But it's the other side of the story both slowly start to see that really got me to like this book. These are the ratings I'll give for the following. Oct 16, Elise rated it it was ok Shelves: I really enjoy stories that have elements incorporated form tribal cultures. I'm not going to say whether or not the way Native Americans are portrayed in this book are correct or not I'm not an expert in Native American cultures. Actually I'm not even sure if the specific tribe is mentioned. But I enjoy books that incorporate these cultures because they are interesting. The most enjoyable aspects of these books are as follows The strong female lead 2.

The emphasis on mercy an I really enjoy stories that have elements incorporated form tribal cultures.

The emphasis on mercy and compassion 3. Commentary on overcoming cultural barriers 4. A relationship based on working together and equality 5. Romance that included no smut and all respect Of course this book felt like a familiar story and there were plenty of cliches littered around. But personally, I don't care about cliches. The point is that no one can tell the same exact story twice, and this story is taking familiar concepts and making them over and mashing them up in a new way.

The biggest thing that bothered me is the way the "magic" and Native American spirituality was portrayed. I thought it was a little shallow. I liked the "magic" scenes, but I think they could have been more developed. Overall, an enjoyable read for someone who likes this book series and a good read for anyone interested in retellings of familiar stories. May 03, Chelsea rated it it was amazing. I really loved this book -- for the most part, this series is sterling in general, so I was expecting to like this story.

Once Upon a Time (novel series)

Instead, it sits on my 'favorite books' shelf. Isabella is a young British woman in the colonies while Wusamequin is a disenchanted Native American shaman whose family was murdered by white soldiers. Sometimes I feel like the trope with Native American characters is to make them too stoic or hard, especially in the beginning -- but that was not the case here. Wusamequin's emo I really loved this book -- for the most part, this series is sterling in general, so I was expecting to like this story.

Wusamequin's emotions were wonderfully written and I so appreciated just how he accepted that he was in love with Isabelle. When she looks through her connection with Wusamequin to see how much he misses her, I fell absolutely in love. Check out the latest reading group guides. Once upon a Time Once upon a Time is timeless with this magical series of retold fairy tales! Latest book from Once upon a Time Read an Excerpt.

Belle By Cameron Dokey. By the time her sixteenth birthday comes around, Belle feels more convinced than ever that she is being called by the wrong name. Unlike her older sisters Celeste and April, whose names suit them perfectly, Belle knows that she is not beautiful. She begs to be called by her given name, Annabelle—or even Anna for short—but to no avail. Her solace is her wood-carving hobby, and she longs to find the Heartwood tree: Belle agrees, never dreaming that she and the Beast have the same wish: Cameron Dokey Cameron Dokey is the author of nearly thirty young adult novels.

Nancy Holder Nancy Holder has published more than short stories and seventy-eight books, including the New York Times bestselling Wicked series. Tracy Lynn Tracy Lynn is a pseudonym. Courtesy of Debbie Viguie. Suzanne Weyn Suzanne Weyn has written more than novels for children and young adults and has had her work featured on the New York Times bestseller list.

Join our mailing list. Get our latest book recommendations , author news and sweepstakes right to your inbox. High Resolution Images Author Photo jpg: Cameron Dokey photo courtesy of Christopher Briscoe.

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