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Water Song: A Retelling of "The Frog Prince" (Once Upon a Time) Review
IS TIMELESS Young, beautiful, and wealthy, Emma Pennington is accustomed to a very comfortable life. Although war rages abroad, she hardly feels its effect. She and her mother travel from their home in Britain to the family estate in Belgium, never imagining that the war could reach them there. But it does. Soon Emma finds herself stranded in a war-torn country, utterly alone. Enemy troops fight to take over her estate, leaving her with no way to reach her family, and no way out. With all of her attention focused on survival and escape, Emma hardly expects to find love. But the war will teach her that life is unpredictable, people aren't always what they seem, and magic is lurking everywhere. User Submitted Water Song: A Retelling of "The Frog Prince" (Once Upon a Time) ReviewsSeptember 14, 2008 Water Song by Suzanne Weyn I have really begun to like the "Once upon a Time" series with it's interesting retellings of standard fairy tales in unconventional settings that I wouldn't have dreamed of. This is the third book I've read in the series and I continue to be impressed with the level of storytelling they provide. This book felt much less like a fairytale than some of the others I have read so far. One would expect a story like the frog prince to be rife with magic and fairies and princes but the story of the frog prince is almost a gloss over the true story of the book. Emma is a British aristocrat that got trapped in her mother's ancestral home in Belgium on the Western Front in World War I. Her mother died in a bombing and Emma is literally caught between the Germans and Allies as they battle it out to control the North Sea ports. An American soldier fighting for the British troops named Jack got badly injured in a chlorine gas attack and was able to make his way to Emma's home and down her well to save himself from the gas. As is, his skin is torn and broken and his eyes are burned and swollen into slits. He is weak from the effects of the gas and is saved by Emma who happened by the well and saw him in search of a locket (the gold ball) that she threw in anger. Jack and Emma are not alike at all but common cause and experience bind them together to survive the insanity of war. Both go to extreme lengths to save each other (after Jack gets his strength back) and to pass information to the Allies and end up falling in love. The extra layer of story as the Frog Prince really didn't enhance the story too much but definitely gave things an extra flavor at times. The story worked well with Jack's background growing up in Louisiana and swimming in the Mississippi etc. I also enjoyed the subtle reference to Louis Armstrong and how the books that Jack and Emma read in captivity are ones that were popular then and we still enjoy reading today like Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, Great Expectations and Oliver Twist. It gave the tale such a realistic background... as if fairy tales are everyday occurences and we just aren't looking at them correctly. March 17, 2008 Fabulous retelling! I found this a fabulous retelling of The Frog Prince! As an author and collector of Fairy Tales...I read this and promptly added it to my personal collection, as well as suggesting it to my own readers! Loved it! February 8, 2008 Water Song a great twist to the Frog Prince giving great info about the war along the way. Hilarious and engaging October 6, 2007 A Relatively Modern Tale.. Through the thick of World War I, our British heiress/heroine Emma Pennington continues her life as if there were no war at all. Her parents, soon fearing the wrath of battle, move Emma and her mother to their estate in Belgium, seeking safety in the form of just another vacation. But soon they find themselves directly in tumult of war and in more danger than ever. Alone and in the hands of the enemies, a prisoner in her own home, Emma must choose her actions wisely. Should she wait out the storm, or brave the weather? And of course, how can she forget her "husband" Jack, the American soldier living in her room? For the first time, we are presented with a modern era in a "Once Upon a Time..." book. It was obviously difficult for Weyn to balance history with fantasy in it, but overall, the effect was refreshing. I like that it's not all made up. But when it comes down to the actual writing...eh. It was the easiest of settings, two young people locked up in a single room, both good-looking and intelligent. And then, 170 pages in, "Oh yeah. You're the frog prince? You saved me? I (ignorantly) had no idea. I love you. Oh. And you're a good guy." Good theory, just bad...wording. Granted, this is more a historical novel than one of fantasy (which is totally fine by me), the story is enjoyable, and a one-night read. It's something new to add to the series, and I'm glad someone at least tried. Not with a totally successful execution, but above mediocre for me. June 14, 2007 Best Once Upon a Time book YET!!! So I wasn't expecting much because frankly I wasn't into Weyn's retelling of The Night Dance, but Water Song was SO GOOD! I loved it. I read up til page 15 the first day and the next night I finished the whole thing. Even after I finished it at 4AM I couldn't go to sleep. The historical bits were pretty accurate (from what I can remember from U.S. History class) and I was cheering the characters on every step of the way. High recommended to... well if you're reading this then you're already sucked in. January 14, 2007 Disappointing...and silly, too. I've read nearly all the books in the Once Upon A Time series, and I was looking forward to this one. However, it was quite a disappointing read. I didn't mind the beginning of the story; it started out okay, although it did seems to skip over a lot of things that might have made it easier to connect with the heroine. For example, her mother is killed by German bombs (this is set in WWI) while she is sitting next to her. We only hear about this, but don't actually experience it with Emma, the heroine. Not that I have a need to experience gruesome deaths, but I felt like the author just didn't feel like spending a lot of time developing Emma's character or her backstory. Suzanne Weyn doesn't spend a lot of time on the hero, Jack, either. She does take the time to explain that he knows some Native American/Creole healing potions that he learned from his mother. He apparently also learned how to "talk" to his mother's spirit, and maybe to even transport his spirit to other places...? What?? I think this is Weyn's way of introducing the "frog prince" connection; Jack is from the bayou and is a terrific swimmer, and his mother repeatedly "speaks" to him in dreams and tells him how he is a prince, and how he knows the water, etc. Emma and a minor character are both rescued from water by Jack while both are unconscious; this adds to the mystery -- "Who was that frog-man that rescued me?" Emma even asks Jack if he has magic to turn himself into a frog. This question, while German bombs explode outside, is just a bit of a silly paradox between fantasy and reality. I really think that Weyn makes the frog connection within the first part of the book. There are enough water references. She doesn't need to go so far as to have Jack's frogginess brought up nearly every page. Okay!! We get it!! Jack is the frog prince!! It just becomes silly, and almost seems like she is trying too hard. She didn't try too hard to create the relationship between the hero and heroine, though. They don't really have a relationship. I was surprised and bored when they decided they were in love with each other. They don't really have much connection at all, and therefore I didn't feel like I had any connection to them either. Weyn tries to make this a psychological fairy tale as many of the others in the series are. Themes of finding yourself, loving who you are, discovering truth, etc. are part of many of these books, but Weyn's efforts fall flat. She does try near the end of the story to have Jack realize that he is a great man, because Emma loves him, but that he was great all along, and it took her love to make him realize what was already true. Weyn's rendition of this self-discovery is even more awkward than the sentence I just wrote. What a shame. I was hoping it would be as good as some of the others in the series, but it wasn't. The best one so far in the series: The Storyteller's Daughter, by a LANDSLIDE. Read it and be satisfied. November 13, 2006 Not So Great: SOME SPOILERS I quite like the "Once Upon a Time" series. They are usually fresh and original. Water Song is the 10th in this series. Some of the books are better than others and so I bought Water Song with some trepidation. I perhaps should have been more cautious. While there are some original, creative elements in the book, such as turning the "frog" into an American soldier from Louisiana, and the golden ball into a locket, the plot itself is almost painful to read. The first time the American soldier sees the heroine Emma he wants her love (pg. 33). Emma is continually frustrated with him (with good reason) and yet somehow this translates into her loving him. They seem to have a continually rocky relationship while falling in love with each other more and more. I do realize this is a fairy tale but the plot is highly unlikely. Call me a pessimist but the "love at first sight" aspect of the story is cliche and unrealistic. October 30, 2006 Another great Once upon a Time book I've just resently started reading the once upon a time books and have really enjoyed all of them so far. Water Song was no different. The story was original and the characters interesting. WWI and the frog prince were not something I'd think to put together. If you are a fan of the others in this series I would imagine you'd like this one too. It has a little less magic then some of the books, but I really don't think it distracts for the story at all. Magic is where you see it after all. October 25, 2006 More historical fiction instead of fairy tale fantasy "Water Song" is the latest release in the "Once Upon a Time" series, in which current teen authors take different fairy tales and put their own spin on each story. "Water Song" is based on the "Frog Prince" fairy tale, which, in all fairness, doesn't have a lot to go on. Kudos to the author for taking such a short (and relatively conflict-free) story and fleshing it out into a retelling set in World War I Europe. The story follows Emma, a young British teenager who finds herself on the WWI battlefront, unable to leave for home and alone in the world after her mother is killed in a recent bombing. She encounters Jack, a wounded American soldier, and cares for him at her family's estate while enemy soldiers take over and occupy her home. As a historical fiction book, I thought this was great. As a fairy tale retelling, I thought it was lacking a little. It's obvious who the princess and the frog are, but what's not so obvious is the use of magic (other than some events the characters can't explain and healing ability). In many respects, the author could have taken the use of magic out of the book and it would have been a stronger story. Another element that seemed poorly used was the secret of the locket. We spend most of the story wondering what exactly makes the locket special. When we finally do find out, it's rather ordinary and anti-climactic, and it's introduced quickly and discarded even faster. As Emma and Jack are both on the same side of the war, it's easy to view the German soldiers occupying her home as "the enemy." Granted, the books in this series are supposed to be quick reads. But some characterization on the part of the Germans - showing their human side, not the sterotypical bad guy way they're drawn - would have made them more interesting to read about. If you're new to the series, start with Suzanne Weyn's other book "Night Dance" or any of the Dokey books. Those are more solid fairy tale retellings. As far as "Water Song" goes - promising premise, but incomplete delivery. October 14, 2006 From the first page, the ripple of words will pull you under, and not release you until the last page has been turned Emma Pennington has been accustomed to a wealthy, comfortable life for as long as she can remember. She has never had to succumb to suffering, or been forced to work for the luxuries she has been shrouded in. And, while war is raging all around her, in the seclusion of her parents glamorous estate, she feels no different, give or take the sound of a gunshot or bomb exploding here or there. But then things change drastically. Young, beautiful Emma, and her mother travel from their home in Britain to their palatial estate in Belgium where they feel they will be safer, and will have less to worry about. However, upon their arrival, they see that the war is raging even closer in proximity in this location, and that they have placed themselves in grave danger by traveling this distance. Now, as enemy troops have claimed the estate as their own, Emma finds herself alone, with no family there to reach out to, and no way to escape from harms way. Now, the once material-obsessed Emma must focus her attention on saving herself from the danger that surrounds her in every nook and cranny, and that threatens her very existence, in an attempt to keep herself alive long enough to give her father, who is still faraway in Britain, the truth about what has happened to their beloved estate, and their once tight-knit family; while at the same time try and come to terms with the feelings of love she is experiencing towards Jack, a very peculiar man who is posing as her husband, in an attempt to keep the enemy at arms length. I have never read the fairytale THE FROG PRINCE, so I feel that I truly have nothing to compare Suzanne Weyn's WATER SONG to. However, I can say that I enjoyed the tale very much, though I must admit that I found it to embrace more of a historical fiction genre in its writing than a fairytale genre. Emma is an enjoyable character, whose stubborn disposition, and oft-times overly-sensitive, emotional personality make her seem like a real person; while her interaction with Jack, is downright splendid. The two characters play off of one another perfectly, and the reader constantly finds themselves wishing that they would just admit their true feelings for one another. Suzanne Weyn has done an amazing job of combining a mixture of science fiction, historical fiction, and a slight bit of a fairytale together to create a magical combination that is utterly impossible to put down. From the first page, the ripple of words will pull you under, and not release you until the last page has been turned. Erika Sorocco Freelance Reviewer For more Water Song: A Retelling of "The Frog Prince" (Once Upon a Time) reviews click here.
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