Water Song: A Retelling of "The Frog Prince" (Once upon a Time Series) [NOOK Book]

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Overview


"ONCE UPON A TIME"

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 ...

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More About This Book

Overview


"ONCE UPON A TIME"

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.

Editorial Reviews

KLIATT
British-born Emma Winthrop is stranded at her family's ancestral estate in Belgium at the outbreak of World War I. Her mother was killed during an attack on Ypres, and Emma is alone with the servants who only speak Flemish—a language Emma does not know. Back in England, rumors have circulated that the real reason Emma and her mother have not returned is that Emma's mother has run away with a secret lover. As a result, Emma's society-conscious beau, Lloyd Pennington, has called off their relationship. In a fit of rage, Emma tosses the gold ball-shaped locket that contains Lloyd's picture into a well. She soon regrets her rash actions (her mother's photo is also in the locket), and she climbs down to retrieve the jewelry. She is shocked to discover in the well a badly wounded American soldier who descended into the well to soothe his skin when it was scorched by German chlorine gas. She pulls him from the water only to discover that German soldiers have taken over her estate to use as a military base. Emma lies and tells the soldiers that the wounded man, Jack, is her husband. As the two spend more and more time together Emma begins to see beyond the exasperatingly randy American, who repeatedly asks her for a kiss. When their lives are threatened, Jack must call upon his affinity with water to save them both. He learned this magic from his mother, who was a wise woman and healer in New Orleans. Although wartime drama is present, combat is not the major element of this novel. Instead, the battles and the espionage are plot devices that force Jack and Emma together. Even the violence in the novel is light and is only deadly in the case of Emma's mother. Other characters that are"killed" are miraculously rescued from near death. This book could be used for a comparison exercise and read in conjunction with the original fairytale, "The Frog Prince." However, it would mostly be a great choice for teen girls who are looking for a light romance.
Children's Literature
Set in Belgium during World War II, this magical story mirrors the traditional tale of The Frog Prince. In this case, the prince is a young American who loves to swim. Jack's skin and lungs have been injured by the poison gas used by the Germans so that when beautiful Emma Pennington first meets him, she sees "his mottled skin, and bulging, slitted eyes," resembling nothing more than a giant amphibian. Emma was stranded in Belgium by the events of the war, and recently lost her mother, a casualty of the fighting. She is young, inexperienced and willful. She instinctively knows that she must protect her froggy friend from the Germans so she poses as his wife, allowing him to recover in the shelter of her room when the German soldiers take over her family's estate. Weyn weaves magic into the context of the story, as Jack, a native of New Orleans, slips in and out of the bedroom through secret passageways, converses with his mother through dreams, and puts together healing poultices from local plants. Although the story told does not support the quickness with which they fall in love, Jack and Emma inevitably fall for each other. Their love is pushed aside as they join English and French forces to defeat the Germans. Narrating a fast moving plot, Weyn uses descriptive language to develop the characters of Jack and Emma. Other characters are mere foils, acting as a backdrop for these two: the evil German soldier, the young adoring soldier who looks up to Jack, the obsequious servants involved in the underground. At the end of the war, Jack and Emma meet again, their love unsurprisingly as strong as ever. Weyn uses language in clever ways and manages to keep the interest of thereader, in spite of the predictable and sometimes far-fetched plot.

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781442408364
  • Publisher: Simon Pulse
  • Publication date: 12/8/2009
  • Sold by: SIMON & SCHUSTER
  • Format: eBook
  • Pages: 208
  • Sales rank: 80,940
  • Age range: 12 - 17 Years
  • Series: Once upon a Time Series
  • File size: 2 MB

Meet the Author

Suzanne Weyn

Suzanne Weyn has written more than 100 novels for children and young adults and has had her work featured on the New York Times bestseller list. Her books in the Once upon a Time series include The Crimson Thread and The Night Dance among others. Another contribution to the Pulse line is her Romantic Comedy, South Beach Sizzle. Suzanne lives in Putnam Valley, NY.s

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 53 )

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Sort by: Showing all of 18 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted April 1, 2012

    :)

    I'll have to ask the queen... Omg, Jack is so cute! I would reccommend this book to ANYONE. I don't care if you hate war stories or frogs. Emma is a feisty girl, and Jack is so... kind and caring, and not to mention smart! This is the best book by Suzanne Weyn EVER!!!!! And yes, I have read The Night Dance, and I gotta say, I love this book a whole lot more!

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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