Frogkisser!
Frogkisser! book cover

Frogkisser!

Hardcover – February 28, 2017

by
Price
$11.87
Format
Hardcover
Pages
384
Publisher
Scholastic Press
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-1338052084
Dimensions
6 x 1.5 x 8.5 inches
Weight
1 pounds

Description

From School Library Journal Gr 8 Up—Anya, a 13-year-old princess, loves nothing more than reading in her favorite chair. But after she makes a "sister promise" to her elder sibling to turn a frog back into a prince, she finds herself on a quest for a magic lip balm that sends her far from her beloved castle library. Along the way, she learns that wizards offer help but only when asked; witches like trickery, so it's better to strike a modest bargain with them; and giants are nearsighted, but their noses are so sensitive that they can smell lies. This delightful fantasy pits the small but mighty Anya against a sorcerer, Rikard, for control of the kingdom Trallonia. Nix grounds readers with practical asides, such as how to go to the bathroom without embarrassment when there is no toilet. He also has a gift for imaginative names, settings, dilemmas, and resolutions. Best of all, he invites readers to question the adult world along with his protagonist. Ardent, a talking royal dog, is as restless and uncertain as Anya, but he helps guide her. Not that she's asking for assistance: "I don't expect to need rescuing," she tells him once before a particularly dangerous separation. "I'm not that kind of princess." VERDICT With wonderfully inventive creatures, challenging vocabulary, and a captivating story, this fantasy is recommended as a first purchase for YA collections.—Georgia Christgau, Middle College High School, Long Island City, NY Praise for Frogkisser! "Nix . . . masterfully infuses the weight of first recognizing one's privilege with humor. Great fun with heart." - Kirkus Reviews , starred review * "With wonderfully inventive creatures, challenging vocabulary, and a captivating story, this fantasy is recommended as a first purchase for YA collections." -- School Library Journal , starred review Garth Nix is the New York Times bestselling author of the Old Kingdom series, a modern classic of fantasy literature that includes the novels Sabriel , Lireal , Abhorsen , and Clariel . He is also the author of The Keys to the Kingdom series, Shade's Children , A Confusion of Princes , Newt's Emerald , and (with Sean Williams) the Troubletwisters series, among other novels. You can find out a whole lot more about him at garthnix.com. Read more

Features & Highlights

  • Poor Princess Anya. Forced to live with her evil stepmother's new husband, her evil stepstepfather. Plagued with an unfortunate ability to break curses with a magic-assisted kiss. And forced to go on the run when her stepstepfather decides to make the kingdom entirely his own.Aided by a loyal talking dog, a boy thief trapped in the body of a newt, and some extraordinarily mischievous wizards, Anya sets off on a Quest that, if she plays it right, will ultimately free her land -- and teach her a thing or two about the use of power, the effectiveness of a well-placed pucker, and the finding of friends in places both high and low.With Frogkisser!, acclaimed bestselling author Garth Nix has conjured a fantastical tale for all ages, full of laughs and danger, surprises and delights, and an immense population of frogs. It's 50% fairy tale, 50% fantasy, and 100% pure enjoyment from start to finish.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
60%
(290)
★★★★
25%
(121)
★★★
15%
(72)
★★
7%
(34)
★
-7%
(-34)

Most Helpful Reviews

✓ Verified Purchase

Fan-Froggy-Tastic!!!!

This book absolutely charmed me from its very first pages – with talking Royal Dogs and a good sense of humour! Fairy tale retellings rank amongst my favorite types of stories – especially ones that will make you laugh, and this one delights from the very first pages! Princess Anya makes for a charming heroine, albeit one with a rather stubborn temperament. This is a charming book that begs to be read aloud as a bed time story that will make it easy to beg for “one more chapter”. It’s a great, classic fantasy story with a Quest, a growing cast of transformed characters and plenty of fun, adventure and excitement. There is a lesson, here, too, like all fairy tales and this one is a good one! In some ways, it reminds me a bit of my childhood favorite fantasy novels by Lloyd Alexander… But with more than the titular fairy tale wrapped in here – from witches covens, Snow White, flying carpets and a lot of fun! I hope that this is the start to a series! The ending does seem suggestive that a sequel could be possible…
10 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

I really wanted to like this book

I really wanted to like this book, but sadly it was a DNF for me. The writing was good, but I just could not connect with the story. I made it through most of the book, but then got distracted and never finished it and found that I just didn't really care to finish it. I'm sure this is a great story, but it simply wasn't for me.

Princess Anya has to find a way to make a potion to return a frog to a prince, but she is waylaid by being sent on a quest. She doesn't exactly know where she is going, or what the quest is, but she decides she can do two things at once so off she sets with her loyal dog beside her. The story felt very splintered - two step-parents, two sisters (one of which was utterly unlikeable), a quest, and very little to really pull me into the story. It was frustrating to read and I felt like I was missing something the whole time.

The writing is strong is some ways, but frustrating .... and definitely for a young audience. I've heard such good things about Nix's books, so I have a feeling that I just need to try another of his series. Wishing I'd liked this more and sure that younger readers will!
5 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

The Captain's Log

Ahoy there me mateys! So I have a wee bit of an obsession with Garth Nix and his wonderful stories. I love him so much that he was the featured author in me first broadside. I have read 25 of his novels. So when I heard he was writing this fairy tale I had to have it. Plus awesome cover.

In his "Acknowledgments" of this novel, Mr. Nix claims inspiration from "the works of Lloyd Alexander, Nicholas Stuart Gray, Diana Wynne Jones, Robin McKinley, and T.H. White." I don't know Nicholas Stuart Gray's work (must remedy) but I can certainly see nods to all of the other authors he listed in the story.

The story centers around Anya who is the youngest princess of the kingdom of Trallonia. One of her sister's suitors is transformed into a frog by their evil sorcerer step-stepfather. In order to stop the tears and hysterics, Anya promises to turn him back into a human. This inadvertently becomes way more complicated than originally planned thus leading Anya off on a Quest!

The subversive nature of the story is what I loved about it. Favorites include the use of the magic carpet, Gerald the Heralds, otters transformed into people, how the army is formed, having step-stepparents, snow white, etc. I very much enjoyed Anya as a character. And the frogs were just delightful.

The only downside to this novel for me was the pacing. It is a very episodic story where the heroine gets a lot of help from people she just happens to meet along the way. Makes more sense after reading the acknowledgements but I would have preferred Anya to show a lot more initiative. Of course Anya doesn't really show initiative in the beginning and is a very reluctant hero who grows into her role. But unlike many of me other Nix reads, this didn't zing.

I am okay with that lack of zing. This was a solid story with a lot of fun ideas and characters. Mr. Nix continues to remain an auto-buy author. And apparently he has a new novel coming out in October this year. Arrrr!!!
4 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Amazing!

I have loved every book that I have read by Garth Nix and Frogkisser is no exception. It is amazing, charming, and had me hooked from the beginning. The characters are well developed and the imagery is amazing! Loved it from start to finish and may just read it again. Can't wait for more!
4 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

I’m probably not the targeted audience

The book came in excellent condition, everything was okay physically. The actual story though…it was just not my cup of tea, I honestly had to force myself to keep reading. That’s just me though, it was meant for a younger audience so my opinion probably is not very reliable.
1 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Drags on & it's hard to stay interested

It seemed to drag on & I lost interest. Idea was somewhat interesting but it too long to get anywhere. I didn't find the end to be that satisfying either
1 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Enjoyed by 7 1/2 year old

My seven-and-a-half-year-old read it and enjoyed it. I started it and enjoyed what I read, but I thought I'd add an age so that some folks might know a younger reader could enjoy it, too.
1 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Wonderful!

Garth Nix creates another wonderful world full of fun characters to fall in love with. Worth a read for any young adult or lover of fantasy.
1 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Frogkisser! Review!

I have been reading books by Garth Nix since middle school and look forward to each new story he has to tell.
Frogkisser! Is not your average fairy tale! While it may seem so from the title, our protagonists pave the way for a fun, lighthearted story that is great for readers of varying ages! I highly recomend this book to everyone!
1 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

The humor was specially an added bonus that I adored greatly -- but what I thought was the most amazing thing was that there was no romance

Frogkisser was an adventure from beginning to end. It was a story in which we see a strong, independent young girl who tackles her obstacles fearlessly, and isn't afraid to ask for help along the way as well. The humor was specially an added bonus that I adored greatly -- but what I thought was the most amazing thing was that there was no romance! One would've thought by the title alone that Frogkisser was going to follow a similar plot like Princess and the Frog, but instead, Anya and her friends set out on quests and adventures. Overall, without spoiling anything for readers, I would recommend this book.
1 people found this helpful

Related Books