"LITTLE PRINCESS, LOVELY AS THE DAWN, WELL-NAMED AURORE..."With these seemingly innocent words, the fate of a newborn princess is sealed. For years the king and queen despaired of ever having a child. When Aurore arrives, though the entire kingdom celebrates, not all are overjoyed. They use her christening as an occasion for revenge, and her young life is overshadowed by a curse of death almost as soon as it has begun. Those who can, intervene, but evil has a way of holding fast. A sleep of a hundred years following the pricking of a finger is the best that can be done.And so Aurore grows up. Forbidden princesslike tasks of embroidery and sewing, she explores the great outdoors, reveling in the flora and fauna that surround her castle home. Then one day she meets a handsome stranger in an enchanted wood and begins an adventure the likes of which she never dreamed of.This is the story of the Sleeping Beauty, here quite awake and given new voice. Taunted by fate, Aurore soon learns that although she cannot sidestep her own destiny, love itself is actually the most powerful magic of all. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Gr 6-10-Dokey has taken the familiar "Sleeping Beauty" fairy tale and turned it into a fantastical romance guided by adventure and magic with humor and wordplay thrown in for good measure. Overjoyed to be parents, the king and queen forget to invite one of the aunts to the baby's christening. Angered by their thoughtlessness, she curses the child to a certain death-by-pricking at age 16. So begins the tale of Aurore, a beautiful, strong-willed, ill-fated princess. Wary of her destined future, her parents coddle her throughout childhood. When she turns 16 and does not die, the kingdom is beset by strange happenings, and Aurore leaves in order to save it. She sneaks off to La Foret, the forbidden forest, where she meets young Prince Ironheart, nicknamed Charming. Time becomes wobbly at this point, and readers are taken further into a tangle of fantasy and magic. Of course Aurore is the princess that Ironheart has come to rescue. When she finally does prick herself with a needle, the sleep is only moments long-or is it? The characters are realistically drawn, especially Aurore, who, as narrator, is chatty, witty, and easy to like. Though the sequence of events in the forest is somewhat confusing, and the surprise ending wraps up rather quickly, this is an enjoyable read for mature fans of fairy tales.-Angela J. Reynolds, Washington County Cooperative Library Services, Hillsboro, OR Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information