Starred Review ALA Booklist (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

Starred Review A long time ago in the happy kingdom of Putney, a king and a queen accidentally snub the local wicked witch. The result is the standard curse: a 100-year sleep brought on, you guessed it, when the princess pricks her finger on a needle. But what happens after the princess awakes and goes off with her charming prince? There's nothing left for a castle full of characters to do except to wait. Thus the stage is set for a surprising, quite wonderful story. Lady Jain, a pregnant woman with a mysterious past, arrives at the castle seeking refuge. She's relieved to discover that the castle's inhabitants are warm, welcoming, and willing to let her leave her past behind. Medley's characters, including ladies-in-waiting Patience, Prudence and Plenty, and Sister Peace, a bearded nun, are sweet yet surprisingly down to earth, and they make the lofty old keep into a home. The story feels both traditional and fresh, and Medley's art is clean and crisp, with strong linework that gives a real sense of fun and animation. A hefty tale that's well worth the time. For adults as well as teens.

Starred Review for Publishers Weekly

A set of linked nouveaux fairy tales, this graphic novel extends the story of Sleeping Beauty into a modern, feminist Chaucer for happy people. After Sleeping Beauty leaves with the prince, the three ladies in waiting, Patience, Prudence and Plenty, stay on in the castle, a hobgoblin-infested structure that becomes a refuge for those in need: a pregnant woman fleeing her abusive husband; Sir Destrier, a horse-headed knight who wants a place to rest between adventures; Beakie, a kindly bachelor merchant; and Sister Peace, a bearded nun. The ladies do things like dye their hair red with henna, but mostly they tell stories of their lives. The art is full of humor; we know each character as soon as we see them. The faces are particularly expressive. The stories of the bearded nuns go on a mite too long, but there's still plenty of humor in their invention of a whole order of nuns dedicated to showing up the idiocies of men. Medley's art is both exquisitely detailed and fantastically lighthearted. Though appropriate for all ages, this one-of-a-kind graphic novel is likely to appeal most to smart women in their 20s and older—much older—and to any man who believes in feminism and knows how to laugh. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(May)

Kirkus Reviews

Looping fairytale that begins and ends in the same sprawling castle. Medley is one of the true innocents toiling in the field of graphic fiction, but what this compendium of her award-winning "Castle Waiting" comic series may demonstrate is that her work is a bit much to take in one sitting. Medley starts off nicely with a neat retelling of the tale of Sleeping Beauty, in which a pair of witches—one good and roly-poly, the other malevolent and flinty of eye—fight over the newly born princess whose sleeping-curse will destroy the prosperous kingdom. From here, Medley takes off into the thickets of her own mythology and shows less interest in princes arriving to sweep the girl off to happiness (though that does happen). After the expected denouement, in which the swept-away princess turns out to be rather a selfish one (leaving her newly awakened subjects high and dry), Medley starts down a different path. Years later, the old castle has become a refuge of sorts populated by a band of eccentrics who welcome Jain, a pregnant young woman fleeing an abusive marriage who arrives after barely surviving a thieving pair of hobbit-looking little people and some murderous gypsies. For a good stretch, the book settles into a cozy rhythm as Jain becomes acquainted with her kindly keepers, whose number includes some twittery old nuns, a couple of half-animal/half-man creatures (one's part stork; the other, part horse) and a tragically silent man with a literally broken heart. Medley's tale starts to go downhill past its halfway mark, however, when she starts in on "Solicitine," a tediously long story about a bearded woman who runs off to join the circus and have adventures with other bearded women. Although Medley critically impairs the book by not knowing when to bring it to a close, her voice is charming and the artwork has an Archie -like freshness that should draw the younger set. A sweetly appealing tale that's ambitious beyond its means.

School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up-With its quiet blend of fantasy, folktales, and character-driven storytelling, this charming collection brings the first 12 issues of an Eisner Award-winning comic-book series to a wider audience. It opens with "The Brambly Hedge," which gives the origin of the castle itself. In a comic retelling of Sleeping Beauty, a medieval castle and its loving inhabitants are abandoned when the princess wakes up, finds her Prince Charming, and rides off into the sunset with him. The castle transforms into an outpost of sorts for the unusual, the unwanted, and those just needing a place to hide from the world. Talking chivalrous horses, pregnant mothers on the run, and nuns who were once bearded ladies in the circus are just a few of the colorful inhabitants whose stories fill the remainder of the volume. Medley's storytelling becomes more assured and complex as the series progresses, and she uses flashbacks and stories-within-stories in a manner that creates a rhythm that is both fun and gripping. Hard-edged lines with simple forms create black-and-white artwork that melds nicely with the fairy-tale feel of the stories. This volume is accessible for younger readers but filled with enough layers and depth to satisfy those looking for a bit more sophistication.-Matthew L. Moffett, Ford's Theatre Society, Washington, DC Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.