Princess Talia Aurora Ludwiga Wilhelmina Agnes Marie Rose of Euphrasia (aka Sleeping Beauty) has been snoozing for over 300 years after pricking her finger on a cursed spindle. Miami native Jack stumbles upon Her Majesty after giving his boring European tour group the slip. After impulsively kissing the sleeping hottie, Jack is unprepared for the chaos that ensues as an entire medieval kingdom wakes up and demands an explanation. Fleeing the scene, the unlikely lovebirds fence the royal jewels and hop a plane to America. There, Talia learns the wonders of the twenty-first century, while Jack learns to appreciate the chaste charms of an old-fashioned girl. But their happily-ever-after is threatened by evil fairy Malvolia, who remains unconvinced that Jack is Talia's true love. You can never have too many princess stories, as Flinn proves with this fractured fairy tale whose sweetly snarky tone is just different enough to stand out from the rest of the tiara throng. Fans of Meg Cabot's Princess Diaries and Gail Carson Levine's Ella Enchanted (1997) will embrace this charming, lightweight fantasy.

Princess Talia is on the verge of turning sixteen. It is a special day for the people of Euphrasia, but it is also extremely stressful. No one believed that Talia would live to see this day. On the eve of her birth, an evil fairy placed a curse upon Talia and the kingdom. If Talia pricked her finger on a spindle, the entire kingdom of Euphrasia would fall into a deep sleep and vanish from the rest of the world. Jack is on vacation in Europe, trying to erase the memory of a former girlfriend, when he and a friend stumble across the slumbering kingdom. Jack finds Talia, takes one look at her, and knows that he must kiss her. That one kiss will change Jack and TaliaÆs lives forever. Flinn takes the story of Sleeping Beauty and puts a new twist on it. Instead of presenting the novel from only one perspective, Flinn chooses to include both Talia's and Jack's points of view. It is refreshing to see how the characters develop and grow over the course of the story. Talia, a spoiled, pretentious young teenager becomes humble and thoughtful after leaving the confines of her kingdom. Jack, a young man with few prospects in life, realizes that he does love something, even if his parents think it is ridiculous. Those fans of Flinn's widely popular Beastly (HarperCollins, 2007/VOYA August 2007) will thoroughly enjoy this fractured fairy tale as well.ùJonatha Basye.

In the same vein as Flinn's Beastly, this clever and humorous retelling of """"Sleeping Beauty"""" follows an aimless American boy who awakens a princess who has been slumbering for 300 years. Jack is on a European tour mandated by his parents (""""What they don't tell you about Europe is how completely lame it is"""") when he breaks an ancient curse by kissing the slumbering Princess Talia. Instead of rejoicing, she and other awakened members of their magical kingdom are confused and perturbed to find themselves in the 21st century. In order to escape the wrath of her father, who blames her for causing the curse, Talia flees with Jack to his home in Florida. While acclimating to the modern world-cell phones, television, Jell-o shots-the princess manages to charm everyone she meets and help Jack sort out his life. Alternating between the teenagers' distinctive points of view, Flinn skillfully delineates how their upbringings set them apart while drawing parallels between their family conflicts. Fans of happily-ever-after endings will delight in the upbeat resolution, which confirms the notion that """"love conquers all."""" Ages 12-up.

Gr 5-8 An agreeable, fluffy expansion of "Sleeping Beauty," this novel conflates the traditional story with that of an American teenage boy. Talia (the princess) has the world's most overprotective parentsnot without reason, of course. Seventeen-year-old Jack's parents think about him only when they are criticizing him. When he awakens Talia with a kiss, she is thrust more than 300 years into a future in the 21st century. The learning curve is steep (and not entirely consistent) but readers will laugh at the pair's escapades as they depart Europe for Florida, try to pass Talia off as a modern Belgian girl, and come to new understandings with their respective parents. No more than fun, but plenty of that. Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Public Library, NY

Sleeping Beauty wakes up in the 21st century; cliches ensue. When Princess Talia pricks her finger on a spindle on her 16th birthday, she fulfills a curse that puts the entire kingdom of Euphrasia to sleep for centuries. Modern teen Jack, on the lam from a guided bus tour of Europe, discovers the slumbering kingdom and wakes the princess in a decidedly creepy date-rapelike scenario. Both wishing to flee the clutches of the king, they escape together to Jack's home in Miami, where the girls are either vapid sluts or nerdy brains and the boys are mostly just clueless. The narration shifts between Talia and Jack, but the device sheds little light into their characters; both are too broadly drawn to engage readers. She seems petulant and pampered but turns out to be kind and adaptable; he's supposedly a slacker, but he's really brimming with motivation. All too easily they buff away each other's sharp edges, though their lack of chemistry makes their inevitable declarations of love forced and awkward. There is nothing fresh about this reinterpretation. (Fantasy. 11-14)

In this frothy, fun-filled update of "Sleeping Beauty," Princess Talia is awakened by Jack, a Florida teen--then demands he take her home with him. While navigating the modern world, Talia turns Jack's life upside down. Flinn builds a credible romance around two vastly different (and highly entertaining) characters, injecting a little magic and chivalry into her light exploration of love and fate.