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Rough-and-tumble Saturday Woodcutter thinks she's the only one of her sisters without any magic—until the day she accidentally conjures an ocean in the backyard. With her sword in tow, Saturday sets sail on a pirate ship, only to find herself kidnapped and whisked off to the top of the world. Is Saturday powerful enough to kill the mountain witch who holds her captive and save the world from sure destruction? And, as she wonders grumpily, "Did romance have to be part of the adventure?" As show more in Enchanted, readers will revel in the fragments of fairy tales that embellish this action-packed story of adventure and, yes, romance.. show less
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I liked book one better, but this was still a delightful follow-up. This is Saturday's story, and based off of Baba Yaga (I don't know the exact original story, but it's the one Bony-Legs is based off of). The book begins with Saturday accidentally creating an ocean at her family's doorstep, bringing her sister Thursday. She then ends up kidnapped by a giant raven and deposited in the mountain of a demon witch.
I was a bit put off by the cover because Saturday, as it was made clear in the first book, eschews dresses and would have rather been a boy than a girl. But as with book one, the cover does not do the book justice. It's fairly subversive about gender, having both Saturday and Peregrine playing gender-fluid roles. There's also the show more addition of the utterly delightful Betwixt, the shapeshifting chimera.
This book ends with the beginning of a larger quest, and a larger story that I'm eagerly looking forward to reading. Ready to start Dearest, and then the Trix books. And hoping that I won't have long to wait for book four... show less
I was a bit put off by the cover because Saturday, as it was made clear in the first book, eschews dresses and would have rather been a boy than a girl. But as with book one, the cover does not do the book justice. It's fairly subversive about gender, having both Saturday and Peregrine playing gender-fluid roles. There's also the show more addition of the utterly delightful Betwixt, the shapeshifting chimera.
This book ends with the beginning of a larger quest, and a larger story that I'm eagerly looking forward to reading. Ready to start Dearest, and then the Trix books. And hoping that I won't have long to wait for book four... show less
When Saturday Woodcutter accidentally calls an ocean into being where her front yard used to be, she finds herself on the adventure she's always dreamed of. With her enchanted sword in hand, she faces pirates and sea monsters and a sly and irritable mountain witch who takes her captive, mistaking Saturday for Jack Woodcutter, the brother Saturday thought was long dead. Also held captive by the witch is a young man named Peregrine, whom the witch thinks is her dutiful daughter (the witch has lost her eyes, leading to all of these cases of mistaken identity). Can Saturday and Peregrine escape the witch's clutches without waking the dragon that slumbers beneath the mountain? And does romance have to be part of the adventure?
I'm really show more enjoying this series, which takes storylines from various fairy tales and legends and combines them into the lives of one large family. Saturday's story is more of a typical fantasy adventure and less of a fairy-tale mashup than Sunday's story (Enchanted) was, but it's still a fun read with intriguing bits and pieces of fairy tales tossed in, no doubt to be expanded upon in future volumes. And I, for one, can hardly wait to read them! show less
I'm really show more enjoying this series, which takes storylines from various fairy tales and legends and combines them into the lives of one large family. Saturday's story is more of a typical fantasy adventure and less of a fairy-tale mashup than Sunday's story (Enchanted) was, but it's still a fun read with intriguing bits and pieces of fairy tales tossed in, no doubt to be expanded upon in future volumes. And I, for one, can hardly wait to read them! show less
Summary: Saturday Woodcutter has three things: an good appreciation of a hard day's work, a magical sword that is sometimes an axe, and a desire for adventure. Her sisters all seem to be the ones with magic and talent and special destinies. But then Saturday gets her first taste of magic, and accidentally breaks the world, bringing the sea to the door of the Woodcutter's cabin. Saturday leaves with her sister Thursday on her pirate ship, but that's just the start of the adventure… soon Saturday finds herself trapped in a cave in a mountain at the top of the world, held prisoner by a witch, and forced into the company of Peregrine, a young man pretending to be the witch's daughter, and Betwixt, his shapeshifting companion. Saturday show more wants to escape, but breaking the witch's power may have consequences that will prove more dire than the captivity itself.
Review: I have a lot of the same complaints about this book that I had about Enchanted, but I found a lot of the same things about it enjoyable, as well. Hero, like Enchanted, has a lot of stuff going on, a lot of really disparate elements, and they all happen kind of right on top of one another, with not enough space to really breathe or develop fully. A lot of stuff happens all in a rush, particularly at the beginning and end of the book, and it lead to me not fully understanding things like how the witch's magic worked, which was a fairly important piece of the story. And although there sere some great moments, and all of the various elements were interesting on their own, I was also less clear where they all were coming from - in Enchanted, part of the fun was picking out all of the various fairy tale references and how they were worked in; Hero was drawing on sort of the generalized hero/quest format type of story, but not on any particular source material that I could recognize.
One thing I did love just as much as ever were the characters. Saturday's great; she looks at her sisters and their ballgowns and their running off to become princesses and is like "Pfft, no thanks," which is awesome.
I liked Peregrine as well; he seemed like a good mix of sweet and sarcastic and smart - like most of my favorite protagonists, let's be honest. There's also some interesting gender dynamics at play, since Peregrine is enchanted so that he resembles the witch's daughter, and is used to (if maybe not so far as "comfortable") dressing and acting as a girl, while Saturday is mistaken for her older brother Jack. My one reservation I have with Peregrine is how quickly he falls in love with Saturday, and how completely, when she's still not even sure she likes him much. I realize that kind of thing happens, and Kontis does acknowledge the weirdness of "I loved you before I met you" from Saturday's point of view, but that uneven emotional dynamic made their relationship somewhat less romantic and less compelling for me. It kind of made me wish Saturday had stuck to her guns re: romance being an unnecessary distraction.
(If it makes you feel smaller than you are, that's not love!)
The one thing I did love unabashedly was the characters' interactions with each other. Saturday and Peregrine are good foils for each other, Saturday and Peregrine and Betwixt together made me laugh fairly frequently, but Saturday and her family were the parts I loved the most. Their love for each other, and the comfortable family dynamic always comes across really clearly, and was just utterly charming and fun. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Recommendation: Overall, it's a fun adventure with some interesting characters and a lot of cool elements, even if they can be a bit of a jumble. Recommended for YA readers who are also fairy tale fans. show less
Review: I have a lot of the same complaints about this book that I had about Enchanted, but I found a lot of the same things about it enjoyable, as well. Hero, like Enchanted, has a lot of stuff going on, a lot of really disparate elements, and they all happen kind of right on top of one another, with not enough space to really breathe or develop fully. A lot of stuff happens all in a rush, particularly at the beginning and end of the book, and it lead to me not fully understanding things like how the witch's magic worked, which was a fairly important piece of the story. And although there sere some great moments, and all of the various elements were interesting on their own, I was also less clear where they all were coming from - in Enchanted, part of the fun was picking out all of the various fairy tale references and how they were worked in; Hero was drawing on sort of the generalized hero/quest format type of story, but not on any particular source material that I could recognize.
One thing I did love just as much as ever were the characters. Saturday's great; she looks at her sisters and their ballgowns and their running off to become princesses and is like "Pfft, no thanks," which is awesome.
"To Saturday, falling in love was a nonsense never hoped for. Love and marriage and family would mean the end of her adventuring. She had only just begun to live her life outside the towerhouse. So far, that life had been full of swords and witches and life-or-death decisions. Kissing had no place there. And yet, Saturday couldn't bring to mind a tale about Jack in which he'd banished evil or bested a beast without winning the heart of some girl in the end. Saturday sighed. Did romance *have* to be part of the adventure? It just seemed so unnecessary and distracting." --Location 1648
I liked Peregrine as well; he seemed like a good mix of sweet and sarcastic and smart - like most of my favorite protagonists, let's be honest. There's also some interesting gender dynamics at play, since Peregrine is enchanted so that he resembles the witch's daughter, and is used to (if maybe not so far as "comfortable") dressing and acting as a girl, while Saturday is mistaken for her older brother Jack. My one reservation I have with Peregrine is how quickly he falls in love with Saturday, and how completely, when she's still not even sure she likes him much. I realize that kind of thing happens, and Kontis does acknowledge the weirdness of "I loved you before I met you" from Saturday's point of view, but that uneven emotional dynamic made their relationship somewhat less romantic and less compelling for me. It kind of made me wish Saturday had stuck to her guns re: romance being an unnecessary distraction.
"Saturday touched the closest cave painting, wondering how it felt to love someone so completely, for so long. The sheer grandeur of his passion made her feel small. She wasn't sure her own meager feelings would ever measure up to this obsession." --Location 2424
(If it makes you feel smaller than you are, that's not love!)
The one thing I did love unabashedly was the characters' interactions with each other. Saturday and Peregrine are good foils for each other, Saturday and Peregrine and Betwixt together made me laugh fairly frequently, but Saturday and her family were the parts I loved the most. Their love for each other, and the comfortable family dynamic always comes across really clearly, and was just utterly charming and fun. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Recommendation: Overall, it's a fun adventure with some interesting characters and a lot of cool elements, even if they can be a bit of a jumble. Recommended for YA readers who are also fairy tale fans. show less
Weird delicious fairy tale remix. Just as much fun as the first one, but I wanted more from Saturday and less from Peregrine, I think. Bah! It's an epic adventure with a magical sword and a moving ocean and a witch on top of the world. Can't wait for the next one!
I enjoyed the first book in this series, Enchanted. For me, this book was much slower to hook me, but once it got going it was good fun. Kontis has a knack for writing twisty-turvey fairy tale mash-ups. This one had a very fresh vibe to it because the heroine wields a sword, is referred to as a "giantess," and of a very athletic body. The hero is caught up in magic and lives for a prolonged time in a cave at the Top of the World, where the blinded witch believes he's her daughter. The way they accept each other is great and such a healthy thing for teens to read. This is one of those books where you can't help but smile at the end.
I didn't fall in love with Hero like I did with Enchanted; however, Hero was written from a different sister's POV and, while I liked Saturday, I just didn't connect with her the same as Sunday. Plus, the plot of this story was a bit harder for me to sink down into. I'm not sure if that was due to pacing or characters.
Saturday considered herself ugly because she's tall, often referring to herself as a giantess, has an athletic body, described as "built like a man," and seemingly has no magical abilities, repeatedly saying she was the only "normal" one in her family and she didn't use normal as a compliment. So I guess her low self-esteem kinda grated on my nerves, and then it took an external source(s) acknowledging her beauty show more (Peregrine) and abilities (Peregrine, Betwixt, Cwyn) before she would even consider the possibility that she wasn't ugly, dangerous or useless. What I will say for Saturday, though, is she never gave up. Her persistence, loyalty and honor are all admirable qualities. I even quite enjoyed her stubbornness.
The love story didn't really "do" it for me, but I appreciated the fact that Peregrine and Saturday were partners, helping each other. It's written that Saturday rescued the damsel; I think they rescued each other with a little help from the chimera, Betwixt. And I'll always support a relationship built on mutual respect and a genuine bond over instalove built on "ohhh, you're beautiful and perfect."
Recommended to Enchanted readers especially if those readers want more adventure, sword fights, magic and a maybe happily-ever-after - once the couple has a chance to stop saving the world and just live a regular life.
3 stars and I look forward to Dearest show less
Saturday considered herself ugly because she's tall, often referring to herself as a giantess, has an athletic body, described as "built like a man," and seemingly has no magical abilities, repeatedly saying she was the only "normal" one in her family and she didn't use normal as a compliment. So I guess her low self-esteem kinda grated on my nerves, and then it took an external source(s) acknowledging her beauty show more (Peregrine) and abilities (Peregrine, Betwixt, Cwyn) before she would even consider the possibility that she wasn't ugly, dangerous or useless. What I will say for Saturday, though, is she never gave up. Her persistence, loyalty and honor are all admirable qualities. I even quite enjoyed her stubbornness.
The love story didn't really "do" it for me, but I appreciated the fact that Peregrine and Saturday were partners, helping each other. It's written that Saturday rescued the damsel; I think they rescued each other with a little help from the chimera, Betwixt. And I'll always support a relationship built on mutual respect and a genuine bond over instalove built on "ohhh, you're beautiful and perfect."
Recommended to Enchanted readers especially if those readers want more adventure, sword fights, magic and a maybe happily-ever-after - once the couple has a chance to stop saving the world and just live a regular life.
3 stars and I look forward to Dearest show less
"Those of us who are Fate's playthings often have little choice where our path takes us."
This was a great adventure and an interesting meshing of some of the fairy tales we all know and love.
But this one wasn't quite up to the standard of book 1. It was good on it's own but not quite as amazing. Saturday is kind of a tough girl to love. she's gruff and stubborn and often confused by the emotions of there. She does come off like she doesn't care but...sometimes she does.
I think another stumbling block for this one is the beginning. A lot of it is just throw in confusing and it takes a good 10 chapters to really sort out some of the odder points. And the smoke moment between mother and daughter - that whole thing felt childish and silly. show more It felt out of place with the rest of the book....
all in all, it was good and I did enjoy it. I just didn't love it. show less
This was a great adventure and an interesting meshing of some of the fairy tales we all know and love.
But this one wasn't quite up to the standard of book 1. It was good on it's own but not quite as amazing. Saturday is kind of a tough girl to love. she's gruff and stubborn and often confused by the emotions of there. She does come off like she doesn't care but...sometimes she does.
I think another stumbling block for this one is the beginning. A lot of it is just throw in confusing and it takes a good 10 chapters to really sort out some of the odder points. And the smoke moment between mother and daughter - that whole thing felt childish and silly. show more It felt out of place with the rest of the book....
all in all, it was good and I did enjoy it. I just didn't love it. show less
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Author Information
46+ Works 2,795 Members
Alethea Kontis is a LibraryThing Author, an author who lists their personal library on LibraryThing.
Awards and Honors
Series
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Hero
- Original publication date
- 2013-10-01
- People/Characters
- Saturday Woodcutter; Peregrine of Starburn; Betwixt; Cwyn
- Important places
- The Woodcutter's Cottage; The Top of the World (so high in the White Mountains that time itself doesn't reach the summit.)
- Dedication
- For my beloved grandmothers, Helen E. Kontis & Madeleine DeRonde, who taught me to be a singer, a dancer, a chef, an artist, a poet, a dreamer, a world traveler, a reader, a storyteller, a tea drinker, a lover of life, and a ... (show all)woman of strength.
- First words
- "OH, HOORAY! It's you!"
- Quotations
- The birds screeched at each other overhead dancing in and out on the currents of air as if they were braiding it themselves.
She lunged at Thursday, forcing her sister to jump back in surprise.
”Ten bones on the Giantess,” called Erik.
Twenty on the Captain,” yelled one Simon.
”Fifty on the Harpy,” shouted another Simon.
”Wh... (show all)ich one’s that?” asked a third. - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"What on earth happened to your ear?"
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, Tween, Kids, Fantasy, Teen, Young Adult
- DDC/MDS
- 813.6 — Literature & rhetoric American literature in English American fiction in English 2000-
- LCC
- PZ8 .K833 .H — Language and Literature Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Juvenile belles lettres
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 334
- Popularity
- 94,312
- Reviews
- 26
- Rating
- (3.74)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 5
- ASINs
- 4
