Spelled by Betsy Schow

Today I'm gonna talk about a new book coming out tomorrow (unless you're lucky and can find it in a B&N or something.)

That book is Spelled by Betsy Schow.

What is Spelled? Here is a great review from the School Library Journal:

"A cute adventure with romance set in a world full of fairy-tale mash-ups. Readers will love Dorthea's evolution from spoiled princess to strong, confident heroine... For Oz fans, this work is a great clean-read alternative to Danielle Paige's Dorothy Must Die." - School Library Journal

Yes, Spelled is "unoriginal" as it is the story of the Wizard of Oz. But in all honesty, it's as much of the Wizard of Oz as Gene Wilder's Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. In other words, it's not. It's better. (Yes, I'm a fan of Willy Wonka...more a fan of chocolate...but whatever.)

So yeah, I may have a small bias in that Betsy is in my critique group. However, I have no problem stating how much I like this book. Betsy's humor is beyond amazing. Pretty much, I see Spelled as taking Baum's classic Wizard of Oz while throwing in Cher from Clueless who is bored with her dad's credit card watching the Home Shopping Network and then reversing the polarity (Doctor Who reference, basically saying flipping the world upside down).


Also, the story of spoiled brat to humble heroine is always one of my favorites. This is what makes Draco in Harry Potter 6 and 7 as interesting. Everyone needs a wake up call in life and as Dorthea gets hers, it's a really well-told reminder to not take what we have for granted. 

Since it's definitely worth reading, here is a nice handy-dandy link so you can go buy Spelled.

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