All you need to know about

THE LAND OF STORIES

Author : Chris Colfer

If not for their uncanny resemblance to each other, people would find it very hard to believe that Alex and Conner Bailey are twins. They are polar opposites of each other. Alex is the perfect student, studious and bookish, and not very popular due to her being a model student in every teacher's eyes. Conner, on the other hand, is every teacher's waking nightmare, frequenter of detentions and is known to regularly doze off during class hours. But ever since their father passed away in a car accident more than a year ago, the life of the twins had taken a turn for the worse, with their mother having to work overtime to provide for the family and the abrupt changes in their lives. Yup, story just starts and we already find out that our main characters desperately need therapy. (Don't worry, it gets better.)

Then, as their grandmother gifts them her storybook collection of fairy tales on their twelfth birthday, Alex discovers very strange things about the book. For one thing, it glows. Aaaand hums. Also, things disappear into it.

As Alex experiments with the book, Conner began to notice alarming changes in his twin's behavior, the most distinct one being when Alex nodded off during class hours, which had never happened before in her pristine record.

As Conner then confronts Alex and she reveals the strange features of the storybook, the twins accidently fall into the book, which is later revealed to be a portal into the Land of Stories, a world in which stories such as Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty are not just fictional stories, but very much alive and VERY much real.

Alex and Conner must then travel through the Land of Stories and collect certain items to create the Wishing Spell, which will supposedly help them get back home.

But things are never as easy as they seem, are they?

The twins are not the only ones who want to use the Wishing Spell. They must race against the fearsome Evil Queen, who wishes to use the spell for her own purpose.

Join Alex and Conner on their adventures in the Land of Stories, where they must journey through dark forests, meet fairies, witches and men turned into frogs (cuz why not?) to protect the tales they grew up listening to, because in a story with an undaunted and determined hero, there is always a villain lurking in the shadows.

ALL BOOKS IN ORDER

The Wishing Spell
The Enchantress returns
A Grimm Warning
Beyond the Kingdoms
An Author's Odyssey
Worlds Collide

The final book of the series, Worlds Collide, was released on 11th July 2017. On 1st October 2019, a prequel series to the Land of Stories series was released, which will be covered in my future updates.

My Comments

The Land of Stories series was a very unique experience for me, as it was quite unlike the book series I have read before. The worlds that I explored in these stories were familiar to me, as I had grew up listening to these fairy tales. No matter how old we grow, fairy tales will always be a huge part of our childhood that we just can't shrug off. The story also had very interesting characters with diverse personalities, and it was beautiful the way no one was completely perfect. Alex's wisdom, Conner's sense of humor, Goldilocks's courage and Red's sarcasm levelled out the story perfectly and made it a phenomenal read. The story also focused on the fact that things are not always as black and white as they seem. On the whole, the Land of Stories is a must read for all those who never really want to grow up and truly believe that magic is real and very much alive and kicking. It is best suited for ages 8 to 14, though personally I feel that it would depend on the reader's taste.