| $@%&! level: Low “Bedroom” level: Low Violence level: Low (Rosie does try to strangle someone. Other than that, it's all animal attacks.) Back Cover: “All the creatures of forest and field and riverbank knew the infant was special. She was the princess, spirited away from the evil fairy Pernicia on her name-day. But the curse was cast: Rosie was fated to prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and fall into a poisoned sleep—a slumber from which no one would be able to rouse her...” |
Because Rosie is stubborn, and blunt, and appears to have been born with the opinion that the things princesses are supposed to spend their time doing are pretty much all either boring or stupid. In other words, she's a natural born tomboy, and if she'd been raised as a princess, she would have driven her nurses, tutors, governesses, and royal councillors to distraction. (Actually, that's another story I'd quite like to read, because it sounds amusing. But it isn't this one.) Instead, Rosie is raised by a couple of fairies, in a tiny village far from anything royal, and she grows up happy as a clam.
And I've spent so much time talking about her character because she's what makes this such a brilliant story. I mean, let's face it—a whole lot of the Sleeping Beauty story is going to be about a girl growing up with no idea that she's actually a princess. The could be pretty dull, which might be why Disney skipped over that part. But with Rosie as the subject, it isn't dull at all, and I love every minute of it (some minutes a bit more than others, of course).
The other thing I especially love is the magic, because it's so wonderfully random, bordering on absurdity. There's a reason why the book starts out with a description of the country and the way magic works there, because it does play a constant role in Rosie's life, even when it's sort of in the background. I enjoy the way that magic is just one of those facts of life here, something that you always expect to be around, but can't ever quite trust. Like the weather.
And finally, because I'm kind of subversive this way, I really like how the ending is different.