Book Review: Unlocking the Spell by E.D. Baker

Unlocking the Spell is the sequel to the children's chapter book Wide-Awake Princess by E.D. Baker. Now that Annie has completed her quest to wake up her sleeping sister Gwendolyn by finding her a prince, Annie is having trouble adjusting to being sought after because of her immunity to magic rather than avoided because of it. To add to the continuing drama, Gwen's prince Beldegard is still a bear and needs his curse broken. It is not long before Annie, Beldegard, Liam, and Gwen are off on a new quest to find the cranky dwarf that cast the curse.

Unlocking the Spell is just as much fun as everything else I have read by Baker. Annie and her ability to neutralize magic is in many ways more powerful than the strongest magic thrown at her, and certainly keeps things interesting. The dynamics between the pragmatic Annie and pretty Gwen speak of all sibling relationships, and the struggles some face. Liam and Beldegard add more complications and concerns with Annie and Gwen along the way, and make for a fun and exciting story.  Several other familiar faces from fairy tales make an appearance, and finding them and seeing what new twists their stories take here is great fun.

I recommend Unlocking the Spell to readers to readers that enjoyed Wide-Awake Princess, and books that twist and retell fairy tales in general. I do recommend reading the books in order because it will make understanding the characters and enjoying some more subtle twists much more enjoyable.