A Kiss Is Not Always Just A Kiss

Title: The Frog Princess
By: E.D. Baker
Format: Paperback
Pages: 224
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy
Series #: 1 of 6
Date Started: May 15, 2009
Date Finished: May 18, 2009

Rating: A-

Description (book annotation): After reluctantly kissing a frog, an awkward fourteen-year-old princess suddenly finds herself a frog, too, and sets off with the prince to seek the means--and the self-confidence--to become human again.

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First off, let me say that it doesn't usually take me a full four days to finish a book like this. It should have taken me a day, like its sequel, but my weekend was quite an adventure and thoroughly distracted me from my reading. I won't go into all the gory details, but it went something like this:

• Left for brother's graduation (which was 7 hours away) on Friday.
• Started reading book but then youngest sister threw up in car. And kept throwing up.
  
• Saturday was brother's graduation, plus packing all his stuff and driving home.
• Sunday, my other sister and I catch same stomach virus and spend day puking.
• Felt a little better on Monday, so I finished the book.

As you can see, there was plenty to deter me from finishing The Frog Princess. I am glad I got to finish it though, because it was an awesome book. Princess Emeralda, or Emma, is the kind of girl any teenager (or anyone who's ever been a teenager) can relate to. She's in that awkward stage of trying to find out who she is; she thinks her mother hates her; and she's trying to ward off the attention of an annoying suitor who's more into himself than her (kinda sounds like the boys we all went to school with, doesn't it?). Exasperated, Emma runs off to the swamp, where she meets Prince Eadric while he is enchanted as a frog, and the fun begins!

I think one of the main reasons I loved this book was Prince Eadric. He's the lovable, gullible class clown that you can't help falling in love with, even while you just want to smack him upside his head. I also love him because he is not the typical knight in shining armor or Hollywood hero. He's like the boy next door; only this one has a crown.

My only issue with the book, or should I say, with the author, is that the writing could have been better. I realize that it's the first book in the series, and therefore, the author is trying to introduce the characters and the settings, but there were points in the book when a character would speak, and I'd wonder, "What's he doing there? I don't remember him being in this scene. Did she forget to include him earlier on?" I had the same issue in the second book as well, but it's my only issue. The story is engaging and funny; the characters made me laugh out loud; and the ending was completely satisfying. Overall, a very good book. A-