Reseña: Beheld

Beheld 

by 

Alex Flinn

368 pages

Published January 10th 2017 by HarperTeen

ISBN:0062134574 (ISBN13: 9780062134578)

Series:Kendra Chronicles #4

BLURB: Being a powerful witch, Kendra has survived it all. Since she first beheld James over three hundred years ago, Kendra has tangled with witch hunters and wolves, helped a miller’s daughter spin straw into gold, cowered in London as German bombs fell, and lived through who knows how many shipwrecks. But her powers have limits, and immortality can be lonely. Kendra isn’t ready to stop searching for the warlock she had met centuries ago.

With the help of her magic mirror, Kendra will travel the world to reconnect with her lost love—and, of course, she can’t help but play a hand in a few more stories along the way.

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This is a retelling of 4 fairytales: Little Red Riding Hood, Rumpelstiltskin, East of the Sun and West of the Moon, and The Ugly Duckling during different centuries, since Salem's trials until modern times.

Also there is spoilers for: King Midas, Kriemhild and Sigurd, The Town Musicians of Bremen, as well as mentions of Finnete .

It feels like a self-insert for Kendra the witch whom happen to be there along the characters. An excuse for 'linking' the other stories with a flimsy love /SPOILER--->- James , whom happen to enjoy more the wars and human battles no matter his so-called love for her<---SPOILER

1) Little Red Riding - Is more The Crucible with some real witches around.

 I only wanted to be good. No. I wanted to be good and have everyone know I was good.

En cierto sentido es la más oscura por el tema que ocurrió en la vida real con el juicio a las brujas de Salem. Pero pareciera que cuando esta tomando vuelo la ficcion  Kendra se va y con ella el resto de lo que ocurre queda en el aire y terminará como cuenta la Historia americana.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crucible

2) Rumplestiltskin -- It's the clasic poor girl meets rich boy and things get ... bumpy. O el chico rico quire pasarla bien con la chica pobre , y ella termina cargando con las consecuencias. 

In this case, when she goes after him, get involved in the making gold business.

BUT the twist here is interesting, when the person who actually help her, is the ugly well reading guy. The only one who notes her love for books. 

 “People only value that which has a price. Remember that in all things, my dear.”

 

“Sometimes, a story is worth more than gold. Sometimes a story is everything.”“I agree,” the man says, his face growing solemn. “And some of us have only stories to keep us company. Books allow us to be what we will never be in reality, have what we will never have.

 

 3) East of the Sun and West of the Moon -- This story is situated in WW2 times. Two sisters go to a party to have fun, and the younger meet a mysterious man in a mask. 

Later, in a strange interchange she is actually find herself obliged to marry in exchange for get information about her MIA brother. And , of course, the thing is she can't see the face of her husband.

The story itself is as old as the Psique myth.

Kind of bizarre and more washed that I care about it, because is one of my favorites tales. Could be very good is more explored and expanded.

Note: The more interesting part for me were the history factors actually, especially about the fate of the Lancastria in 1940. 

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Lancastria

4) The Ugly Duckling --  This is a contemporary story about the friendship between a boy and a girl since kindergarden. The fat kid and the marimacho girl a match made in heaven... or not.

The background feel kind of cliche but okay. Cristopher and Amanda joined by the common grounds of bad parents and the softball are for me the more YA typical story of the four.

Matt said, “You kissed her? Like out of the blue with no warning?”
     “Yeah.” Hearing him say it like that, I could see why it was a bad idea.
     “Dude, that only works in TV shows Mom likes, and not even always then.”