Out of the Wild

Reviewed by Rachael Stein (age 15) for Reader Views (9/08) Though she may appear to be so, Julie Marchen is anything but normal. After all, when your mother is Rapunzel (yes, the one from the tower), you brother is Puss-in-Boots (the talking cat), and you just defeated the dangerous fairytale world called the Wild after it took over your hometown in Northboro, Massachusetts, any degree of normality is rather difficult to achieve. So even though Julie hopes that all these reporters and scientists will lose interest over the recent phenomenon caused by the Wild, she knows it's not likely to happen, especially when the Wild spits out Julie's father in exchange for a poetic blind mouse. And although this unexpected event confuses Julie (not to mention to shock caused to Rapunzel), Julie couldn't be happier: her family is finally together. Unfortunately, family bonding time (as well as adjustment to the 21st century for the prince) will have to wait: Julie's dad has set off to rescue the kidnapped Sleeping Beauty. But is this a valid rescue mission, or are Julie and her father just playing into the hands of the devious Wild? Either way, the Wild is back, and Julie's got to save the world from it. Sarah Beth Durst has woven another fun and fantastical tale in "Out of the Wild" that was just as good, if not better, than its prequel "Into the Wild." "Out of the Wild" is a twist on fairytales in combination with the modern world, and the resulting story is just fantastic. The idea behind the Wild is so unique. It is so difficult when creating another world to become repetitive or boring, and after reading "Into the Wild," I was almost afraid "Out of the Wild" would only be mediocre. Fortunately, I was proven wrong, and "Out of the Wild" was fresh and exciting with unforeseen plot twists. Any annoying similarities between "Into the Wild" and "Out of the Wild" can be chalked up to the uniformity of fairytales. I was almost as impressed with the characters as I was with the ingenuity of the story and plot. However, since the story is told mainly from Julie's perspective, some of the other characters were a bit confusing. Sometimes it seemed that there were a bit too many characters, but once again, this can easily be explained by the abundance of fairytale stories and characters. I felt Julie's characters could've been better developed beyond the fact that she was valiant for battling the Wild and a little shy around cute guys. This slightly lack of character development was made up for by the creativity of the characters; the fairytale characters living in the 21st century were quite interesting as was Julie's place between the two worlds. Much of the success of this story comes from the sheer creativeness of Sarah Beth Durst's creation of the Wild. I commend this fantastic story she has written in "Out of the Wild" and hope she will write subsequent novels featuring Julie and the fairytale world. "Out of the Wild" and "Into the Wild" can be enjoyed by

Julie Marchen is an ordinary 12-year-old. That is, if an ordinary 12-year-old has Rapunzel for a mother, Puss-in-Boots as an adopted brother --- and has successfully defeated the dark forces of the Wild, a fairy tale enchanted forest that wants to take over the world and change everyone into mindless characters forever looping through fairy tale plots. Julie is so relieved to have the Wild safely contained under her bed and life back to normal. Unfortunately, all that changes when Puss-in-Boots and his girlfriend chase three blind mice through the house. One mouse accidentally falls right into the green vines of the Wild beneath Julie's bed. The Wild engulfs him, making Julie and her mother, Rapunzel, crazy with fear. After all, the Wild now has a fairy tale character --- and it will grow. But instead of growing, the Wild tosses forth a person they both know. It's Julie's dad, Rapunzel's prince, who Julie regretfully had to leave in the Wild when she defeated it. Julie is stunned and thrilled. But Rapunzel, who hasn't seen Prince in five centuries, is shocked speechless. Joy finally dawns, but Rapunzel won't let herself cry because she wept at the end of her fairy tale. If she was in the Wild, her tears would trigger an eternal cycle of living through that story again and again and again. The family's bliss doesn't last long, however. They ride (Prince has problems fitting his sword into their Volkswagen) to the downtrodden Wishing Well Motel, home to Rapunzel's witch mother, Dame Gothel. Grandma is no longer evil, although she's cantankerous. She's also puzzled. Why would the Wild release Prince...or anyone? Before she can do more than voice her concerns, Bobbi, Cinderella's fairy godmother, comes rushing in with the news that Sleeping Beauty is in terrible danger. The princess is napping, and her thorns are growing out of control. Julie's dad is a prince who can never resist helping a damsel in distress. Bobbi informs him that Sleeping Beauty's own prince refuses to awaken and rescue her (because he's "moved on"). Dad is outraged. Despite Rapunzel and Julie's warnings that he will not only fuel the Wild by acting out part of the Sleeping Beauty tale but he also might give away the family's secret identity, he charges off to wake her. Very soon, however, a princess is kidnapped and evil spells have been cast. Before you can say "Bibbity bobbity boo!" Julie is flying off (by broomstick and by bath mat) on an urgent quest across the country. Can she save her family and the world just one more time? OUT OF THE WILD continues the promise of its predecessor, INTO THE WILD, complete with fairy tale characters as we've never seen before author Sarah Beth Durst introduced them to us (for instance, Jack of beanstalk fame lives with a talking, cooking cow and Gina, the former giantess). Julie is a spunky, self-deprecating, courageous and hilarious protagonist. She also struggles with issues regarding boys and family that any girl can relate to. The p

I adored Into the Wild, and was just as thrilled with the sequel. Really, it's a continuation of the first story, with revelations about exactly who and why someone released the Wild in the first book, and a very satisfying conclusion. I adore all the characters, and am terribly impressed with Durst's encyclopedic knowledge of fairy tales. Goodness! I fancied myself a fairy tale fan, but this book proved how little (and how affected by Disney!) my fairy tale skills are! A fun, fun book!

Life is starting to get back to what Julie Marchen is used to. The Wild is safely contained and back under her bed. Most of the fairytale characters, and the humans who took their places for a time, seem to be readjusting as well as can be expected. Until everything changes. While attempting to escape from Puss and Boots, one of the Three Blind Mice gets sucked into The Wild, and Julie and her mother expect the worst. Instead of growing larger, The Wild spits out Julie's dad! Julie is thrilled and her mother is just plain shocked. Everything will be perfect now! Except for her dad constantly running out to rescue damsels in distress, and his inability to function under the radar in the regular world, and his refusal to trust Julie's grandmother. (So what if she used to be evil? She's not anymore!) Apparently there's a difference between choosing to escape from The Wild and being forcibly removed from it. And it's beginning to seem like The Wild knew what it was doing. Every time Prince, the name Julie's dad chose for himself, performs a fairytale-like act (which would be just about everything he does), The Wild grows. Now it's up to Julie and some strange, some new, mostly completely unexpected friends to save the world. Again. I loved this book even more than the last title, INTO THE WILD! This one is non-stop from page one. I felt almost breathless reading it! And nearly as exhausted at the end as I imagine Julie was. As unreal, and hilarious, as pretty much all of the situations are, you still feel like you're right there experiencing all of it. Happily ever after is a dangerous concept. Reviewed by: Carrie Spellman