The Wishing Spell

Fairy tales and other stories focus on the arc of the hero or protagonist, often ignoring the viewpoint of sidekicks, villains, and other characters. Though these other angles are not explored, they still exist, and any story with at least two characters could be told more than one way. Through the retold fairy tales in The Wishing Spell, the Evil Queen’s backstory, and Alex and Conner’s different takes on the fairy-tale world, the novel explores the multiple angles present in a story.

Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty’s stories vary greatly from the original tales where they were little more than figures to be rescued. After fitting into the slipper in the original story, Cinderella became queen, but no consideration was given to how she felt or the struggles she faced. The Wishing Spell shows Cinderella doing her best to rule a kingdom where the people didn’t immediately want her as their queen. Where the original tale had a happily-ever-after, Cinderella’s story in The Wishing Spell is one of adjusting to new circumstances. In Sleeping Beauty’s original story, she slept for 100 years, but following the prince’s kiss, there was no mention of the aftermath of the curse or the struggle the kingdom faced.