SuitabookUnlocking the Spell
Elizabeth Dawson Baker
- Reading
- Read alongside a familiar Sleeping Beauty story, pausing to notice which expectations are retained, reversed or made comic; the ending and the spell’s resolution remain unclear.
- Themes
- Ingenuity versus magic: Annie faces a magical problem but is described as using tricks from her non-magical abilities to help resolve it. The premise foregrounds Annie’s ingenuity, but the book’s wider judgement about magic or non-magical ability is unclear.
- Responsibility and relationships: Annie has helped her sister and must now assist Gwendolyn’s beloved prince, although she wants to be free of the pair’s demands. The situation raises questions about obligation and boundaries, but the story’s judgement of Annie’s choices cannot be established.
- Worth knowing
- Consider discussing how Annie responds when other people’s romantic and magical troubles become her responsibility, and whether helping remains her choice as the quest develops.