Cloaked

Author: Alex Flinn
Publisher: HarperCollins

I'm not your average hero. I actually wasn't your average anything. Just a poor guy working an after-school job at a South Beach shoe repair shop to help his mom make ends meet. But a little magic changed it all.

It all started with a curse. And a frog-napping. And one hot-looking princess, who asked me to lead a rescue mission.

There wasn't a fairy godmother or any of that. And even though I fell in love along the way, what happened to me is unlike any fairy tale I've ever heard. Before I knew it, I was spying with a flock of enchanted swans, talking (yes, talking!) to a fox named Todd, and nearly trampled by giants in the Everglades.

Don't believe me? I didn't believe it either. But you'll see. Because I knew it all was true, the second I got cloaked.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked up this audiobook. I haven't read anything else by this author. I am so glad I did. This was such a cute story. Johnny, who thinks his life is going nowhere, gets sucked into an adventure of a lifetime. Not only does he learn that magic does exist, he also learns about integrity, the value of true friendship and love along the way. He does get his own fairytale HEA, but you'll have to read the book to find out what that entails.

Alex Flinn has woven several fairy/folk tales into this book. Ms.Flinn is kind enough to list them out for the reader in the author's note. A few of them are "The Shoemaker and the Elves"," The 12 Swans", and "The Frog Prince". Some of them are a bit obscure, so it was nice of her to clue me in as to which ones she used. It made me want to look them up and read them.

So, I would definitely recommend this one! It was good clean fun and so appropriately labeled YA. I would even say a 'tweens' would like this one.

--Kari