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The Land of Stories by Chris Colfer

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Brief synopsis (no spoilers) 
When the twins’ grandmother gives them a treasured fairy tale book, they have no idea they’re about to enter a land beyond all imagining: the Land of Stories, where fairy tales are real.

But as Alex and Conner soon discover, the stories they know so well haven’t ended in this magical land—Goldilocks is a wanted fugitive, Red Riding Hood has her own kingdom, and Queen Cinderella is about to become a mother!

The twins want to get back home. But with the legendary Evil Queen hot on their trail, will they ever find the way?

Why I chose this book - I'm a sucker for fairy tales and I enjoy modern retellings and spin-offs. 

My personal opinion (the review)
This is a typical "two kids find out they have magical blood and get sucked into the magical land" mixed with the "quest to find the magical items to complete the spell to get home" books. It's very Narnia/Harry Potter-esc. What I really like is how the author weaves the characters together. Alex and Conner are very believable pre-teens and the fairy tale characters each have their own distinct personalities.  

Warnings (language, violence, "adult" situations, death, etc.) 
None.

Movie rating equivalent 
PG

Protagonist description 
Alex is a straight A student and Conner is anything but a good student, but they work well together. Alex is quiet and bookish, but is a great leader when it comes down to it. Conner is the risk taker and is able to get himself and his sister out of sticky situations. 


Point of view of story 

Third Person

 Book length 
About a week

 Story flow 
The story starts out a bit slow, but picks up once the twins enter into The Land Of Stories. 

Grammar and spelling issues 
None

Character connection (no spoilers) 
I like that you come to know traditional fairy tale story characters and what has happened to them after their own "happily ever after." A few of these characters include Goldilocks, Queen Sleeping Beauty, Queen Snow White, Queen Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, and The Evil Queen.

For series:
Independent or integral (stand-alone or back story dependent) 
Independent as the first in the series. 

 Series review as a whole
I have really enjoyed this series. You get to know what happens to your favorite princes and princesses after their individual stories have ended. Some of it is a bit far fetched, but a do feel the author has done a good job weaving the characters together. Both the modern day kids and the storybook characters are quite believable.  

 If you only have time for one, read: (which one) 
The Land of Stories - because it's the first one and gives all the background and introductory information, but as far as the story goes I like The Enchantress Returns best. 
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