Straight On Till Morning (Strohm / Sofi)

Straight On Till Morning: A Twisted Tale
Stephanie Kate Strohm / Noor Sofi
Adapted from the book by Stephanie Kate Strohm (2024)

(Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.)

This past fall, I started looking for more standalone graphic novels at the library, both to read and to find examples of artwork that I could show in my Graphic Novel class. This was one that caught my eye. I saw that it was a Twisted Tale (although I was sure what that meant at the time). Only recently did I notice that it was adapted from an earlier book.

It's funny that Disney now owns Marvel, and Marvel created the comic "What if...?" because this starts off like a "What if" book, but this doesn't carry that title.

A quick check on the original book shows me that Stephanie Kate Strohm is known for reimagining Disney classics, not just only books and fairy tales. The reason I was curious about this is that I wanted to know when it because a Disney product, if it had been designed that way. There are points in the story where I wonder if they were inspired by the original nvoel or by the stage show (which I may have seen once, but I'm familiar with some of the music).

In this story, Peter Pan never flew to Wendy's house to find his shadow. Wendy and the boys grew up a bit. During that time, Wendy was still telling stories about Neverland, which she's dreamed of even if she's never visited. Angry that Peter never came, Wendy makes a deal with Captain Hook -- she trades him Peter's shadow in exchange for passage. It's a trap, of course, but a friendly pirate sets her free.

Neverland isn't what she thought it was, and neither are the Lost Boys who have a Lost Girl (or Lost Person) among them.

Wendy learns that Tinkerbell kept Peter away from her because she was jealous. Tinkerbell takes a piece of Wendy's voice so that she can speak (although the other fairies don't seem to have a problem...), and the two becomes friends. They set off to find and rescue Peter, who is searching in dangerous places for his shadow. Meanwhile, Hook plans to use the shadow to destroy Neverland.

Wendy learns that her stories have the power to shape Neverland, but so do many other children who dream about it. She also learns that the best way to save Neverland is to try to reshape her own world, even if she is a woman. (In the epilogue, there's almost a nod to Mary Poppins as the narrative jumps ahead even more years so that she can be a suffrogette.

It was an enjoable book for what it is, and it was a quick read. I managed to complete it in a couple of train rides. Meanwhile, it's been sitting next to the bed for probably three or four months. It only came out a year and a half ago. There isn't much demand for it, assuming people know about it. In any case, it's back on the shelves.

I have a couple more graphic novels and manga from the library to get to and even more in my classroom.

If you stumbled across my page via the Internet, please check out my short book series, Burke Lore Briefs. A fantastical foursome of flash fiction and short stories.

The Fairy Godmother's Tale (Marks)

The Fairy Godmother's Tale
Robert B. Marks (2025)

(Unlike most of my other posts, this post is a review. I received an ARC from Library Thing in exchange for an honest review. The review is posted there, but is also included on this page. For those who stumble upon this page, generally my posts are not review, but rather some notes to help me remember the things I've read.)

A young woman finds that she can grant wishes, causes a catastrophe, becomes a penitent, and starts a journey that stumbles through several fairy tales. Then she becomes the wife of a soldier and marches back and forth a lot before a final showdown with an adverserial wish granter.

The story opens ten years after The Peace of Westphalia. I know this because it's mentioned several times. Not being a student of history, I put the book aside to learn that the peace marked the end of the Thirty Years War, so the year must be 1658.

There's an island in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Germany that has managed to erase itself from maps and live on their own during the war. Elisa, no last name, is the daughter of a bookbinder, who realizes that she can see other people's deepest wishes. Then she realizes that these wishes have strings that she can mentally pull to grant them. She's unsure about using this power because she doesn't know if it's from God or the devil, and she's afraid that she might be declared a witch. After consulting with a priest, she grants a wish, and it turns out well. So she decides to grants the wishes of everyone on the island at once. It sets off a revolution where the royal family is put to death as well as her own family and friends. She manages to the escape as the island is engulfed in flames.

After making it to Germany, the first person she meets is the Wandering Jew, whereupon Elisa resolves to become a penitent. I know this because it's mentioned dozens and dozens of times, as she will constantly repeat it to people who already know, including the reader. After this comes a long retelling of Cinder-Ella. Elisa helps Ella's dream come true with the help of Ella's father and extended family but few actual wishes. Elisa also disovers that there is another wish granter around when that unknown person sends birds after Ella's step-family to poke their eyes out.

Ella then leaves, because she still a penitent, and stumbles through several more Grimm fairy tales, some briefly like Little Red Riding Hood, and a few that might be more obscure. During this time, France invades the Rhineland. An Internet search told me that this happened in 1687 during the Nine Years War, which is a discrepancy that does not get addressed until much later in the book. It does get addressed, but at the moment, I almost put the book down because it seemed to shatter what realism it was setting up.

Elisa finally finds out that as a wish granter, she is immortal but she hadn't noticed because she'd encountered other immortals, and she'd lost track of the seasons passing. She only finds out when she visits Ella who is now an old woman. Elisa finally meets Clever Gretel, the other wish granter who can grant her own wishes and who toys with Elisa until finally stabbing her, declaring, "I hate to tell you this, but this whole penitent thing has gotten really boring."

I couldn't agree more. It had been for a while. But that's when the book changes to very long march back and forth with the Bavarian army with her new husband during the Seven Years War. It's so different, it could be a separate book of its own. As it was, this diversion was much too long for this story.

I'd give this book three stars. If I could give half stars, I might consider 3.5. The final confrotation, which was given only a few pages, was anticlimactic. The ending wraps up the story plots a neat, but not overly satifying, way.

-----

I thought a bit about how I was going to write this. Originally, I thought I was being too harsh, but I kept reading the book, and my feelings didn't improve. If anything, this book slowed my reading momentum and I found myself playing games and scrolling social media more on the subway, even if I only had a few stops to go. It didn't win me over, which is a shame because I was hoping to leave a great review for the first book I reviewed for Library Thing.

Note that my book, A Bucket Full of Moonlight appeared on Library Thing last year. Out of 25 copies given out, I got 3 or 4 reviews. One of them from someone who obviously hadn't read the book or posted a review for a different book "by mistake." This book was a PDF file. I don't know if it was the final published edition because there were several grammatical errors that hadn't been corrected yet. A Table of Contents might've been nice, too, just so I knew how much farther to the end of each chapter.

I've already picked out a book of short stories to read on my kindle, so I can keep my daily progress going while I read a hardcover that I started a month ago but put aside for this book.

If you stumbled across my page via the Internet, please check out my short book series, Burke Lore Briefs. The fourth book will be available by the time you see this!

Tequila Sheila and Other Tall Tales (Lucci)

Tequila Sheila and Other Tall Tales
by Jessica Lucci (2021)

(Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.)

This was a book from a recent Kickstarter. It's not labeled "Kickstarter edition" but this ebook has a plain blue cover, not the one pictured above (which is quite nice). Also my copy is 85 pages on Kindle (keeping in mind, I fiddle with the font size) but Good Reads says it's 102 pages. In any case, I enjoyed the book.

The main story is about Cleo Westwind, lover of a woman named Tequlia Sheila, who starts by transporting pigs across the river, but has to dump them overboard when a police submarine rises out of the water. Realizing that she's in trouble and will be responsible for the cost of the lost pigs, Cleo runs off. Later on, Cleo brings down a bear with her pistol as the same time that Zonta, a Lakota hunter, attacked it with a spin-bow. She's befriended by the Lakota, stays with them for a while before going on her way. She learns that there's a reward for the wild boars running around the county, so she starts tracking them, but not so quickly, because she wants to stay gainfully employed for a while. Tragedy happens. Cleo gets revenges, but has to flee again. And then there's more betrayal.

A fun novella with some steampunk elements. I'm enjoying reading more steampunk because at some point, I'm going to have to try writing some.

The second half of the book is comprised of shorter stories. "Instellar Games" is about space Olympics and dragons. "Watch Your Back" is a cautionary flash tale. "Sugar Skull" is labeled "Chapter 4" for some reason, but I guess it's the fourth story in the book and the tag might've been a mistake. It starts with a dog licking her face and I'm not sure where it went after that. "Mary Baker Eddy" was a fun one about restoring old phones to their original state and working order. There's a problem though because there seems to be a phone missing, and they have to find it to make it work. There's a little bit of a Twilight Zone ending to this one, which it didn't need, but gives it a little more oomph. Finally, "Prince Charming" takes place six years into the pandemic (and at the time it was written, I'm sure it seemed like it might last that long) where a female representative of a sticker company goes to a Hollywood hotel and winds up having an encounter with Prince Harry, along with some rude woman.

A fun, quick read.

Notes: The Good Reads page states that this book was published by Indie Woods. Again, I received it as a bonus book from an eSpec Books Kickstarter. This particularly Kickstarter included my book, A Bucket Full of Moonlight.