Cloaked by Alex Flinn

I've come across quite a few works by Alex Flinn now, and they're all adorable. Flinn doesn't seem to appreciate Disney very much (which from my blog you can probably tell I'm a fan of), but she does love the classic fairy tales and her modern twists are always fun to read. Unlike the other books by Flinn I have written about, Cloaked features not one, but several fairy tales, including lesser ones that even I haven't heard of (mind you, there were only two in her list that I didn't recognize).
Cloaked is the story of Johnny, a seventeen year old boy who repairs shoes in his family's store to try and make ends meet. His life is difficult and rather... boring. When a princess from a European kingdom visits the hotel he works at, Johnny figures he should at least get to see her. Little does he know that he would catch the eye of Princess Victoriana and be sent on a quest to save her brother, the heir to the kingdom and currently, a frog prince. On a mission to rescue a prince and his country, Johnny enters a world of magic, witches, and used-to-be-human animals.
This novel was fun and light although the romance felt randomly thrown in, with way too obvious hints. Of course, the target audience is around pre-teen, middle school age, which is fitting. I really liked the adventure aspect in Flinn's writing. Villains and heroes were clearly divided so although not the most complex read, it was quite entertaining. I enjoyed the simplicity, although from other reviews it appears others do not share the same appreciation. My only real complaint would be that because several of the characters were from Europe, Flinn wrote their dialogue with accents. By this, I mean that the princess would speak like "I vill vait for zat," or something similar. It just felt tacky to me.
I'd recommend this book to those who are looking for a fun, cute book, not something complicated to vex your mind- especially for younger audiences. I rate the book 6.5/10
~Mushu