Once Upon a Marigold

Once Upon a Marigold

By Jean Ferris

8 ratings 7 reviews 15 followers
Book 1 of 3 in the  Upon a Marigold Series
Interest LevelReading LevelReading A-ZATOSWord Count
Grades 4 - 8Grades 4 - 8W5.748980
Who knew love could be so amazing--and stupefying? Not Christian. He was clueless when he started spying on the royal family through his telescope. He lives in a cave with a troll for a dad, after all. If his dad had only warned him about all that mind-boggling love stuff, maybe things wouldn't be such a mess. But then, maybe, Princess Marigold would be dead.
But Christian wasn't warned. And now that he's fallen for the princess, it's up to him to untwist an odd love triangle--er, rectangle--and foil a scheming queen who wants to take over the kingdom, even if it means bumping off her own daughter.
With echoes of William Goldman's modern classic The Princess Bride, Jean Ferris's hilarious parody of "Once upon a time . . ." overflows with oddball characters and sage observations--and ends with a slapstick happily-ever-after that's full of surprises.
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
ISBN-13: 9780544054004
ISBN-10: 0544054008
Published on 3/5/2013
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 288

Book Reviews (7)

Add a Rating

I really enjoyed this book! Christian runs away from home as a young boy and a troll named Edric takes him in when Christian refuses to tell him who his family is (whom Christian soon forgets) and as he grows, he becomes fascinated with watching the royal family through his telescope across the river. Especially the youngest, Princess Marigold. He is entranced of how she loves to read and dig in the garden, in complete contrast to her perfect older sisters, the blonde triplets. One day he sends her a note by pigeon asking what she was reading, and a wonderful friendship blossoms. The only thing is, Christian never signed his real name, just his initial, C. When Chris is 17, he sets out to find work at the castle and finally meets Marigold in person. He hasn't revealed to her that he is 'C' yet. But Marigold is special. She has the ability to read thoughts if she is touching someone, so everyone avoids her. But Chris doesn't, and she quickly figures out that the new servant is her best friend! But Marigold's selfish, cruel mother, Queen Olympia, has a plan to marry off Marigold to a royal and kill the wonderful king (her husband!) so she can rule on her own! But Marigold and Chris do not plan to let that happen...What will happen next?! I really liked the style of this author's writing and how this book was funny, suspenseful, and added a little romance! I recommend this book to ages 8+ and I give it 4 stars!

This book is okay. It is not one of my favorites

This book is about a young prince who runs away and a troll takes him in. The boy grows up and sends notes back and forth with a princess. Then he tries to get a job at the castle...

I loved this book sooooo much! It is a great book. I recommend it to anyone!

Somewhat liked fractured fairytale. Very fun and entertaining!