And so, as 2017 draws to a close I can share with you my last book review of the year. I am happy to tell you about “No Fairy Tale: The reality of a girl who wasn’t a princess and her poetry” by D.L. Finn
Blurb: You are invited into D.L. Finn’s life, written through a princess’s viewpoint. While it’s usually assumed in fairy tales that the princess is beloved by all, this is one princess who doesn’t feel loved. She dreams of a moment when her father will walk through the castle door, sweep her up in his arms and proclaim how much he misses her. That never happens. Instead, she is introduced to a new step family. Just like in the fairy tales, this is where the story takes a dark twist; where addiction, abuse and adolescence thrive together in retched misery. From her lowest point as a hopeless fourteen-year-old girl who gives up all hope– comes a spark of faith. This is where she begins her quest for a happy ending.
Although the princess ends her very real fairy tale, D.L. Finn steps in and shares her thoughts, poetry and photographs. This entire narrative is the author’s reality from childhood through adulthood. She maintains the privacy of those involved while hanging on to her truth.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/6AFDkwDWP4Y
Rating: 4/5
My thoughts: This is an unusual style book – the first half being a memoir while the second is a collection of poetry and photography.
The memoir section of the book is told in an imaginative way by giving it a fairy tale setting – the lead character (and author of the book) is played as a princess, but sadly her castle is not the happy home of many fairy tale princesses and she struggles through many difficulties before we can claim that ‘happy ending’ we do so desire.
As with most memoirs, particularly those written by “ordinary” people, I find it a brave step to share your innermost secrets and to allow strangers into the darkest corners of your world. This poor princess certainly has a difficult start in life, faced with issues such as abuse, alcoholism, teenage rebellion, combined with medical issues as she becomes an adult but we are left feeling that she comes out of the other side of it stronger for each experience. It might not be the best written memoir but it has a grittiness that really speaks to you.
The second half of the book is a collection of differently styled poems, scattered with several photographs. Some of the poems have a real connection back to the memoir, while others are less specifically reflective. A couple I really enjoyed were The Bearded Old Man and Reader (I’m sure all authors will recognise the sentiments in the latter of those!)
This book is certainly worth reading and deserves my four stars
If you want to get a copy then clicky here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/No-Fairy-Tale-reality-princess-ebook/dp/B01JP3TP1C/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
If you want to know more about the author then your click needs to go here: https://dlfinnauthor.com/
And as this is my last post of 2017 it seems a good time to wish you all the best for 2018 – may it bring you all of those things you wish for yourself 🙂
Dawn Delivers 