Hamster Princess: Harriet the Invincible: 02/29/16

Hamster Princess: Harriet the Invincible by Ursula Vernon is the start of a new adventure fantasy series about a warrior princess who happens to be a hamster. The illustrations are done as comic book panels.

Harriet the Invincible is a retelling, a deconstruction, of the Sleeping Beauty story. Though her parents want to keep her safe and hidden, Harriet realizes that there's a huge loophole to the curse. If she's destined to fall prey to it on her birthday, she should by all rights be invincible before then.

Rather than feel sorry for herself, Harriet goes out into the world as a hero for hire. Her year abroad gives her the skills to fight the curse. In no other version of Sleeping Beauty I've read or seen has the cursed princess fought back. Sure, she's gone into hiding, she's begged for mercy, but ultimately shell falls under the spell and then needs rescuing by some wandering prince.

The second half of the book then is the what-if exploration of what happens to a curse when the victim fights back? How can the cursed save herself and everyone she loves? It's a great adventure story that I've read with children and adults. Everyone regardless of age or gender has loved it.

The second book, Of Mice and Magic comes out in 2016.

Five stars

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