Ballad of the Beanstalk

De: Amy McNulty

Narrado por: Kaitlin Descutner

As her fingers move across the strings of her family's heirloom harp, 16-year-old Clarion can forget. She doesn't dwell on the recent passing of her beloved father or the fact that her mother has just sold everything they owned, including that very same instrument that gives Clarion life. She doesn't think about how her friends treat her like a feeble, brittle thing to be protected. She doesn't worry about how to tell the elegant Elena, her best friend and first love, that she doesn't want to be her sweetheart anymore. She becomes the melody and loses herself in the song.

When Mack, a lord's dashing young son, rides into town so his father and Elena's can arrange a marriage between the two youth, Clarion finds herself falling in love with a boy for the first time. Drawn to Clarion's music, Mack puts Clarion and Elena's relationship to the test, but he soon vanishes by climbing up a giant beanstalk that only Clarion has seen. When even the town witch won't help, Clarion is determined to rescue Mack herself and prove once and for all that she doesn't need protecting. But while she fancied herself a savior, she couldn't have imagined the enormous world of danger that awaits her in the kingdom of the clouds.

A prequel to the fairytale Jack and the Beanstalk that reveals the true story behind the magical singing harp.

©2017 Amy McNulty (P)2017 Amy McNulty

interesting

the speed seem fast at first but got used to it.
good version of the fairy tale

Not just Jack's Beanstalk!

Wow. This book took a classic story and twisted it upside down the back again. I really enjoyed how different the two lands were, yet tied strongly together.

Clarion is one determined girl, who is not afraid to get what she wants. She may not know who she wants to be with more, but she certainly will stop at nothing to make sure she has that choice.

Kaitlyn Descutner is brilliant. She is easy to listen to and reads at a great pace to follow. It was easy to tell the characters apart and really enjoy listening.

Definitely entertaining!

Author Amy McNulty has created an imaginative rendering of the story before the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. She introduces a lot of characters quickly, and some are not as well fleshed-out as others, so as an audiobook, it is a little hard to keep-up initially. But soon enough, each role is clarified and McNulty gets snaps for coming up with the most novel love triangle (square?) I have seen. I found it interesting and refreshing that the characters being homosexual and bisexual aren’t scandalous in any way. What is scandalous is a young female going out in public without a bonnet on her head and the admonishment of “Do you want the village to think you’re a harlot?” from a concerned adult.

A surprising element to the story is that it is quite violent. McNulty is fond of describing the “bent necks” and odd angles of the bodies of the deceased -- and there is a high body count, so don’t get too attached to anyone. I have mixed feelings about the necessity and frequency of the violence, but I suppose the story is in keeping with the tradition of many fairy tales in that regard. There are some confusing parts to the various story lines and more than a few unanswered questions, but Ballad of the Beanstalk definitely entertains. Be warned: if you're looking for a happily ever after story, this isn't it.

The narration by Kaitlin Descutner is mostly well-done, but there are a few things that caught my attention. First, the pacing is a little inconsistent and fluctuated between too fast and just right at 1x speed. Also, and especially as the action increased towards the end of the book, the narrator starts pronouncing main character Clarion’s name (three syllables) as Claron (two syllables). Descutner excels at keeping the (many) characters’ voices distinct from one another – not an easy feat! She does a great job of conveying the ever-changing emotions in each character from sadness to happiness, and even channeling a very (Disney) Ursula-like voice as Jacosa is teetering on madness.

I imagine this one might work a little better for me if I had read it with my eyes instead of my ears, but it’s worth a look either way. It’s short and engaging and the premise is unique, which in itself is enough to keep a reader listening these days.
Thank you to Audiobookworm Promotions for providing me a free download in exchange for my honest opinion – the only kind I give.

Fairy Tale retelling that interest fairytale luvas

What did you love best about Ballad of the Beanstalk?

This book had a really interesting premise and storyline. Ms. Mcnulty is definitely a strong writer and very vivid in her story telling. I think the story would have been a five for me if the f/f aspect was handed differently though. i sort of felt cheated that once the MC met a boy she didn't really "like" girls. Maybe I misinterpreted it but overall I didn enjoy the book, especially the narrator since her voice was super pretty with the singing and brought out the performance. This is my first book by this author but I look forward to more!

*Author provided an audiobook copy for my consideration. Review was however voluntary*

Mack & Clarion Ascended the Beanstalk First

Any additional comments?

I'm always on the hunt for intelligent, adult driven, psychological, and/or deeper (or darker) fairy tale or nursery rhymes retellings. This one gets two thumbs up. Rather, two hands and two legs to climb up.

The first thirty minutes or so (I wasn't watching the time) could be overwhelming with the introduction of many of the Land characters. The 'giants' seemed to be more slowly coaxed onto the pages. The relationships among the characters were a mixture of loss, sickness, happiness, new and lost loves, strict parents, diplomacy, and other dynamics. A book of this length usually doesn't cover a wide spectrum but Ms McNulty wove it well and seamlessly. If it was a quilt, it'd win the highest bid.

It quenched the curiosities of this forbidden and feared land we read from Jack's adventures when he traded his goat for the beans.

Clarion was a young a complex teenager, but this book was written for readers of that age group and older.

The romance was slightly touched with the innocence of young lovers. More in depth than puppy love; but no jumping in bed, love/hate innuendos. Complex feelings of bisexuality versus homosexuality were spoken between the characters. Love, arguments, and understanding twinkled in the developments of relationships.

Many surprises and breath taking moments - good and bad. But it made for a very solid, well-rooted fairy tale. One that isn't quite a happily ever after.

Ms Descutner's voice flowed with the characters' emotions, intensity of the movement of time, and personal confusions and explanations. Each character had a distinct tone. I'm extremely satisfied with her narration of this audiobook.

I haven't listened nor read any of this author's other works but would be happy to, should she explore other 'prequels' or retellings!

4.75 stars for story simply because an extended fifteen minutes (or so) to pace the numerous villagers would have been ideal.