Fairy Tale

This book was such an interesting combination where the first half of the book is a non-magic but compelling story of a boy, Charlie, helping an old man and his dog while recovering from his father's bout of alcoholism and the death of his mother. The second half of the book feels like a whole new story, with a fantasy world, a kingdom ruled by an evil king, a damsel-in-distress princess, and Charlie transforming into a prince out of a fairy tale. I enjoyed both halves, but the first half with no fantasy elements was my favorite and established all my emotional attachment to the characters. The world that Charlie came from felt so deep and real with fleshed-out characters while many of the supporting characters in the fairytale world felt a bit too cutesy.

I think all worlds are magic. We just get used to it.