From the Publisher
Since Queen Olympia's fateful fall into the river, newlyweds Christian and Marigold have been living happily ever after. And they had every intention of keeping it that way—until they find out that Olympia may not be as gone as they thought.
Turns out Olympia is alive and well in a faraway village, having lost her memory after her ill-timed tumble. But one day she awakes and remembers her previous glory as queen. Accompanied by Lazy Susan (Sleeping Beauty's slacker sister) and Stan Lucasa (a gentleman with a surprising destiny), Olympia returns, determined to take back the kingdom. Yet, thanks to a cast of familiar characters, grabbing the throne may not be as easy as Olympia thinks!
Full of zany humor, this highly anticipated sequel to Once Upon a Marigold will be welcomed by fans everywhere.
Publishers Weekly
Wrought in the same whimsical style as Once Upon a Marigold, this sequel to the fractured fairy tale tells what happens after evil Queen Olympia's plot to murder her husband and his daughter Marigold fails. After the queen falls into a river and is presumed dead, she emerges in the village of Granolah suffering from amnesia. The new Olympia, who calls herself Angie, is quite a bit more pleasant than her former self. Unfortunately, her memory returns, and after returning to her kingdom (accompanied by two Granolahans), she soon goes back to her old tricks, scheming to get rid of the king and Marigold. Fans will revel in the author's hilarious warping of fairy-tale conventions and will adore the new characters: Lazy Susan, the disgruntled half-sister of Sleeping Beauty; Mr. Lucasa, master of culinary arts, fashion design and foreign languages; and Hannibal, the white elephant, who literally shakes up the kingdom's power structure. Ages 10-up. (May)
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VOYA
When nasty Queen Olympia falls into the river on her daughter's wedding day, Princess Marigold fully expects that she and her beloved King Christian of Zandelphia will now live happily ever after. Alas amnesiac Olympia is not lost but fetches up in the downstream village of Granolah, where she becomes sweet, cooperative Angelica. Until, that is, the day when her memory suddenly returns. Outraged at her humble estate, Olympia resolves to go back to her erstwhile realm of Beaurivage, depose gentle King Swithbert, and teach her grateful subjects what's what. As Christian's foster-father Edric the troll might say, the fat is in the frying pan. With Swithbert, Edric, and Marigold's former fiancT Magnus shut up in the suitably dank dungeon, it is up to Marigold, Chris, and a few unlikely allies to stand up for truth, justice, and the Beaurivage-Zandelphian way. This sequel to Once Upon a Marigold (Harcourt, 2002/VOYA December 2002) is a fun piece of fluff with which to while away a lazy afternoon. The characters are hardly complex and the plot is a good-natured pastiche of fairy-tale clichTs, but the writing is fresh and funny and the story never takes itself seriously. Fans of Ella Enchanted, by Gail Levine (HarperCollins, 1997/VOYA August 1997) and Meg Cabot's Princess Diaries series will gobble up this tasty bonbon. It is not essential to have read the previous book, but do readers a favor and get them both. Reviewer: Kathleen Beck
KLIATT
This sequel to Once Upon a Marigold offers more fairy tale fun. The first book ended with the marriage of Christian and Princess Marigold and the defeat of evil stepmother Queen Olympia, who fell into the river. In this book, it turns out Olympia was fished out of the river with amnesia, but now, a year later, she has regained her memory and she's determined to regain her throne. Olympia schemes to take over and to make everyone's life miserable, too. Her bad energy infects the kingdom, and she arrests King Swithbert, Ed the troll, and Sir Magnus, accusing them of treason. To rescue them and get rid of Olympia, Christian and Marigold must come up with a scheme of their own. Readers of the first book will be entertained by new characters as well as old favorites in this lighthearted fantasy adventure sequel. Reviewer: Paula Rohrlick
School Library Journal
Gr 5-8- This sequel to Ferris's beloved Once upon a Marigold (Harcourt, 2002) shifts its focus from Christian and Marigold to one of the less-savory characters. At the end of the first book, the evil-plotting Queen Olympia falls into a river, allowing everyone else to live happily ever after. Now, she has arrived downstream in Granolah and, suffering from amnesia, starts a new life as "Angie." It's only when she snaps out of it and wants her throne back that trouble starts. With her friends as her companions, she treks back to Beaurivage, resumes her reign, and jails King Swithbert and Ed, the troll who raised Christian. When Marigold realizes what has happened, she cooks up a plan with Christian, her father, and Ed. But just as they've deposed the queen, Olympia turns back into Angie. Realizing they're much better off with Angie, they bring in a wizard to rid her body of any traces of Olympia, and the whole kingdom returns to its happily-ever-after mode. In focusing on Olympia and introducing a plethora of new minor characters, Ferris moves away from what was so endearing about the first book: Marigold and Christian. Throughout this one, they are settling into marriage and bickering, which becomes monotonous. Still, the sequel shines in its more witty moments, as when Marigold discovers knock-knock jokes. Fans of the first title will surely want to read this novel, but it does not stand alone.-Jennifer Barnes, Homewood Library, IL
Kirkus Reviews
Lightning doesn't strike twice, but this follow-up to the delicious romantic comedy Once Upon A Marigold (2002) goes down as easily as one of the yummy dishes crafted by anagrammatically named chef/toymaker/jolly-old-elf Stan Lucasa. At the end of the previous episode Prince Christian and Princess Marigold were united at last, while evil stepmother Queen Olympia took a header into the river. Now Olympia is back, having spent a year as an amnesiac in the distant village of Granolah, and in no time she has husband King Swithbert and two of his cronies headed for the gallows: "A fine kettle of hen's teeth," as malapropism-prone mini-troll Edric puts it. Though a tad preachy about the pitfalls of meeting violence with violence and other ethical issues, Ferris compensates with clever additions to the already-colorful cast, ushers Marigold and Christian through a rough domestic patch back to lovey-doveydom and steers the plot to a resolution that leaves everyone, even Olympia, set for a happily-ever-after. For full appreciation, readers should start with the opener. (Fantasy. 11-13)
(2 ratings)
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