Author Megan Morrison does it again by taking a well known fairy tale, The Frog Prince this time, and turning it into something exciting and unique in her next installment of The Tyme series titled Transformed: The Perils of the Frog Prince.This is the perfect book and series for those readers that have loved fairy tale retellings, but are ready for more complex and developed characters as well as settings and plot. The land of Tyme is rich and diverse, and the magical creatures are intrigue and creative and this time Morrison gives us a glimpse of what lies beyond the shores of Tyme. 

The reader is taken to the Olive Isles and is introduced to Syrah a son of the ruler there, and therefore, a prince. He also happens to be very self-centered, egotistical, and an all-around-not-nice-guy, which he proves in his actions. His not so wise choices lead to him being turned into a frog. After being a pet of some sorts to Rapunzel (from the first novel in the series), we finally get to see what life has been like for Syrah as a frog. 

As Transformed takes off, Syrah finds himself in the perfect position to not only figure out the mysterious illness, but to get to the bottom of the political intrigue going on in the Yellow Country. His frustrations in his limitations to make a difference as a frog lead him to asking the wishing well, which had transformed him into a frog in the first place, to change him back to a human. This is when he is given the directive, “Lose yourself to be found. Transform yourself to be transformed.” 

From then on out the reader gets to follow Syrah on a journey of self-discovery and change as well as trying to solve the mysteries in the land of Yellow. Once again, this fairy tale telling is not like The Frog Prince you think you might know. It really is a transformation of a young man into becoming a better person and making a difference. It also happens to be an exciting adventure that ties in some familiar old characters (Rapunzel and Jack make a minor appearance) as well as some other turned upside-down fairy tales (Hansel and Gretel this time). 

This being the third book in the series, I would highly recommend reading the first two: Grounded and Disenchanted, just so that you have an understanding of the land of Tyme, some of the characters and how the magic works in this creative world that Morrison has masterfully created.

This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Scholastic

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  1 religious exclamation; 1 anatomical term. 

Violence/Gore:  Secondhand mention of how people were slaughtered in a war with no details given; character hits another person across the face with a newspaper; secondhand account of a character having pushed a witch out of a tower and killing her; secondhand account told of a witch eating children; secondhand account of a witch luring children to the water to drown them; secondhand account of a witch luring children to her house and turning them into gingerbread men essentially killing them; secondhand account of 10-year-old boy having killed a witch by pushing her into an oven; mention of someone having people removed from office by beheading them; mention of 8 people having been assassinated; secondhand account of someone cutting off someone’s head and drinking their blood; mob turns on one person threatens to do that person harm; a rock is thrown at the crowd; man in mob threatens to kill person; person is intentionally poisoned; story appeared in a newspaper about dead children found at a witch’s home; character feels the anguish of another character from their childhood of being kept in a cage and having to deal with an abusive situation; person tries to poison another by putting something in his drink; secondhand account of abuse of 2 children-including beatings, attacks with a knife, burning with a fire poker; account of someone killing another person by poisoning them; person says they’ll poison 2 characters to kill them and then burn their bodies; person attacks another with a fire poker and knocks him down; person kicks another and knocks them to the ground; person grabs another’s legs and knocks them down; person impaled by a fire poker

Sex/Nudity:  Account told of boy and girl having kissed; Boy holds girl’s hand (3 times); Married couple kiss at their wedding; Boy puts his arm around a girl; Boy kisses girl.

Mature Subject Matter:

Death; Abuse; Epidemic of mysterious sickness.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

Frog gets drunk from spilled wine; person described as being drunk.