Craig Staufenberg

First of all, thanks to the author for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review!

I got into reading when I was 13, and I never actually read any of the classic fairytales. Sure, I watched numerous movies and know all of the plots but I never actually read them. I guess I figured I was too old for them.

The Girl Who Came Back To Life on the other hand is a fairytale for all ages. It's magical without having any magic at all. It's beautiful, meaningful and really amazing.

The character of Sophie is intelligent, strong and real and I absolutely loved her. She was the sweetest fairytale heroine I ever met!

I'm so so glad I got a chance to read this beautiful fairytale.

To the author (if he ever reads this): The Girl Who Came Back To Life made it to my favorites list! And not just that, it has become my favorite fairytale too!… (meer)

The Girl Who Came Back to Life was a very interesting and strange story. It follows a young girl who has just lost her parents and must travel North to see them off into the afterlife - but decides instead that she wants to bring them back to life.

The book jumps right in from their death and Sophie's attempts to make money and then the travels North; and it because it jumps right in there is not much time to learn about the character or even learn to feel for her as a reader. Give it a chance though. Once you get to about the halfway point you feel her mission take hold of you and want her to achieve and it is a wonderful story. The grandmother is horrible most of the time and that is saddening, but the people Sophie encounters along her journey are amazing and full of light in this almost depressing tale.

Sophie is strong, stubborn, and determined to reach her parents. Dealing with emotions that she has always suppressed Sophie learns a lot about herself on her journey North. Although as a reader we only see this through the transformations in Sophie as she travels - the tale is actually told as if by a narrator looking into her tale. It is a beautiful story.

The format itself is very easy to read; the chapters are short and there were a good amount of break-pages in between the chapters so its length is very short overall. I was surprised by this - the story if so deep yet the chapters leave a lot to the imagination. It was a very interesting read and I enjoyed it.… (meer)

Sophie's parents have died, leaving her an orphan. Even more importantly, leaving her the only one who can release their spirit from the City of the Dead. When a person dies, their loved one must send them on to the next world by making a gruesome and dangerous journey north and up a mountain to the City of the Dead in order to say 'Goodbye' and release their spirit. Sophie has every intention of going to the City, but not saying goodbye, she wants to tell her parents to come right back where they came from. When her parents die, Sophie is taken in by her distant and seemingly harsh grandmother, who is not going to make it easy on Sophie to get what she wants.

From the introduction, I felt intrigued by the City of the Dead. Then when we meet Sophie, I was even more interested. Sophie is smart, daring and willing to learn. Without the blurb I couldn't quite place Sophie's age, at times she seemed much younger than her 12 years and at times older. However, this is a journey where Sophie grows up and learns valuable life lessons about grief, friendship, and saying goodbye. This short story is told in a fairytale style with third-person narration that let me be able to imagine the trials and tribulations of Sophie's journey that included a train, bus, boat, vans and mountains as well as the mysterious City of the Dead. I was glad that unlike many traditional fairytales, Sophie is the hero of her own story.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.… (meer)

This is a delightful fairy tale that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. It is written in the easy to read style of fairy tales, and has, like other fairy tales, an important message. It contains the usual fairy tale themes that Staufenberg melds together into a gourmet mix. There is the theme of the garden of youth, as well as an adventure trip with a search and discovery, strange scenes such as violet trees, unusual and unexpected helpers, secret doors, strange sights such as a TV set in the middle of a forest, a hermit, a mischievous elf-like creature, strange houses, secret messages, surprises, friendship, and love.

The short tale is only fifty-four pages, nine short chapters. The three main characters are unnamed, for they could be and are anyone. There is an eleven-year-old unconsoled orphan girl who pines for her mom and dad. She’s in an orphanage where the other children torment her, until one day a very old lady comes to the orphanage with a pool boy who is about her age, and adopts her. The old lady talks funny and the boy hardly at all. She is taken to a large house for the old lady is very rich. The house contains a locked room. The room was locked by the old lady’s husband, who is now dead. The old lady finds a key, enters the room, and finds a TV with a video message from her husband.

The dead husband tells his wife that he had found the fountain of youth and he wants to share it with her. She can use it to become whatever age she wants. He tells her the history of the fountain, a love story, a tale of longing of a boy and girl to be with each other. He says that the pool boy knows where the fountain is and can take her to it. She should go with him, drink its water, and be as young as she wants. She decides to accept her dead husband’s gift and she, the pool boy, and the orphan girl set out on their adventure to find and drink from the fountain of youth.

What age will the old lady choose? What will happen to the orphan girl? What is the story’s message?… (meer)