Out of the Wild
Grade 4–6—Like a television show that loses steam in its second season, Durst's sequel toInto the Wild(Penguin, 2007) seems less fresh and therefore not as much fun as the original. Once again, 12-year-old Julie struggles to control the fairy-tale world imprisoned under her bed. Most of her family has escaped the nightmarish, repetitive life of fairy tales and are happy to try to exist in the real world, but when The Wild spits her father out, his unfamiliarity with life outside jeopardizes the future of the world. He's Rapunzel's prince and only knows about rescuing princesses, so Julie must protect him as she tries to attend to her friendships and a budding romance. Even readers who relished the first book will probably find this one stale.—Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Public Library, NYCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.