Review: Ondine: The Summer Shambles by Ebony McKenna

Title: Ondine

Author: Ebony McKenna

Published: Egmont Books (April 5th 2010)

No. of Pages: 292

Grade Rating: B-

This is a brilliantly witty fairy tale with a mystery that is as surreal as it is sinister. One girl. One boy. One spell to be broken. Ondine de Groot is a normal fifteen-year-old who lives with her family in the European country of Brugel. She has a pet ferret called Shambles. But Shambles is no ordinary ferret...He's Hamish McPhee, a boy cursed by a witch. A witch who happens to be related to Ondine. When Shambles turns back into Hamish temporarily, Ondine knows that she has to help him break the spell. He is the most gorgeous boy she has ever met and her one true love! He just can't remain a ferret forever. Can he?

Ondine is a seriously cute, kooky novel about a girl who is in love with a ferret. Just from those eight words, you can tell that this a truly original and sweet little book featuring a feisty herione and a feel-good fairy tale.

I don't know if I was expecting what was served up to me in the shape of Ondine or not. For some reason, I thought it was going to be a historical fiction and, to be honest, I'm not sure if it was or not. It mentioned things like The Eurovision Song Contest and mobile phones so it can't have been set too long ago. On the other hand, I received a rather prim and dated feeling when reading (which is definitely not a complaint) but I wasn't sure as to whether see this book as a novel set a while ago or one set in present day. Adding to the quaint ambience of the text, I absolutely adored Brugel! This is the setting of Ondine and possibly a future holiday destination-that is, if it was a real place.

Ondine was a fantastic female protagonist. She was like a modern day Anne Of Green Gables with a certain magical element about her. The relationship between her family and friends was strong and believable, but I felt that her relationship with Shambles/Hamish was at times a little bit rushed. In Brugel, magic is not uncommon, but I thought that she took to her pet ferret being a human a little too well and fell in love with him even quicker. Despite this, I loved Shambles/Hamish and his cute Scottish lingo and enjoyed every time he was in the scene.

The plot moved a little fast for my liking and had me thinking that this is more suitable for younger girls. I wasn't too fond of the way that the events just kept coming and going so fast. I didn't think that you could really empathise with Ondine or any of the other characters because the scenarios didn't last long enough for you to really understand how they were feeling.

Nevertheless, Ondine was a whimsical, wacky tale for readers who love the tenderness of old fashioned fairytales and the comedy of Shrek. The footnotes were a help addition for you to understand some of Shambles'/Hamish's Scottish brogue with a fun plot to match. I dare you not to fall in love.