That the best thing for her to do is simply wait (and wait some more) and hope some prince will grant her a happy ending. As a storyteller, I have a fascination with traditional tales, legends and myths, and I am genuinely excited when new texts appear which present fresh (sometimes twisted) versions of these stories, drawing in new audiences and challenging established ones. I really thought I would maybe dislike this book, but I think I needed a book filled with ridiculousness like this one because my mood said yes to this book!

A wildly wicked twist on the Brothers Grimm classic Rumpelstiltskin, the reader is easily immersed and enthralled in the storyline. He is the presenter of BBC's Teach Poetry (Oct 2018) and features in DiscoveryEDUK's Poetry Curriculum. Beyond the failed characterization, the plot, worldbuilding, and writing left something to be desired. But the ending…the ending is an open ending, and I do enjoy open endings, but the implication of this ending makes no sense!His debut poetry collection, Werewolf Club Rules, was the 2015 winner of the CLPE CLiPPA Poetry Award.

The plot of Sleeping Beauty being transported to an alternate world upon pricking her finger on the spindle should've been good, it's one of those "active" retellings of the tale that usually works wonderfully, but the writing in first person POV that breaks the fourth wall (Princess Bitsy talks to the reader like some sort of wannabe Jane Eyre) is grating, infantile, and ultimately doesn't match the plot contents, which are for an older audience.

On that basis, I would suggest it as a KS2 class reader or guided reading text, with opportunities to explore Coelho’s use of poetic devices as well as consider how layout affects reading. I had hopes for this because I love books with fairy tale elements, but I just cannot recommend this. This funny, clever and very enjoyable verse retelling of Rumpelstiltskin takes the story back to its original darkly horrifying roots and adds a smart, likeable heroine who saves the day with a story. So when she and her sisters are invited to the christening of the princess, she concocts a special spell for the baby. However, I thought it could have been executed better if there was more character development, some addition to the plot, and if it was targeted to middle grades rather than YA.

Long-listed for The Carnegie Children's Award with his poetry collection 'Overheard In A Tower Block' illustrated by Kate Milner (also shortlisted for the CLPE CLiPPA Poetry Award and Longlisted for the UKLA Book Awards. The plot did not stand out to me, I loved the idea of Sleeping Beauty being taken to a world so unlike her own. This cutesy princess is like some pet lamb with a baby-talk name that's thrown into a bloody world she can't navigate and has problems thrown at her that she barely handles enough to not be swept away by the mess.

Considering her full name is Elizabeth, there are various other variations the author could have chosen but they decided Bitsy was the way forward. To put it succinctly, everything in this book from the writing to the characterisation to the plotting leaves much to be desired. His second book, Overheard in a Tower Block, was shortlisted for the 2018 CLPE CLiPPA Poetry Award and is longlisted for the 2019 UKLA Book Awards.