Not Quite a Fairy Tale

I'm not quite sure what to make of Patrice Kindl's  Goose Chase.  Her first two novels were described as, "Something very different done very well" (The Bulletin), and "unusually strong and original" (Kirkus Reviews).  Those sound like books I want to read, so I was excited as I began reading Goose Chase.  Unfortunately, my excitement soon faded.

Goose Chase is the story of Alexandria Aurora Fortunato, a girl as lovely as the dawn with hair that
sheds gold dust and tears that become diamonds.  Beautiful girl with magical powers-sounds like a fairy tale....but not quite.  Alexandria's closest companions are her 12 geese who stick with her even as she runs (literally) from the affections of not just one but two royal suitors (I know, it still sounds like a fairy tale-except for the geese and the running).

Alexandria is fiercely independent.  She has no desire to be wed and wants nothing more than to be left on her own with her beloved geese.  A strong female lead-I appreciate that; however, I didn't really connect with Alexandria.  I didn't dislike her but she didn't make the list of my favorite characters.  Her story has some fairy tale twists and turns, meeting up with ogres, dealing with a prince and of course it ends up in a castle (you can't really call that a spoiler since, if you've ever read a fairy tale, you could have guessed it would end in a castle).

Even with all of those fairy tale elements something was missing and I can't quite put my finger on what it was.  It didn't give me that same feeling that I get from other fairy tales.  That's why I call it not quite a fairy tale.  Still, it would be good for say an adolescent who feels they have outgrown fairy tales but still long for that type of story.

Embracing fairy tales...that's kids stuff.