Frogkisser!

After their evil stepstepfather (it's complicated) Duke Rikard turns her older sister's latest suitor into a frog, Princess Anya sets out with Ardent, one of the talking Royal Dogs, to acquire ingredients for the anti-transmogrification lip balm that will turn the prince back. Though it initially seems to Anya a simple-enough errand, and to readers a lighthearted romp, this quest grows increasingly complex, with serious concerns underlying the silliness. Anya meets innumerable people and animals who have been unwillingly transmogrified on the whims of Rikard and his fellow evil sorcerers. From a (female) Good Wizard and the Robin Hood-like outlaw Roberta, Anya learns the extent of the corruption and class inequality in her kingdom. Now determined to oust Duke Rikard and reinstate the democratic "Bill of Rights and Wrongs," Anya wins many others to the cause-not least by kissing (and anti-transmogrifying) a lot of frogs. Nix both pays homage to and smartly subverts familiar fairy-tale, folktale, and fantasy-genre tropes. At the same time, he explores timely issues of social justice, leadership, and the duty of individuals to their communities and fellow citizens. In this world, magic, whether good or evil, comes at a price, and the final triumph over Rikard is hard won. But just as the comedy is deepened by thought-provoking questions, the sadness and sacrifice are perfectly balanced by warmth and loyal friendship. katie bircher