A Book Review of ‘Wicked Marigold’ by Caroline Carlson

Hello, my friends! ^^ Life has been utterly crazy here (when isn’t it???), especially with me having just arrived in Thailand earlier this week! The food has been absolutely fantastic (chocolate milk!!! delicious donuts!!!! Thai noodles!!!! tangerines that actually taste good!!! stuff that I can’t find in China!!!!). But most of all… the bookstores.

Tis very, very hard to find bookstores in China (Taikoo Li in Chengdu has a very good one though). You will definitely find a random indie bookstore on the streets. But one good thing about Thailand is that here I have a favorite bookstore! (I simply adore bookstores!) It’s a small one, and basically squished into a larger bookstore that sells Thai books, so I didn’t see it when I walked past and completely panicked, thinking it had closed.

Of course, my dad found it just a little while later… and it was right in front of me…

But we did find the bookstore! And of course, because the bookworm in me absolutely cannot resist, I got two books — Wicked Marigold by Caroline Carlson and The Last Bear by Hannah Gold. I finished reading Wicked Marigold last night, curled up with Izzy and Charlotte, and I simply adored it! It was such a good book, and it honestly felt like a story that is so easy to just slip inside to and escape.

The blurb reads: Overlooked Princess Marigold is nothing like her perfect, just-returned sister—so she runs away to an evil wizard’s tower to prove her wickedness.

Princess Marigold—who hadn’t yet been born when the remarkable Princess Rosalind was kidnapped—is eleven when the unthinkable her older sister escapes her captivity and comes home. Marigold has always known she’s not as good, sweet, or kind as the sister everyone adores, but amid the celebration of Rosalind’s return, Marigold realizes something. If Princess Rosalind is good, then Princess Marigold must be wicked. And there’s no place for wickedness in the kingdom. When Marigold tries to find a new place for herself in an evil wizard’s fortress, though, the results are disastrous. Before she’s even learned to cackle or scowl properly, she gets tangled up in a magical plot to ruin all the Cacophonous Kingdoms. Is Marigold too wicked to make things right? Or can she—with the help of a kitchen boy, a well-dressed imp, and a grumpy blob of glop—find her own way to restore peace?

I loved this story!! ^^ It has a lot of elements I love, and to be honest, I wasn’t really expecting anything when I picked it up at first. It just sounded like a fun middle-grade book! And of course, I was absolutely wrong, and this story wormed its way into my heart and is now one of my favorite middle-grades of all time. I love how this story mixes both humor and heart, but especially the humor!!!! I was laughing out loud as I read this story, and I enjoyed seeing all the antics and shenanigans Marigold gets wrapped up in, especially when a spell goes horribly wrong.

Of course, characters are always the most important part of a story for me, and I am ever so glad to say this book doesn’t disappoint at all! Marigold is very relatable, especially with her being so different from her older sister and feeling like she isn’t as good or as sweet as Rosalind. She’s both stubborn and reckless, which made the story such fun to read about! (Stories are always fun when the main character’s recklessness gets them into hilarious shenanigans, and I stand firmly by this opinion). Torville’s character is quite funny as well, and I loved seeing how his character developed! And after that certain spell goes awry… Well, I won’t give any spoilers, but it’s hinted at on the cover. (Take a closer look at what Marigold’s holding in her hand….)

I love the setting of this story! It’s very much light-hearted and humorous, with the Cacophonous Kingdoms and the squabbles all the kingdoms have with each other, which felt like a fantastic break from all the epic fantasy I’ve been reading and writing — I adore epic fantasy, but a little humor and stories where the world is not going to completely end/it’s not as serious as, say, Keeper of the Lost Cities, are very much appreciated!

Not to mention the plot is filled with humor and heart, and as mentioned before, I was laughing aloud as I read about all of Marigold’s shenanigans!! Caroline Carlson weaves humor into this story fantastically, and all the hilarious incidents and heart and magic come together to form a beautiful, whimsical story! (And the ending!!!! The ending had me in hysterical cackles of laughter.) It was also quite fun because in this story, you get to see what all the villains and wizards are planning, which isn’t something you see a lot in middle-grade books!! (And as for what the villains are plotting, well, suffice to say it’s absolute chaos.)

Overall, a hilarious middle-grade adventure that I am certain shall captivate any reluctant reader to start, well, reading!!! It has humor, heart, and action, which weave perfectly together to form a fantastic story, and it’s the perfect story to escape into if you want some laughs and fun and adventures!

Thoughts from Charlotte and Izzy:

Izzy: Marigold is…… interesting. Very interesting. (eyes the cover and tries not to raise an eyebrow at her shenanigans) As a mother of ten pandas, I must say, I am rather concerned for this poor girl’s wellbeing. WHY ON EARTH HAS SHE RUN AWAY TO AN EVIL WIZARD’S TOWER?!?!! But as she is a book character, I shall let it slide and not ground her for doing so. Me: Izzy, you can’t ground a character– Izzy: But all in all, a fantastic book!!!! Quite funny. The little pandas had a great laugh with this.

Charlotte: (gasps for air as she rolls around on the floor in hysterical cackles of laughter) So…. funny…. the blob… the spells…. (chokes on laughter) I want to find an evil wizard’s tower now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Me: NO CHARLOTTE DON’T– Izzy: (immediately grabs her and restrains her and glares at Marigold, muttering under her breath)

It appears the pandas had a good laugh with this book!! (Ignore the little squabble back there. This is a normal day with the pandas) And though you an see a little squabble going on, this really is a fantastic book! Definitely a five out of five star read that is truly a perfect story to escape into — I certainly had no troubles slipping inside this book and completely forgetting the outside world, and I hope you will too. In the meantime, do let me know down in the comments if you’ve read this book (or are planning to!) and please do let me know if you have any MG book recommendations! (I love hearing y’all’s book recommendations!)

Till next time,

-Isabelle

About the Author:

Caroline Carlson is the author of funny and fantastical books for young readers, including The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates trilogy, The World’s Greatest Detective, and The Door at the End of the World. Her novels have won accolades from the New York Times, the American Booksellers Association, Bank Street College of Education, the American Library Association, and Junior Library Guild, among others.

Caroline holds a BA from Swarthmore College and an MFA in Writing for Children from Vermont College of Fine Arts. A Massachusetts native, she now lives in Pittsburgh with her family. You can visit her online at http://carolinecarlsonbooks.com.