The Return of King Lillian, by Suzie Plakson, is the perfect book for those who cherish the journey more than the destination. The book is a coming of age fairytale about the girl-king Lillian who wanders into the Forest of Forgetfulness and, well, forgets who she is. The bulk of the book recounts her search for Home. Along the journey she meets a variety of characters and learns valuable life lessons. Most of the book is told from the first person perspective--it is Lilian's reflections on her journey to find her Home.

Although the book certainly falls into the fairytale/fantasy genre and is quite "clean," I think that many of the deeper lessons that Lillian learns would go over the heads of younger readers, or they would get lost in the journey and be tempted to skip ahead to the end. Honestly, I was tempted to skip ahead a few times. But, I am glad that I stuck through until the end. I think that this book would be an excellent choice for a book club looking for something that, at first blush, might seem "light," but in fact contains some profound life lessons.

Thank you NetGalley for a free review copy in exchange for my honest opinion

From the description I was really excited to read this book. The story telling structure is definitely original, but I had a lot of difficulty getting into that style. I sometimes found that I didn't understand what was going on or had my thoughts drift off in the middle of a paragraph and had to read sections more than once. Lillian is an easy character to root for and find amusing. I thought it ended somewhat abruptly which makes me think this may be a series - if it's not, then it's definitely an unsatisfying conclusion.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this book, in exchange for my honest opinion.

Simply put, this book was marvelous. I loved every single word. It is told in Lillian’s own words, written in her Book (I capitalize it because she did in the story). It’s the hero’s journey, of course, but told in a new and original way.

Having grown up in the Forest of Forgetfulness, Lillian naturally remembers nothing about who she really is or where she came from. One day Destiny calls and Lillian answers, traveling into the wide Whirld to find answers. But Destiny is a funny thing, and she finds much, much more than she expected.

Lillian is the best protagonist I’ve read in a very long time. She’s spunky and has a habit of speaking her mind- whether she should or not. I love that sometimes it gets her in trouble, but in other times it’s just what’s needed. The language used in her narration is absolutely charming and natural-feeling.


Another wonderful thing about this book are the life lessons Lillian (and the reader) learn along the way. They’re beautifully disguised as different adventures, and not as heavy-handed as lessons are in a book like Little Women. For example, there’s the Narcissus, the vicious creature that attempts to defeat Lillian by telling her all her “many faults”. The way Lillian wins this encounter is nothing short of brilliant- and a perfect, subtle lesson about appearances and self-esteem.

This book is at once sweet, funny, and empowering, and I couldn’t put it down. It’s perfect for older kids navigating that hard time between childhood and everything else, fantasy lovers, or anyone who just wants a good book. I highly recommend this one.