Ever since Ella’s father died, she’s been the servant of her step mother and one of her step sisters, a life so terrible she sleeps in the fireplace so she can look at the stars at night and dream of adventures.  One morning she wakes up in bed in a castle, which is home to an ornery beast, Neesa.  She befriends Neesa, who she realizes is a girl about her age, trapped by a curse in a beast’s body.  The curse is about to become permanent, so Ella and Neesa try to figure out the riddle that will break the curse before it’s too late.

Meanwhile, Belle wakes up in Ella’s fireplace and is forced to become a servant.  She desperately wants to escape so she can win the Revel of Spectacle games and earn favors from the prince.  Belle’s father runs the family trading business, but it’s not doing well, so she plans to win and ask for fast ships and skilled sailors to restore the business.  In her quest, she befriends Amir, Ella’s friend, who is the prince of Reverie who is on a quest of his own, to find his missing sister

Told in alternating chapters, elementary school readers will enjoy seeing how these young women pursue their quests, using their intelligence and showing kindness along the way.  Eventually readers will see how the characters’ lives and stories are connected, beyond mixed up magic that swapped their bedrooms one evening.  This is a fun read with enough action to keep readers interested, especially at the end when time is running out for Neesa and Ella participates in the Revel games. The ending is very satisfying and shows readers that happy endings aren’t always how we planned them.

Reviewed by Lindsay Varnum, Orono Public Library