Fantastic book! I read it back in middle school the first time, and just reread it now. Still as enchanting as always. The characters are great, you can't help falling in love with Christian and Marigold's lives. This is basically a fairy tale for people who might not be the biggest fans of fairy tales. It's cute, it's refreshing, it's got the obligatory happily-ever-after ending that sweetens any day. You'll be sitting there, rooting your heart out for Christian and Marigold while at the same time, wishing Olympia would get stung to death by giant killer bees. Read it! It's the most amazing fractured fairy tale ever! <3 [also, totally suitable for the widest range of ages :)]

i loved this book fantsy with a twist is my type of book. it is exciting and makes u want even more of these silly characters.this book is absoulteee going to make laugh out loud and make want to be there and have your own taste.

The cover art is nothing special, but don't let that stop you from picking up this gem of a book.

Christian runs away from home when he is six years old, determined to live alone in the forest. A troll named Edric finds Christian and tries to convince him to return home. Christian refuses and stays with Edric. As he grows up, he watches Marigold, the lonely princess in the castle across the river. Christian eventually sends her a message and the two become friends. However, since Christian is a commoner, he knows that there is no chance that they can ever marry. He goes to work at the castle and finds out that Marigold's life is in danger. Christian embarks on a journey to save both Marigold and her kingdom.

An engaging mix of fantasy, romance, and humor.

Don't you hate when your parents nag at you to do you homework, fix your bed, and clean your room? Well in Once Upon A Marigold six-year-old Christian has had enough. He runs away from home to live in a forest. While in the forest, he meets a big, scary looking, but friendly troll with his two dogs, Beelzebub and Hecate. Christian gets to know this troll and decides to live with him. But Edric, the troll, says no. Christian tries hard to convince Ed. Eventually he gives up and lets him stay.
Eleven years have past and that kid that was once six years old is now seventeen and still living with his "foster father" Ed. Christian starts to spend more and more time looking through a telescope at the castle where there is a princess. Then he decides to write to the princess. They find much about each other and become very good friends.

One year has past and Christian and Marigold, the princess, are still very good friends. One day Christian goes hunting and encounters Hayes Centaur, the king's gamekeeper, and they start talking. Christian finds out that Princess Marigold is the only thing keeping her stepmother, Queen Olympia, from killing the King to take over the castle. So the Queen is trying very hard to get Marigold married and out of the castle. Hayes Centaur tells Christian that he should get a job as a servant at the castle; he can get money and make new friends. Christian finally makes up his mind and decides to get the job and heads over to the castle. After getting the job at the castle, Christian tells Marigold who he is. After spending a lot of time together Ed begins to spy through the telescope. Queen Olympia sees the telescope and thinks that there is a plan to overthrow the kingdom. She imprisons Christian and sends guards to capture Ed. While a prisoner Marigold visits Christian and tells him of her powers to read people's thoughts while touching them. Queen Olympia also announced that Marigold was going to get married. Then, drugged the king to sleep. However, Christian wants to marry her but he is not in a royal family. Will Christian stop the wedding on time? Will he be able to marry Marigold? You will have to read the book to find out.

In my opinion this is a great book. Adventure, true love, irony, fantasy, and a little bit of comedy all come together in this book. It shows that if you what something you should do everything in your power to get it like Christian did when he wanted to marry Marigold. There are no boring parts. The ending is the best part of the book. It makes you want to read more and more. The ending is not what you expect; it's the total opposite.

A book original you'll want to read it again and again-it's NOT boring at all! Jean Ferris makes the story funny, adventurous, and well, everything but the kitchen sink! Always comedy, maybe some romance, but always funny. A troll called Edric, Ed for short, finds a very young boy whom he names Christian, and raises as his own son! Ed's dogs; Beezlebub and Hecate are Chris' best friends for now. They all live in a very big cave together, each room even has crystals on the ceiling, plus each room has different colored crystals!
Chris and Ed get carrier pigeons that send letters through the entire forest. Chris finally meets his best friend for a lifetime - Marigold, the lovely, and enchanting princess that lives beyond the river. Chris watched her for weeks - he desperately wanted to talk to her. He sends the pigeons over with a letter, and they write back and forth, plus they become best friends and they encounter queens, wild weasels, tooth fairies, centaurs, and many other adventures too.
Ferris displays lots of creativity in this book. This is not one of those plain old "A prince meets a princess and they rule the kingdom and live happily every after" books. No, no no! This is new - it captures your brain in between the pages of the extraordinary novel. This book provides you with adventures that you'll never forget.