Cloaked by Alex Flinn

Cloaked by Alex Flinn is about Johnny, a seventeen year old boy who lives with his mother and runs his family's shoe business in a South Beach, Florida hotel. Things have been tough for Johnny and his mother since his father mysteriously disappeared when Johnny was only two years old. During the summer of his 17th year, Johnny spends almost all of his time working at the shoe shop - partly to earn money for his family, but partly to escape his apartment where the electricity has been shut off due to lack of payment. One summer day, Victoriana, the Princess of Aloria checks into the hotel. It is the talk of the staff and Johnny desperately wants to see her. Not only does he see her, she offers him a secret mission! Victoriana plans a secret meeting with Johnny and offers him an unbelievable quest: to find her brother, who has been turned into a frog and is somewhere in the Florida Keys. In exchange, she'll marry Johnny! Thinking about the money this marriage will bring to him and his family, Johnny accepts, convinced Victoriana has gone crazy. That is, until she gives him a magic hearing device that allows Johnny to hear the speech of animals who were once men, and a cloak which will transport him anywhere he wishes. Armed with these devices and with the help of his best friend, Meg, Johnny sets out on his journey. Along the way to saving the prince, Johnny encounters witches, giants, deadly scorpions, talking geese and rats and fox, a golden bird, and... the love of his life - who isn't who he thought it might be!

This was an amazing book! It's the kind of story you just want to hug when you shut the back cover. I loved the way the author wove many fairy tales into the story. I especially liked the author's note that summarized each of the less familiar fairy tales so I could make connections to the story itself. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fairy tales, fantasy, and/or romance novels.