Ballad of the Beanstalk

By: Amy McNulty

Narrated by: Kaitlin Descutner

As her fingers move across the strings of her family's heirloom harp, 16-year-old Clarion can forget. She doesn't dwell on the recent passing of her beloved father or the fact that her mother has just sold everything they owned, including that very same instrument that gives Clarion life. She doesn't think about how her friends treat her like a feeble, brittle thing to be protected. She doesn't worry about how to tell the elegant Elena, her best friend and first love, that she doesn't want to be her sweetheart anymore. She becomes the melody and loses herself in the song.

When Mack, a lord's dashing young son, rides into town so his father and Elena's can arrange a marriage between the two youth, Clarion finds herself falling in love with a boy for the first time. Drawn to Clarion's music, Mack puts Clarion and Elena's relationship to the test, but he soon vanishes by climbing up a giant beanstalk that only Clarion has seen. When even the town witch won't help, Clarion is determined to rescue Mack herself and prove once and for all that she doesn't need protecting. But while she fancied herself a savior, she couldn't have imagined the enormous world of danger that awaits her in the kingdom of the clouds.

A prequel to the fairytale Jack and the Beanstalk that reveals the true story behind the magical singing harp.

©2017 Amy McNulty (P)2017 Amy McNulty

Choices

Amy McNulty has written an interesting and creative story centered around a sixteen year old girl named Clarion. Clarion's first love is her girlfriend Elena, but as that love wanes, Clarion's heart is moved at the sight of the young man who is promised to be Elena's future husband by their parents. Clarion is also dealing with the loss of her father and the changes that her mother is making in their lives because of her father's death. I found this story to be inventive and original and I recommend it to other readers. Kaitlin Descutner's narration is good and her voice is expressive. I was given a free copy of the audiobook and I have voluntarily left this review.

A fun LBGTQ friendly fracture fairytale

Clarion is our quiet, determined hero of this story. She’s on the cusp of adulthood and this adventure will catapult her into life with several decisive actions. I really liked her character. She’s had a pretty stable if downward spiraling life up until recently. She and her mom are facing poverty. With her dad deceased, it’s up to her and her mom to make ends meet. I was right beside Clarion in her grief over her mom’s decision to sell the last of the pigs. However I do wonder why Clarion thought Royce and Raymond would keep their little pig farm going. I’m pretty sure Clarion understood that it takes male and female pigs to get a new generation of piglets… but her inner monologue on these two boy pigs says she doesn’t. That was the first little thing that didn’t make sense with this tale.

Note: I have since learned that it’s Royse (as in Medieval version of Rose). The author shared that little tidbit with me which is great since I didn’t pick up on the spelling with this audioversion.

Over all, I enjoyed this story. With that said, there are several small points (like the pig issue mentioned above) that show this tale could have used a little polishing. Clarion’s mom comes off as a bit of a harpy at first but then her character becomes softer, more approachable. But then we quickly move on with the rest of the story, so I can’t say which version of Clarion’s mom was the more realistic. These are just two examples of small points that sometimes contradicted each other.

Anyhoo, Clarion has a social gathering to get ready for and that involves first cleaning the Mayor’s house and then borrowing someone’s dress. Her beloved harp (a big awkward thing) may not be her’s for much longer. Both Clarion and I were sad about this. But we are given little time to cry over that because there’s a big beanstalk!

From this point forward, things get a bit predictable. The story still has a charm to it but I was not surprised by anything. Up in the clouds, there’s a domineering bully of a giant along with other giants. The characters travel up and down the various beanstalks while they attempt to resolve all the conflicts. The witch Jacosa plays a key role in these beanstalks and in shrinking and enlarging various characters; her herbs and magical beans provide the backbone for this tale.

Now I really did like that Clarion is having to muddle through her romantic feelings in the midst of all this. She and Elena have been friends for years and perhaps a little more. However, in the recent months, Clarion isn’t sure she feels that way about Elena any longer. Then a new young man comes to town, Mack, and Clarion feels her first little crush on a boy. I loved that her blossoming feelings for a potential heterosexual relationship doesn’t diminish her past homosexual feelings for Elena. Two thumb ups for this aspect of the story despite some ridiculous insta-love later on in the tale.

Now the ending is a bit of a cliffhanger so I hope there will be a sequel, otherwise Clarion will be stuck in an uncomfortable disposition forever. All told, it was Clarion that carried me through the story. I was attached to her even with the tale being a bit predictable.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Amy McNulty. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

Narration: Kaitlin Descutner did a very good job with this story. She had the perfect young lady voice for Clarion. There was singing! Yes, indeed! Descutner pulled this off really well. Not all narrators can easily work in a bit of singing and Descutner did not disappoint. Her male voices were believable and all her characters were distinct. There were no technical issues with the recording.

Unique tale

What made the experience of listening to Ballad of the Beanstalk the most enjoyable?

The narrator was great and I enjoyed the uniqueness of the story.

What about Kaitlin Descutner’s performance did you like?

She was able to convey a wide range of emotions and gave each character a unique voice.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes! I really wanted to know what happened next and how it would end.

Any additional comments?

I received a free review copy of this audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.

interesting

the speed seem fast at first but got used to it.
good version of the fairy tale

Not just Jack's Beanstalk!

Wow. This book took a classic story and twisted it upside down the back again. I really enjoyed how different the two lands were, yet tied strongly together.

Clarion is one determined girl, who is not afraid to get what she wants. She may not know who she wants to be with more, but she certainly will stop at nothing to make sure she has that choice.

Kaitlyn Descutner is brilliant. She is easy to listen to and reads at a great pace to follow. It was easy to tell the characters apart and really enjoy listening.

Great Prologue to Jack and the Beanstalk

The narrator chosen for this audiobook was amazing great voice for the singing parts. Awesome story about the Harp and how she became the harp. Very good book.

excellent

Loved it !! this story. the narrator is so fantastic it's like your really there!! good overall

Original fairytale retelling

Ballad of the Beanstalk
by Amy McNult, narrated by Kaitlin Descutner

I received a complimentary copy and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Sweet Clarion is sixteen and lives an arduous life with her mother, struggling to make ends meet after her father's death. Her mother sells whatever they have for a little coin, even the last of their pigs, but when Clarion learns that her mother sold her precious silver harp, she feels her world is slipping away.

Clarion turns to her friends for comfort, especially her first love, Elena, but her emotions for Elena wane when she meets Mack, the son of a Lord who accepts Clarion for the individual she is. When Mack disappears, Clarion is the last to see him alive. Everyone blames her as her only excuse is that he climbed a beanstalk and never returned.
Can Clarion convince the townspeople that the beanstalk really existed? Can she successfully find Mack alive and well?

Ballad of the Beanstalk is an original prequel to the well-loved tale of Jack and the Beanstalk and brings the harp to the forefront. I listened to the audio version and Kaitlin Descutner’s tone fits the story perfectly. I had a little difficulty getting into it at first, but it quickly dropped into place and the story flowed at a smooth pace.

Amy McNult’s characters are well-described; I especially had an aversion to Clarion’s mother, whom I felt had little sentimental time for her daughter. I sympathized with Clarion, who missed her father terribly.
This story is appropriate for readers or listeners who enjoy fairytales with a twist. It is a little unconventional, bringing raw emotions and revealing the harsh realities of life.

I also recommend it to people who don’t always need a HEA

Definitely entertaining!

Author Amy McNulty has created an imaginative rendering of the story before the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. She introduces a lot of characters quickly, and some are not as well fleshed-out as others, so as an audiobook, it is a little hard to keep-up initially. But soon enough, each role is clarified and McNulty gets snaps for coming up with the most novel love triangle (square?) I have seen. I found it interesting and refreshing that the characters being homosexual and bisexual aren’t scandalous in any way. What is scandalous is a young female going out in public without a bonnet on her head and the admonishment of “Do you want the village to think you’re a harlot?” from a concerned adult.

A surprising element to the story is that it is quite violent. McNulty is fond of describing the “bent necks” and odd angles of the bodies of the deceased -- and there is a high body count, so don’t get too attached to anyone. I have mixed feelings about the necessity and frequency of the violence, but I suppose the story is in keeping with the tradition of many fairy tales in that regard. There are some confusing parts to the various story lines and more than a few unanswered questions, but Ballad of the Beanstalk definitely entertains. Be warned: if you're looking for a happily ever after story, this isn't it.

The narration by Kaitlin Descutner is mostly well-done, but there are a few things that caught my attention. First, the pacing is a little inconsistent and fluctuated between too fast and just right at 1x speed. Also, and especially as the action increased towards the end of the book, the narrator starts pronouncing main character Clarion’s name (three syllables) as Claron (two syllables). Descutner excels at keeping the (many) characters’ voices distinct from one another – not an easy feat! She does a great job of conveying the ever-changing emotions in each character from sadness to happiness, and even channeling a very (Disney) Ursula-like voice as Jacosa is teetering on madness.

I imagine this one might work a little better for me if I had read it with my eyes instead of my ears, but it’s worth a look either way. It’s short and engaging and the premise is unique, which in itself is enough to keep a reader listening these days.
Thank you to Audiobookworm Promotions for providing me a free download in exchange for my honest opinion – the only kind I give.

Fairy Tale retelling that interest fairytale luvas

What did you love best about Ballad of the Beanstalk?

This book had a really interesting premise and storyline. Ms. Mcnulty is definitely a strong writer and very vivid in her story telling. I think the story would have been a five for me if the f/f aspect was handed differently though. i sort of felt cheated that once the MC met a boy she didn't really "like" girls. Maybe I misinterpreted it but overall I didn enjoy the book, especially the narrator since her voice was super pretty with the singing and brought out the performance. This is my first book by this author but I look forward to more!

*Author provided an audiobook copy for my consideration. Review was however voluntary*