Parents' Guide to

Cursed: Gilded, Book 2

By Carrie R. Wheadon, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Dramatic, gory, thrilling finale of Rumpelstiltskin reboot.

Book Marissa Meyer Fantasy 2022
Cursed: Gilded, Book 2

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

Community Reviews

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age 13+

Based on 1 parent review

Thankfulmom
Thankfulmom Parent of 15-year-old
November 21, 2022
age 13+

Fantastic conclusion!

Cursed is a milder conclusion to the Gilded duology. There is less violence and gore. Cursed picks up right where Gilded ended. It is exciting all the way through. The storytelling is top notch both within the book and the book itself.
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What's the Story?

In CURSED: GILDED, BOOK 2, it's the night before Serilda's wedding, not to Gild, the poltergeist and gold spinner who doesn't know he's the father of her child, but to the cruel, immortal Alder King. The king knows of the pregnancy and wants to give his true love, Perchta, the baby as a gift when he frees her from Verloren, the underworld. If Serilda doesn't marry him and give him the child, he will hold five ghost children hostage in his castle forever instead of allowing them to be at peace in Verloren. Serilda goes along with the plan, vowing to both help the children and never tell Gild the truth. Still, the two search together for a way to break the curses the Alder King bestowed upon them. The first step is to find their mortal bodies, hidden somewhere in the castle, tethering them as spirits there with a magic arrow. They wait each full moon when the Veil lifts and the Wild Hunt departs to search the more mysterious parts of the castle, finding all kinds of frightening dark and mysterious magical creatures in the process. Just before the Straw Moon they finally know where their bodies are and how to release other trapped souls in the castle. The wait for the Wild Hunt to depart is agonizing. And then it gets worse still: Serilda is ordered to accompany the hunt, and she won't be returning to the castle or her body or to Gild anytime soon.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1 ):
Kids say (1 ):

If you like your fairy tales extra dark with a generous dollop of high drama, this duology finale is for you. When the main character is pregnant for most of the book and sure she will never be allowed to keep her child or tell the father of the baby that it's his, there's no getting around that extra helping of drama. Luckily, ghost-Serilda's growing belly is contained in her mortal body, well out of the action of the story for most of it. So readers don't have to imagine a pregnant protagonist chasing down lost gods and beasts and running from cruel immortals with morning sickness and a bigger and bigger baby bump. She's got enough to get on with, and often so much that she loses hope and her way in thwarting the king. Those are the slower, less satisfying moments of Cursed, when Serilda waits to see what the Alder King will do next instead of trying to track down Gild in the dungeons or ferret out the mysteries of Gravenstone Castle. She's already a ghost and she still has to lose so much more before she pieces together the king's grander, eviler, more power-hungry plans and begins to fight back again.

When Serilda does begin to fight back, she's forgiven for her past helplessness. Especially when she enlists the Hulda-blessed talents of Gild and his awesome long-lost relative (who really needs her own fairy tale told as well). Serilda will also need to free a god or two, fall in with some stealthy warrior moss maidens, uncover more secrets of her parentage, and recall some essential storytelling details to truly become the hero of her own story. It's hard to imagine a more dramatic finale than this one. Get ready for some twists and turns and have the Kleenex box handy.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about unexpected twists to fairy tales in Cursed: Gilded, Book 2. How do certain twists reinforce the themes of the series about the power of storytelling to incite change?

  • There are seven gods in this story, all with they/them/their pronouns. Why do you think the author chose to not to have gods and goddesses with male and female pronouns, respectively? Does it change the way you see the powers and gifts of each god? How would mythology and even religions practiced today be seen differently if no male or female attributes were associated with their deities?

  • There are many gory moments in this reimagined fairy tale. If you look at the original Brothers Grimm tales, they are also gorier and darker than what many kids read today. Do you think a fairy tale can be too dark? Would you rather a sunnier version?

Book Details

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