Customer Reviews

The Wild Orchid: A Retelling of the Ballad of Mulan (Once Upon a Time)

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I love the "Once Upon a Time" series, and this was another good addition written by Cameron Dokey. The story seems to go off of the Disney movie a bit, while mixing in a bit of the original Chinese legend and still being its own tale.

Again, like in Ms. Dokey's previous works, the characters in the story are varied and realistic. Mulan is not a perfect character, and much of the book spends time explaining how she became the young woman who would join the Chinese army in her father's place. Her childhood is explored, as well as her relationship with her father. I liked how time was spent really getting to know and understand Mulan before she went off to war.

The male protagonist, though he shows up about half-way through the book, is done well. He is as three-dimensional as he can get in his page time, and is a very likable character. His relationship with Mulan is more believable because of their encounters and conversations.

The story is a bit sadder than previous ones in the series, but then again, it does include a war. Still, the ending is happy and beautiful. Ms. Dokey does a good job of painting a image of Mulan's home and other imagery.

I think this is better for the series than the previous book, Belle, for its interpretation is more easily accepted (Beauty and the Beast is hard to write for since so many people have set examples of how the story should be, where Mulan only has the popular Disney movie and not the exact ballad to offer most people).

I would recommend this book for those who like the series, or who are willing to read another Cameron Dokey novel similar in quality to some of her previous novels. Easy to read and get through quickly. Good for a lazy afternoon or rainy day.

Mulan's mother died during labor. Her father, a great General in the army, was heartbroken. He's never been home since he heard the news. Thus, Mulan lost both her parents on the same day.

Mulan is not your typical girl. Instead, she climbs trees and despises needlework. She meets the boy next door and the two of them form a friendship. He teaches her archery, how to ride a horse, how to use a sword, and, finally, how to read and write.

When her father comes home, everything changes. First, she must learn how to trust and obey him. Second, she must learn how to love him and her new stepmother. Just when she's finally found herself a new family, the Huns appear on the horizon of China. The men are called back to war.

Mulan, unwilling to let her father go with a bad leg and a new family, disguises herself and takes his place instead. Her first day there, she catches the ears of one of the king's sons. He engages her in an archery contest. From then on, Mulan is famous throughout the camp.

With the Huns quickly approaching, all three princes have different ideas on how to defend China. Mulan mistakenly speaks out during a strategizing session. Prince Jian immediately seizes her idea. But will it be enough to save China?

This new ONCE UPON A TIME addition weaves together the wonders of ancient China, a budding romance, a feisty girl, and the true meaning of both friendship and family in a fantastic fairy tale edition.

Reviewed by: Jennifer Rummel

The "Once Upon a Time" series takes traditional fairytales and gives them a new spin, either by rationalizing the magical elements (as in Snow) or by setting them in a more contemporary time period (such as Water Song). They make for short but sweet little reads; like Hershey's Chocolate Drops, they're hardly anything to get *too* excited over, but can provide a new point-of-view to stories you've been hearing since you were a child. Cameron Dokey is perhaps the most popular contributor to the series, and her titles are amongst the best installments, including The Storyteller's Daughter, Beauty Sleep and Before Midnight.

"Wild Orchid" is based on "The Ballad of Mulan," which (along with Sunlight and Shadow, a retelling of The Magic Flute and Spirited the second version of Beauty and the Beast in this series) suggests that the authors are running out of material. Not exactly a "fairytale," the legend of Mulan is probably best known to Western audiences through the Disney film adaptation: Mulan. So it was with some interest that I picked up "Wild Orchid," knowing little about the source material and interested in how the story would play out.

Hua Mulan is a young Chinese girl who has been taught the ways of warfare by her best friend and neighbour Li Po. Left mainly to her own devices thanks to her long-absent father, Mulan grows up acutely aware of how different she is from other young women (told in first-person narrative, she spends most of the first chapter driving this point home to us). When her general father eventually returns home she is eager to get to know him, partly because she longs to learn more about her mother, whom her father married for love and whose name has not been uttered since Mulan's birth.

But China is under threat from the Huns, and when Mulan's father finally returns home she is concerned about his health, not to mention the condition of his new wife. Deciding not to risk his death in battle, or to split up the newlyweds, Mulan disguises herself as a boy and rides out to join the army in his place. By the time this occurs, we are already halfway through the book, and Mulan's experiences in the army seem rather rushed as a result. Meeting the youngest son of the Emperor, Prince Jian, Mulan eventually proves herself (to friends, family and love interests alike) in a satisfying though rather predictable way.

At times Mulan *does* come across as something of a Mary Sue, what with her tenacity, determination and ability to do absolutely anything, including come up with war strategies that nobody else can think of, beat the prince himself in archery practice, and be universally adored by everyone she meets. Still, when you think of the original ballad, in which the titular character bests her father in a sword fight, goes unrecognized for years whilst fighting in the army, and who is applauded for her efforts when the truth finally comes out, the character has actually been toned down in regard to her abilities!

Dokey is usually quite good with the first-person narrative voice, but here it grates slightly thanks to Mulan's Western-style diction and her incessant ponderings on how different she is from everyone else. Considering her differences also make her indisputably *better* than everyone else, I'm not sure why she's complaining. Likewise, Mulan's romance with Prince Jian is completely unconvincing, though the two of them do manage to secure their future together in a rather touching way. That being said, this is one of the few books in this series that I wished had a higher page count, just to give us more details on the characters and situations.

There are some interesting differences here when compared to the Disney version; Dokey correctly uses "Hua" as Mulan's family name (instead of Fa, as in the movie) and correctly translates Mulan's given name as "wood orchid" (whereas the Disney film seemed to suggest it had something to do with blossoms). But the unique thing about "Wild Orchid" is that it is not a "retelling" of the ballad, but simply a fleshed-out version of it. As such, it's difficult to really place it within the "fairytale" canon of the other books in the series, though as always it serves as a mild, diverting read that sheds new light on an old tale. As always, Dokey serves up a strong and rewarding story.

I've read almost all the Once Upon a Time Series, and this is one of the better ones. Cameron Dokey gives another solid retelling, this time with the story of Mulan. The first half of the book is dedicated to Mulan's childhood and upbringing, and I thought it was interesting and original. Dokey did a good job of conveying Chinese culture and creating a sense of place. As usual, she has strong protagonists, though, also as usual, they come off feeling a bit like stock characters.

In all of her books Cameron Dokey philosophizes lengthily on the heart. Sometimes, as in Storyteller's Daughter, it works to enrich the novel. Here it only served to slow it down. Combined with her trademark narrative chatter, which adds ambiance in some books, but which becomes quite irritating in others, it made the book drag in parts.

I don't expect much originality in these fairy tale retellings. What most disappointed me in this book, however, was that the battle scene and strategy were straight out of the Blue Sword. When writing the major action sequence of a book, one doesn't want to remind the readers of the same scene from a better author. I wish she had come up with another tactical problem for Mulan to solve, not a scenario from Robin McKinley.

That said, even with some annoying narrative devices it was a light, entertaining read for a lazy summer afternoon.

A retelling of the tale of Mulan from the Once Upon a Time series. Mulan's mother died in childbirth and, giving into his grief, her warrior father remained in the Emperor's army rather than see his daughter. In his absence, Mulan grew up as a tomboy, learning archery, riding, reading, and writing from her neighbor and best friend. When Mulan is a teenager, the Emperor decrees that all families must send a male to fight against the empire's new enemy. For reasons I cannot say without giving plot points away, Mulan decides she must answer the call in disguise. From there a legend is born.

As much as I've raved about Dokey, a number of her books have lately let me down. Unfortunately, Wild Orchid falls into the let down category. I'm not overly familiar with the Mulan tale, but as far as I can tell Dokey did not add a new twist on the story. She fleshed out the characters and gave them sympathetic backstories and motivations, but the basic plot is largely unchanged (contrast this with her retelling of Sleeping Beauty, which was an excellent example of adding a completely new twist while still maintaining the core of the tale).

This approach can be ok, but what really brought the story down for me was the inconsistencies in character. There were a few places where Mulan did or said something that was completely out of character and seemed to come from left field. Compounding this was that the other characters did not comment on this inconsistency and so they were also inconsistent. This made the story seem sloppy. This sloppiness combined with the lack of creative twist made it seem like the author's heart wasn't really in this one. As a result, neither was this reader's. A good addition to the series, but not one of the best.

This is the first book of this series that I've read, and I must say that I enjoyed most of it. However, there were several things which were not to my liking.
Firstly, the incredible amount of backstory that took up just over half the book. This story is the story about a brave girl who saved China, and I was extremely disappointed that there was not more excitement. It did pick up a little near the end, but I still felt the pace and sense of adventure lacking.
Secondly, the battle scene. This is (in my opinion) the focal point of the story, the scene which is anticipated by every reader. And when I reached it, I was at a dreadful loss. The strategy of the battle was good--I very much enjoyed their decisions regarding positions and timings and such--but I was hardly there for a minute before it was over. I would have appreciated a more thorough covering of this scene, as it is a crucial stage in the story, and there was little true sense of danger and chance, which I found most cruel to those who crave excitement in a story.
Thirdly, I felt Mulan's voice slightly too calm and wise for her personality. Yes, she did find her true love and save China, etc., but I caught very little enthusiasm and impulsiveness in her narrative, though her actions were to my taste.
Fourthly, the prince. I was sorely disappointed in him. For me, Mulan's true love should have been more like herself, and less like a perfect golden boy with the jealousy of his brothers, the love of his father, and such unlimited skills that I felt that Mulan would be put off by his glory. I did like the scene with him and Mulan where they drew bows together--it was an extremely satisfying part, and for me it was one of the best scenes in the book. I understand the need to make the prince seem like a counteractive to Mulan's bold spirit, but there was no need to make him so . . . well, calm and infinitely wise and knowledgeable.
Despite these criticisms, this story is very charming and unique, and I felt the spirit of Mulan many times in this book. However much I dislike certain aspects of it, this book is well-thought-out most of the time, and I read it in less than a day.
It is certainly a series that I will revisit--very soon.

Mulan is the daughter of Hua Wei, the greatest general of all of China. But unlike most honorable daughters with a good name, Mulan isn't very gentle or ladylike. Instead, she lives as simply as a servant in the country, where she hates learning embroidery and instead has convinced her neighbor and friend Li Po to teach her all he knows about fighting and reading and learning. But when the Huns threaten to strike China once more and the emperor demands that each family send one male, Mulan is determined to take her aging and injured father's place. But war isn't always a grand adventure, and having to disguise herself isn't always easy...

The Wild Orchid is certainly one of the more enjoyable books in the Once Upon a Time series. Cameron Dokey's magical and lyrical storytelling never gets old, and she has taken an unusual and lesser-known tale and made it enthralling and entertaining. Mulan is a character that readers can respect and sympathize with: bold and strong, but sometimes she's a confused girl who yearns for parental love. The novel moves quickly, making it an easy and enjoyable read, though it would have been interesting to have a lengthier story that delved deeper into the relationships between the characters, had a more developed romance, and more involved scenes when it came to Mulan's time in the army. Nonetheless, this is an uncomplicated read that is about love and loyalty and friendship that is easy and enjoyable to read, and a nice departure from the norm.

Wild Orchid is part of the YA Romance line of books 'Once Upon a Time' from Simon & Schuster. I've been with this series since the very beginning (The Storyteller's Daughter, Cameron Dokey 2002) and so far only two books have let me down in any great way. Wild Orchid holds a special place for me because in 1998 I fell in love the Disney Animation 'Mulan', and while realizing even then that Disney liked to romanticize their movies a great deal, the story itself fascinated me. To be certain I read the english translation of the originator (Ballad of Mulan) and laughed myself silly over the changes.

I went into the book with similar expectations as that of the Disney counterpart. Its short, just over 199 pages and the first half is almost exclusively about Mulan's childhood and how she was different from other girls her own age. I got worried when the next quarter of the book dealt with her father returning home and yet there was still no mention of Mulan running off to war. Her actual time in the army was short, couldn't have been over a month (in the ballad she was in the army for 12 years!) and almost immediately she singles herself out for notice. This portion of the book--that of her army exploits and meeting Prince Jian--seemed very rushed and hurried.

We meet Jian's two older brothers--Ying the oldest and Guang the second oldest--but very little time is given to either one. We are told that Ying is a subtle thinker and less warrior then scholar. We are told and briefly shown that Guang is a manipulative person, very deep in court intrigues and secrets. I would have liked to see the two more, especially Ying since I didn't understand why his brothers respected him enough to halt their bickering.

Then also the romance between Jian and Mulan is quick and almost literally love at first sight for Mulan (then in the guise of Hua Gong-shi). Later when Jian admits he feels as if their hearts beat as one, still believing Mulan is a male foot soldier under his command, I couldn't help but wonder that he didn't seem at all worried by this. Is it so normal then for a commander and foot soldier be so attuned with each other? Over an archery match no less?

Still I enjoyed this novel. It wasn't exactly what I wanted as a retelling of of the Ballad, but it at least built up her background much better then I could have hoped for. Incidentally reports vary about Hua Mulan--her origins, when she fought etc. Some report that she was trained in warfare early on in life, as was normal for daughters of ranking military officiers. The book however makes it clear that its considered unladylike. Also some reports say that Mulan told her father outright her plans. So I wonder at what pieces Dokey took from which sources to make up the fabric of the story.

Mulan is not like most other girls in ancient China. She has grown up without a mother, and rather than spend her days doing ladylike tasks and dreaming of marriage, she has learned to fight using a sword and bow. Her father is somewhat distant and doesn't like to speak of his late wife, and Mulan often wonders if she is a disappointment to him.

When the Emperor forms an army to fight the Huns, every household must send one male to fight. Mulan's aging father has recently remarried, and Mulan remembers well that her own mother died giving birth while her father was away at war. Fearing for her father's safety and not wanting her stepmother to go through what her mother did, Mulan decides to disguise herself as a boy and go in her father's place. She becomes close to Prince Jian, the commander of her unit, but telling him that she is really a girl, and her feelings are deeper than friendship, could lead to disaster.

This was an overall enjoyable book from the Once Upon a Time series. I liked that it had a very unusual setting compared to other books in the series, and the story isn't one that has been retold many times. Although this book wasn't among my top favorites, it was a solid, enjoyable read that should appeal to readers who enjoyed other books in this series.

Wild Orchid is a wonderful retelling of Mulan. When I saw this book last year and realized it was a retelling of Mulan I was so excited. Becuase for a long time I always thought that Disney made up the story of Mulan but then I realized that the story of Mulan has been around for thousands of years. I thought the book was very good. The book talks about how Mulan wasn't like ordinary girls she was very tomboyish. The book also talks about how she falls inlove with one of the princes in the army but I won't say anymore. Usually I don't like Cameron Dokey's books but she is getting better. The only thing about the book that could be better is, is that I wish the half the book wouldn't talk about her child hood and just get to the fighting already, other than that this is a good book! For anyone who loves fairy tale retellings should read this book!