Blog Tour and Review: My Sort of Fairy Tale Ending

Author: Anna Staniszewski

Age Range: 9-12

Grade Level: 4 - 7

Series: My Very UnFairy Tale Life #3

Paperback: 224 pages

Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky (November 5, 2013)

Language: English

Genre: Middle Grade Fairy Tale/Fantasy

Source: Publisher via NetGalley for tour

My Rating: 3 of 5 stars

About the Book:

Happily ever after? Yeah, right.

Jenny's search for her parents leads her to Fairyland, a rundown amusement park filled with creepily happy fairies and disgruntled leprechauns. Despite the fairies' kindness, she knows they are keeping her parents from her. If only they would stop being so happy all the time-it's starting to weird her out! With the help of a fairy-boy and some rebellious leprechauns, Jenny finds a way to rescue her parents, but at the expense of putting all magical worlds in danger. Now Jenny must decide how far she is willing to go to put her family back together.

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Praise:

"Flippant fantasy fun."—Kirkus

"[A] breezy magical romp...the joking tone and thoughtful fairy tale play make this a fresh middle-grade read."—The Horn Book blog

"A magical world that's totally relatable. You'll find yourself wishing you were alongside Jenny fighting against unicorns (who aren't as peaceful as you think) and traveling to fantastical realms."—GirlsLife.com

About the Author:

Born in Poland and raised in the United States, Anna Staniszewski grew up loving stories in both Polish and English. She was named the 2006-2007 Writer-in-Residence at the Boston Public Library and a winner of the 2009 PEN New England Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award. Currently, Anna lives outside of Boston with her husband and their black Labrador, Emma.

When she’s not writing, Anna spends her time teaching, reading, and challenging unicorns to games of hopscotch. She is the author of the My Very UnFairy Tale Life series, published by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky. Look for the first book in Anna’s next tween series, The Dirt Diary, in January 2014, and visit her at www.annastan.com.

Tens List with Anna Stanszewski:

What ten magical abilities or superpowers would you love to have?

 

I suspect my answers might be a little lame, but you can be the judge. If I could, I’d love to have the ability to:

1. Fly
If I could zip off anywhere at any moment (via wings, magic carpet, etc.), think of all the commuting time I’d save!

2. Be imperviousness to cold
I’m always freezing, so the ability to stay perpetually warm and cozy would be great. This would especially come in handy when flying through the clouds (see above).

3. Speed read
Yes, this is nerdy, but if I could inhale books at ridiculous speeds, then I’d finally get caught up on all the amazing titles out there.

4. Always have a clean house
I’d love to snap my fingers and have my house—especially my toilets—scrubbed clean.

5. Conjure chocolate
I’d just have to think it, and chocolate would appear. (Can you see me drooling?)

6. Speed write
I always have too many ideas and not enough time to get them all down on the page.

7. Slow down time
Imagine being able to hang out with friends and family for as long as you want without having to worry about time?

8. Help people
I’d love the ability to create money and food to distribute throughout the world to places that really need it.

9. Nap anywhere
My dog can conk out in a matter of seconds. I’d love to be well-rested like she is.

10. Be content with life
I’m so thankful for my life right now, and I’d love to find a magical way to keep it that way!

 

 

 My Thoughts:

Jenni is an adventurer searching for her parents that have been missing for seven years. She travels to the Land of Tales in order to search for them and finds herself rescuing an entire kingdom from an evil queen.

This book is really cute. It's a light, fun adventure aimed at lower YA and Middle Grade fans magic and fairy tales. Everything about the book is "light". Light plot, light suspense, light writing.  It's very quick to read. There is nothing questionable or offensive is in this book. This is the third book in the series. I haven't read the first two, but I still enjoyed this one without knowing all the back story. If you plan on reading them, I would suggest starting at the beginning because this book does reference the first two quite a bit.

The characters are all a little eccentric and likable and there is a very predictable happy ending. It's a great book for kids that enjoy magic and adventure but that don't like anything too dark or heavy.

Content: clean

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Giveaway Details:

Paperback copies of all 3 books in My Very UnFairy Tale Life series

Open to the US and Canada only

Must be 13 or older to enter

Ends 12/15/2013

Winner must respond to my email within 48 hours to claim prize or another winner will be chosen

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