A Dreadful Fairy Book by Jon Etter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Around 3.5 stars. I’m rounding up as I believe the children this is written for will love it.
This is Lemony Snicket but with a quest and fairies instead of children and a scheming Count. Not that the style of writing isn't super fun, because it is, but it is predictable when any book starts off by telling you that awful things happen. Of course it's in a children's tongue and cheek way; and this is middle grade level literature after all. Perhaps worth noting is The Dreadful Fairy Tale does put our characters in peril and discusses death. So be prepared for possible questions from your young one. It's all done in a tasteful and easy to consume way, in my opinion.
Characters
There are some really fun characters that our lead fairy meets along her journey. They include a dainty troll who prefers to dress up nice and have tea than to scare others off his bridge, a bored billy goat, a perfect chivalrous knight, and a good ole dragon. Plus we encounter some other pixies, fairies, gnomes, etc.
The characters and their bickering, joking and (mostly harmless) picking on one another are easily the highlight of the book for me. Additionally Jon Etter has left a lot of references that a child may not pick-up on but an adult is sure to. These might include defunct technology (see example below), old-school words, or even cultural norms.
Write About Books and They Will Come
There is a secret to the book industry, in case you were not aware. If you write about books or a bookworm you have a guaranteed audience! Everyone who loves to read wants to read about characters like them, book lovers! Our fairy is unhappy with her lot in life and goes on a quest to find... a library! Who doesn't want to find an awesome library?
On the topic of libraries, this quote really amuses me and shows some of the cleverness that Etter has put into his story;
"...Dewey, the fairy who organizes the library. Hes done it by colour, weight, first letter on 89th page (don't ask what about books with less pages)...".
Super cute! Who hasn't struggled with how to organize their bookshelves. And the name is (of course) a throw-back to the Dewey Decimal system. A perfect opportunity for a parent (if reading aloud to a child) to explain to a little one how we used to find books and topics before the internet and computers. Etter does do some of that explaining for you as well.
Overall
While I didn't adore this book it was definitely cute enough to warrant a read. I would recommend it for adults (even though it's a middle grade) or if you need something more interesting than Captain Underpants for an adult to read aloud it's the perfect selection.
If nothing else this one is worth a library check-out.
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
Follow me on Goodreads...
The Cottingley Fairies by Ana Sender
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Between dull illustrations, poor explanations of the time period, and a lack of overall wonder Ana Sender's take on the famous Cottingley Fairies story is a real let down. Maybe this true story is just too complex to put into a children's novel; or perhaps the issue is that the story itself is a bit difficult to pull a moral from? Either way I was less than excited by the end.
Authenticity
I'm so disappointed that there is no real set-up or explanation of the time period in which the girls created their fake fairy photos. It mentions the war but doesn't really give the feel or mood of the real depression that had fallen over the world. I also feel like there is a an overall lack of mischievousness to the girls actions. Whereas the way I've read and heard tell this story in the past is that the girls were aware that tricking adults was a poor choice; but by the time the photos had been circulated so far they didn't know how to take back the lie.
Additionally the portrayal about Sir Author Conan Doyle is just sad. Sender makes him seem like some pathetic old man that was desperate to believe anything. Using Doyle's involvement and writings to discuss how much many of us (myself included) wish there was proof of real fairies would have been far more effective, relevant to the audience of children, and upheld Doyle's respect (which I believe he has more than deserved by legacy of his amazing literature he left us all with).
The Ending
I'm going to assume you all know how the story ends and not consider it a spoiler given that it happened almost 100 years ago. There is a distinct opportunity here to leave behind the idea that fairies and magic could still exist. Sender sets us up for the impact of the final line fairly well. Yet the narrative that comes before makes it feel like our old lady is trying too hard, loosing her mind or just a little crazy when she indicates that the fifth photo is real. Perhaps that's my cynical adult mind thinking too hard but I didn't feel like there was a sparkle of a chance that fairies might be real at the end. This is really the moment where children might actually care about this story or become enamored with it. And while the words were mostly right, in context with the rest of the book, it just falls flat.
Overall
The biggest let down here really is really the illustrations though. There is nothing exciting or even colourful about them. I also would have liked to have had an explanation that photos were in black and white back then so that children can understand how the paper colour wasn't obvious. This book assumes children are not smart enough to understand the true story here and that really bugs me. We should be authentic in our story telling to children (especially in true story cases) or just not tell those stories at all. Again maybe this is just not a good story to be in an illustrated book. The only people I can think that might be interested in this are those whom collect or are obsessed with the Cottingley incident.
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
Follow me on Goodreads...
Don't trust me, check it out for yourself...
The Thorn Queen by Elise Holland
My rating: 1 of 5 stars
DNF @ 30%
For the first couple chapters of The Thorn Queen I was starting to wonder if I was hitting a reading slump. I was also having a bit of trouble focusing and caring about another book I was reading. So I added a third book to the mix that was lovely, powered through it and two more. That made me realize that it wasn't me it was Elise Holland's story that was the problem.
Don't tell, show
While this is a middle grade level read there is really no reason why it would have to be dull and boring. I feel like we are all broken records when it comes to this saying but it is sooo important when it comes to writing a great story; show, don't tell. If you are telling me what the landscape is in half page paragraphs then you are likely doing it wrong. Unless you have descriptions that are flowery and beautiful, like Tolkien or Sanderson in high fantasy write, it's likely that readers will yawn and skip the content. This becomes a problem as then people aren't really engrossed in your world. The easiest way to show and not tell descriptions of the landscape is to give us the feelings and description via a character's perspective. Whether they are talking to someone else about what they see or from a first person perspective.
Questing
Taking into account that the average fantasy set novel for children is in a traditional quest form; I have no issues with the proposed plot that Holland puts forward. However, the very first scene of The Thorn Queen is so different and engaging (in which our lead gal falls on a prince) that to suddenly change the story over to a quest that doesn't include said prince, or the world in which we first meet our lead gal, made the events that follow dull. I did really like the introductory scene and was excited for those first 10 pages; but unfortunately that tapers off. Especially when I realized we were going on a quest and not going to encounter the prince again for some time (at best). When setting up a quest story you have to be careful not to oversell the reason and then drop your characters into a boring journey. The exception to the rule is if you are carrying a ring to Mordor (lol); but even in The Lord of the Rings we have the Mines quickly after council showing that this will not be a boring quest for our fellowship.
Overall
It's possible had I given this book a little more time I might have gotten into it; but given that each time I picked it up I got a couple pages and wanted to switch books it just doesn't seem worth it. I can honestly say that I hope children don't receive this book as their first introduction to fantasy as they will likely be turned off by it and that would be tragic!
To read this and more of my reviews visit my blog at Epic Reading
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
Follow me on Goodreads...
In case you want to see if I'm wrong...
