Sunday 15 July 2012

How to Ditch Your Fairy by Justine Larbalestier

Book:  How to Ditch Your Fairy by Justine Larbalestier, 2008 by Bloomsbury USA, 307 pages. 

Synopsis from Goodreads:
Welcome to New Avalon, where everyone has a personal fairy. Though invisible to the naked eye, a personal fairy, like a specialized good luck charm, is vital to success. And in the case of the students at New Avalon Sports High, it might just determine whether you make the team, pass a class, or find that perfect outfit. But for 14-year-old Charlie, having a Parking Fairy is worse than having nothing at all—especially when the school bully carts her around like his own personal parking pass. Enter: The Plan. At first, teaming up with arch-enemy Fiorenza (who has an All-The-Boys-Like-You Fairy) seems like a great idea. But when Charlie unexpectedly gets her heart’s desire, it isn’t at all what she thought it would be like, and she’ll have resort to extraordinary measures to ditch her fairy. The question is: will Charlie herself survive the fairy ditching experiment? From the author of the acclaimed Magic or Madness trilogy, this is a delightful story of fairies, friendships, and figuring out how to make your own magic. 

My Thoughts:
I raced right through this one.  It was cute and a funny, light read - great for summer.

Fourteen year old Charlie lives in a world very much like our own, maybe in the future a bit at a time when they've discovered that everyone has their own personal fairy.  Charlie has a parking fairy, something she hates as she has everyone wanting her to drive with them so they can get the best spots.  So, she tries to find a way to get rid of her fairy so she can hopefully get a better one.

There is some fun stuff in this book.  It is upbeat and full of humour.  I think it will appeal to early teen readers.  I also like the twist on the fairy stories.  Then there is the "moral" about setting priorities, being true to yourself, and friendship.  I also like how the author made up some new vocabulary for popular expressions.  They weren't hard to figure out, but there is a glossary in the back.

The writing is fast paced and engaging, though I did find it a little repetitive sometimes. Overall, though, I enjoyed the book.

No comments:

Post a Comment

I really appreciate your comments.

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.