An imaginative but convoluted tooth-fairy origin tale with some plot points in need of streamlining.
Where did the first tooth fairy come from? (Hint: Squirrels play a major role.)
In this debut children’s fantasy, the rather complicated history of the tooth fairy begins when forest squirrels come to a fairy village for help after waking up to find themselves wrapped in spider webs and missing their teeth. The fairies soon learn why. Notorious bad fairy Redanthan Trench took the teeth as a warning to the fairies that Giants (humans) are going to cut down the forest. Backed by Olcas, the wise old fairy chief, Trench demands that his cohorts join him in taking action to stop the Giants. But this crisis takes a back seat for the rest of the novel as shy fairy Adriana figures out how to replace the squirrels’ teeth using the magically transformed, discarded teeth of human children. Along the way, Adriana encounters a hungry fox, thwarts evildoing by Trench’s sidekick, enters into an unexpected friendship with a human girl, and finds a fairy elder with convenient expertise in turning fairy dust into coins for tooth exchanges. In this series opener, McQuaid (Adriana’s Plight, 2018) weaves in a bit of dental information for readers, too: Adriana learns that humans clean their teeth “with a special brush and some stringy stuff at least two times every day” and that losing a tooth can be scary for children. Some plot elements are a stretch even in a fantasy setting. Trench’s theft of squirrel teeth to warn of the forest threat is baffling. (And couldn’t he simply steal the squirrels’ new teeth, too?) The revelation of Olcas’ true nature is too abrupt for credibility, and the fate of the forest, the catalyst for the whole tale, comes up only intermittently. By the end of the story, it has become at best a loose end. But Adriana herself has authentic appeal. The strength of this book for grade-school readers is found in her discovery, observed in the first-person narration of her unnamed best friend, that she is both resourceful and courageous. Camisa’s (Adriana’s Plight, 2018) fine-lined pen-and-ink illustrations add overall charm.
An imaginative but convoluted tooth-fairy origin tale with some plot points in need of streamlining.Pub Date: Jan. 17, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5408-5650-0
Page Count: 54
Publisher: Kayelem Publishing LLC
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A pleasing premise for book lovers.
A fantasy-loving bookworm makes a wonderful, terrible bargain.
When sixth grader Poppy Woodlock’s historic preservationist parents move the family to the Oregon coast to work on the titular stately home, Poppy’s sure she’ll find magic. Indeed, the exiled water nymph in the manor’s ruined swimming pool grants a wish, but: “Magic isn’t free. It cosssts.” The price? Poppy’s favorite book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In return she receives Sampson, a winged lion cub who is everything Poppy could have hoped for. But she soon learns that the nymph didn’t take just her own physical book—she erased Narnia from Poppy’s world. And it’s just the first loss: Soon, Poppy’s grandmother’s journal’s gone, then The Odyssey, and more. The loss is heartbreaking, but Sampson’s a wonderful companion, particularly as Poppy’s finding middle school a tough adjustment. Hartman’s premise is beguiling—plenty of readers will identify with Poppy, both as a fellow bibliophile and as a kid struggling to adapt. Poppy’s repeatedly expressed faith that unveiling Sampson will bring some sort of vindication wears thin, but that does not detract from the central drama. It’s a pity that the named real-world books Poppy reads are notably lacking in diversity; a story about the power of literature so limited in imagination lets both itself and readers down. Main characters are cued White; there is racial diversity in the supporting cast. Chapters open with atmospheric spot art. (This review has been updated to reflect the final illustrations.)
A pleasing premise for book lovers. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9780316448222
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic.
Chainani works an elaborate sea change akin to Gregory Maguire’s Wicked (1995), though he leaves the waters muddied.
Every four years, two children, one regarded as particularly nice and the other particularly nasty, are snatched from the village of Gavaldon by the shadowy School Master to attend the divided titular school. Those who survive to graduate become major or minor characters in fairy tales. When it happens to sweet, Disney princess–like Sophie and her friend Agatha, plain of features, sour of disposition and low of self-esteem, they are both horrified to discover that they’ve been dropped not where they expect but at Evil and at Good respectively. Gradually—too gradually, as the author strings out hundreds of pages of Hogwarts-style pranks, classroom mishaps and competitions both academic and romantic—it becomes clear that the placement wasn’t a mistake at all. Growing into their true natures amid revelations and marked physical changes, the two spark escalating rivalry between the wings of the school. This leads up to a vicious climactic fight that sees Good and Evil repeatedly switching sides. At this point, readers are likely to feel suddenly left behind, as, thanks to summary deus ex machina resolutions, everything turns out swell(ish).
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic. (Fantasy. 11-13)Pub Date: May 14, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-210489-2
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2013
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