THE GEM HEIST

In this debut middle-grade fantasy, some offspring of famous fairy-tale characters band together when a precious artifact vanishes.

Fourteen-year-old Skylar Carson is a thief whose mother, Frostine—the villainous Snow Queen—abandoned her years ago for no discernible reason. Living in the village near Queen Snow White’s castle, Skylar does what she can to survive, with only her dog, Boxer, and her best friend, Carter Brown, for company. When she is suddenly invited by her estranged mother to attend the castle’s upcoming exhibition showcasing the “Gem of Fairy Tales”—the source of inspiration for all those striking stories—she wonders what the Snow Queen is up to. That’s when she meets other adolescents with renowned parents, including Maya, the daughter of Sleeping Beauty; Axel, Prince Charming’s son; and Naomi, the daughter of Queen Snow White. When the Gem disappears, a theft that may lead to the end of everything they know, the kids embark on a quest to find answers. The journey will lead them to the "River of Memories” and the "Man of Advice.” But time is running out and all fingers start pointing at Skylar as the culprit. After all, she is the daughter of one of the most dangerous figures in fairy-tale history and many believe that children like her inherit their parents’ traits: “Evil runs through their veins. They may be good most of the time, but then they will snap, and then you will see their true dark side.” Pereira’s story deftly follows in the footsteps of reimagined fairy tales for a young audience, such as Soman Chainani’s The School for Good and Evil book series and Disney’s TV film Descendants. With a narrative that alternates between the Gem quest and Cavallaro’s beautiful illustrations that pepper the pages, Pereira’s breezy, fast-paced novel mixes fantasy, mystery, and a heist with minimal character development and worldbuilding but a maximum fun factor. While the writing is sometimes clumsy and the tale superficially delves into key questions about heritage (including whether children necessarily follow in their parents’ footsteps), middle-grade readers will find the work highly entertaining.

An enjoyable take on generational fairy tales.