Not Your Average Fairy Tale

Not Your Average Fairy Tale
by Chantele Sedgwick

From the publisher:
"Ash Summerland has it all-good looks, popularity, and the best grades at The Academy of Magical Beings. Ready to complete his last assignment in order to graduate, Ash is confident he will get the apprenticeship he wants. but when he opens the letter from the Council, he is shocked to discover he has been assigned to apprentice Lady Shenelle, Keeper of Happy Endings- aka the head fairy godmother. Ash is forced to grant three wishes to a troubled human girl named Kendall, and ultimately give her a "happy ever after." But Kendall turns out to be more than he bargained for. Still grieving over her father's death, she doesn't want anything to do with Ash. And worst of all, she doesn't believe in happy endings."

This is one I've had on the shelf for quite some time and it hardly ever gets checked out (paperbacks always sit on the shelf more than hardbacks). I'm so glad I read it and I need to really talk it up with my students, because I liked it alot. It is a fun and entertaining book with a different premise - a guy as a fairy godmother - and yet it also has a lot of heart and some good action/suspense. As soon as I finished it I ordered the next one in the series, Not Your Average Happy Ending (I sure wish I could get hardbacks of these!). This is an author to watch. I also loved her most recent book, Love, Lucas . She has a way of dealing with serious teen issues realistically, while still having the main characters keep a moral compass alive. I can't even begin to say how much I appreciate that in YA authors! I'm a firm believer in expecting greatness out of teenagers and not assuming they will all delve into bad behaviors, so I love all authors who expect greatness out of their main characters. 

The main characters in this book are very well drawn. We feel Kendall's heartache at the loss of her father and the grief that has weighed her down and changed who she is. We laugh at Ash's exploits and conceit, while loving his charm and wit. We are happy that Ellie is a loving and supportive sister, and are entertained by the bond between Sam and Ash. The romance between Kendall and Ash is sweet and believable. 

I felt like the build-up to the conflict in the story was a little slow. It was apparent that Dax hated Ash, but someone who hates you because you are popular and get the best grades doesn't seem too threatening (even if he does have magical powers). However, when the conflict reached it's zenith I did get a little nervous for the main characters. It looks like the next book in the series is going to have some much more serious conflicts, so it will be interesting to see how that pans out. 

All in all, Not Your Average Fairy Tale ticks all the boxes for a contemporary/fantasy/romance YA novel. I definitely recommend it.

Areas of concern:
*A smarmy, arrogant high school boy who is trying to hook up with Kendall.
Actually a very clean read (without being cheesy).

The Faerie Guardian

The Faerie Guardian
by Rachel Morgan

From the publisher:
"Enter a hidden world...

Protecting humans from dangerous magical creatures is all in a day’s work for a faerie training to be a guardian. Seventeen-year-old Violet Fairdale knows this better than anyone—she’s about to become the best guardian the Guild has seen in years. That is, until a cute human boy who can somehow see through her faerie glamor follows her into the Fae realm. Now she’s broken Guild Law, a crime that could lead to her expulsion.

The last thing Vi wants to do is spend any more time with the boy who got her into this mess, but the Guild requires that she return Nate to his home and make him forget everything he’s discovered of the Fae realm. Easy, right? Not when you factor in evil faeries, long-lost family members, and inconvenient feelings of the romantic kind. Vi is about to find herself tangled up in a dangerous plot—and it’ll take all her training to get out alive."

I really liked this book. I always love a snarky heroine who doesn't use terrible language. (Vi's favorite expletive is "flippin' flip!".) This is one of those books that just ticks every box for me. The world-building is creative and interesting, the characters are awesome and have the most hysterical conversations, the action is intense, the villains are incredibly evil, and the plot is exciting and romantic. I'm excited to see what comes next in the series and am glad I don't have to wait a year to read them. I should always wait until the whole series is out before starting :).

A couple of my favorite quotes from The Faerie Guardian :

“Seelie Court,” murmurs Nate. “Sounds familiar. Was it in a computer game?”
“Do I look like someone who plays computer games?”
A grin stretches across Nate’s face. “You look like someone who could be in a computer game.”

“I angle my head down and peer up at him through my lashes in what I hope is an alluring manner. I have zero experience in this area though, so it’s possible I look like a total moron.”

“You’re not the kind of person to just randomly fall in love. You’re way too . . .”
My eyes shoot to his. “Too what?”
“Well, you know, emotionally closed off.”
“I will emotionally close off every orifice in your face if you don’t shut up about this right now.”

Like I said, I do love a clean-mouthed snarky heroine! And I also love it when a book's quotes practically write the review for you. Unfortunately, this doesn't get checked out very often in my library, I'll have to start talking it up. I wish the cover of the paperback was the same as the ebook edition that I read because I think it would get checked out more if it was - it was gorgeous!

Areas of concern:
The *d* word is used a handful of times.
There is quite a bit of violence - Guardians against magical creatures and Unseelie against Seelie.
A 6 year old child is in mortal danger.
Absent/dead parents of the main character who lives by herself.  

Suggested Ages:
I can't find any suggested ages from my regular sources.
Mrs. Duke says ages 12+