MINI REVIEW: Fablehaven by Brandon Mull (Fablehaven #1)

Fablehaven
Author: Brandon Mull
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Genre: Fantasy

Ratings:
4/5 stars
PG: Mild fantasy action/violence; monsters and other frightening mythical creatures
Recommend to fans of The Spiderwick Chronicles, The Ever Afters, Artemis Fowl, and their ilk. Good middle grade read, but still enough plot and character development for older readers -like me!

Summary:
For centuries mystical creatures of all description were gathered into a hidden refuge called Fablehaven to prevent their extinction. The sanctuary survives today as one of the last strongholds of true magic. Enchanting? Absolutely. Exciting? You bet. Safe? Well, actually, quite the opposite.

Kendra and her brother, Seth, have no idea that their grandfather is the current caretaker of Fablehaven. Inside the gated woods, ancient laws keep relative order among greedy trolls, mischievous satyrs, plotting witches, spiteful imps, and jealous fairies. However, when the rules get broken -- Seth is a bit too curious and reckless for his own good -- powerful forces of evil are unleashed, and Kendra and her brother face the greatest challenge of their lives. To save their family, Fablehaven, and perhaps even the world, Kendra and Seth must find the courage to do what they fear most. via Goodreads

The Mini Review:

There is so much to love about the Fablehaven series! Like the beloved Spiderwick Chronicles, it takes modern readers back into the beauty and majesty of folk lore, when so much of it has become rebranded as 'fairy tales'. Unlike the Spiderwick Chronicles, however, Mull's series is an epic journey fit for growing voracious readers to devour.

One of my favorite things about Fablehaven has always been the relationship between main characters Seth and Kendra Sorenson. The brother and sister ACT EXACTLY like the best and worst of siblings. They're there for each other when it's needed, but they also don't want the other to find out about anything stupid they've done, because they know they'll never live it down. They're sometimes petty with each other and sometimes each other's greatest defenders and that is a sibling relationship in a nutshell. Mull does a fantastic job writing it.

Seth and Kendra are polar opposites. Kendra is cautious and careful and the goody two-shoes I was at that age, while Seth is mischievous and adventurous and a serial rule breaker. Each one sits at either end of the scale, so everyone who reads this is going to relate to one or the other.

The story is fun and exciting, but it has substance, too. This first book is a great romp, but most of the adventure is a great illustration of cause and effect. Decisions and consequences. While Mull doesn't beat you over the head with the underlying moral fiber here, the characters definitely learn a good lesson about accepting responsibility and consequences for their actions -the hard way, because where's the fun in learning the easy way?

Plus, MAGIC! FAIRIES! GOBLINS! OGRES, TROLLS, NAIADS, GOLEMS, WITCHES, BROWNIES, SATYRS, AND CENTAURS! OH MY! Every mythical creature you've ever heard -plus a few that you haven't- show up in this series and Mull has wrought an interesting and complex world on the grounds of this magical preserve, held together by the laws and bargains of old magic. Creatures of both the light and the dark inhabit the preserve and never fail to make life interesting. A great call back to classic folklore is Mull's insistence that, just because a creature is of light or dark, doesn't necessarily mean they're 'good' or 'evil' -and humans are still a favorite plaything.

With an upbeat tone and fantastic new creatures around every corner, Fablehaven is a downright fun story and I'm finding it even more enjoyable on this reread.

This is a Take Control TBR Challenge Read!
Rereading for Dragonwatch!

Have you read Fablehaven?

ARC REVIEW: Tricked by Jen Calonita (Fairy Tale Reform School #3)

Tricked
Author: Jen Calonita
Series: Fairy Tale Reform School
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Genre: Middle Grade/Fantasy*
Publishing Date: March 7, 2017
*This book is considered MG and YA by different sources. Based on story complexity and characters, I would put it in Middle Grade.

I received an e-copy ARC courtesy of Sourcebooks via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Ratings
4/5 stars
G for Good, clean fun!
Recommend to younger readers who enjoy adventure and fantasy. This would make a great classroom or family read. Though the main character is a girl, the story will definitely be enjoyable to boys as well!
If you liked Rump by Liesl Shurtliff, The Ever Afters by Shelby Bach, The Candy Shop War by Brandon Mull, or the Shrek films, you'll love this series!

Overall Impression:
Calonita once again delivers a fun fairy-tale themed adventure with strong, capable characters and a valuable theme. You know what they say; third time's the charm.

                                            Summary

This book is Aunt Approved!
As an aunt with 16 niblings between the ages of
0-13, I wouldn't hesitate letting them read this book!

Things are changing at Fairy Tale Reform School.

At least, that's what Gilly's heard through the Enchantasia rumor mill. Word is, notorious trickster Rumpelstiltskin has taken over management from Headmistress Flora, and he's locked down the school tighter than the Pied Piper's pants. Not that this news concerns Gilly. She's been released from FTRS and is now suffering through attending Jack of All Trades School, where she gets to learn about different kinds of shoe leather and ways to measure feet. Truly riveting stuff.

But when Gilly's little sister Anna gets whisked off to FTRS thanks to her troublemaking new friends, Hansel and Gretel, Gilly knows she's got to get Anna out of there. There's only one thing to do; make some serious trouble and get thrown back into FTRS.

It's time to out-trick a trickster.

Review

A villain is running FTRS!

Well, a real one, not like the reformed Evil Stepmother, Evil Queen, Sea Witch, and Big Bad Wolf who have been on the payroll up to now. And of all the trials Gilly has faced, the fact that the trickster Rumpelstiltskin has usurped Flora as head of the school isn't even the worst of it:

It's that her little sister Anna is thrown into FTRS and his clutches.

Anna's story has been slowly building from the first book and I like the direction it's taking. Calonita is taking her time revealing the little sister's development, and I love it! I can't wait to see where Anna winds up and I love watching how it effects Gilly's own development, having to watch her sister make mistakes but not being able to stop her. Just like Gilly has learned to make her own choices -and accept the consequences- she has to learn to let others do the same.

I've loved this series since the very beginning and this third installment is just as good as the rest. The more Gilly and her friends develop -and save Enchantasia from evil- the more they learn new ways in which to develop -and more evil to save Enchantasia from!

The world of Enchantasia and its Fairy Tale Reform School is a modern-ish, sort of whacky fantasy land. It's magic-tech and renaissance-style modern conveniences reminds me a lot of the Shrek franchise and the movie version of Ella Enchanted. From the instant news notifications of Happily Ever After Scrolls!  to the Pegasus Post mail service, Calonita puts a clever twist on tons of familiar things to fit them in her fantasy that readers will get a kick out of.

One of the things I love most about Calonita's world is how she's developed beloved fairy tale characters, from the reformed villains, to Little Red Riding Hood, to the Princesses themselves: (Cinder)Ella, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, and Snow White. In their own ways, each of these characters has grown through the experience of their 'fairy tale', developing and empowering them in different ways. Often, one or more of them lend their own bit of advice to the story's overall theme.

After two books and two Enchantasia-saving adventures, I was glad to see the adults around Gilly and her friends recognized their abilities to help defeat the villains. Granted, the adults weren't happy about the kids taking on a villain, but recognizing the students' stubborn determination to do it anyway, they helped where they could. The teachers of FTRS, the Princesses of Enchantasia and, most importantly, their parents take the kids seriously, and I think this is a great thing for kids to see!

The adults in the story don't serve up answers or solutions on a silver platter, either. Wolfington (aka Big Bad Wolf) especially likes to offer advice and guidance that insists they make their own decisions, based on what's right vs. what's wrong. In the end, Gilly and the others always find themselves on the side of right, but it's very important that they struggle with those decisions and it's their own choices that led them there.

There's enough in this story to entertain all kinds of readers: adventure, mystery, fantasy, and spies! Gilly's motley crew consists of all kinds of personalities -including my personal favorite, mischievous Jax, who may or may not remind me of Chase Turnleaf- a hyperactive fairy, a pirate-obsessed sweet thief, a jewelry-loving ogre, and the Evil Queen's little sister. I personally think the covers for this series are GORGEOUS but they are a little girly, so I want to stress THIS IS A GOOD READ FOR BOYS, TOO. If they can get past the cover, and don't mind a girl narrator, they will love this story.

Gilly is a great character for kids to look up to. In turns tough-as-nails, mischievous, and funny, she always stands up for what she knows is right, she protects her friends, and she looks out for her siblings. She does have flaws. She makes mistakes. But Calonita does a great job of letting her and her friends learn from their mistakes, without losing a step of the fun story.

Every book so far has had a good core theme that are especially great to stress for kids. The theme of Tricked would be: Don't let what people say or think about you stop you from being yourself.

In addition to the great but subtle moral fiber of the story and the encouraging development of all the characters, this series is just pure fun!

Have you read the Fairy Tale Reform School series yet?

ARC REVIEW: Anya and the Secrets of Cupola by N.A. Cauldron (The Cupolian Series, #1)

Anya and the Secrets of Cupola
by N.A. Caldron
Wiggling Pen Publishing
Release Date: November 14, 2015
Childrens/Fantasy
3/5 stars

I'd like to thank the author for sending me an ARC in return for an honest review.

I was a little leery about this book because I wasn't crazy about the cover art. On occasion, I may have mentioned I do judge books by their covers. Give me a gorgeous cover and I'll jump at a book. Granted, some books with good covers turn out to be terrible, and some books with not-so-great covers turn out to be pretty good. That's what happened with Anya.

This is a fun story about three friends -Anya, Gevin, and Taika- who discover their kingdom's 200-year-old secret. And magic. They also get into their share of trouble and adventure along the way, including a troll, some lava lizards, and getting on their monarch's bad side.

The characters are fun: Taika, the bookworm and master planner; Anya, who hasn't quite decided what she wants out of life; Gevin, who is such a boy.

"And to think I was concerned with your feelings."
"What feelings? I don't have any feelings!"

Told mostly from Anya's perspective, we get a lot of detail on her family's poor life and her tough job in the royal kitchen. It was surprising how much we get to see of Anya's work throughout the entire story, instead of just the expected introductory bit, since it's not directly related to adventure/secret side. On the one hand, it was refreshing to see life go on as normal for the kids, since these are the only three people in the kingdom aware of what's really going on, but there are times that the extent of detail felt a little out of place, just because of its lack of impact on the bigger story or the characters.


In addition to investigating this 200-year-old secret, we get to see Anya deal with average kid problems, like the bully Canis, her annoying older brother, and getting into trouble with her mother. We also get to see her deal with not-so-average kid responsibilities. In the beginning of the story, Anya gets a better-paying job than the rest of her family and readers will watch her handle this with maturity. I loved seeing this kind of responsibility handed to a young protagonist, because it will translate well for kids to see someone their own age taking on such an important if unexciting role in the family. Any book can hand a kid a grand, life-changing destiny, but it's nice to see that same kid cleaning house and cooking dinner on her days off, too. Maybe it will give readers an idea. ;)

The story ends in a good spot, giving you most of the answers you want, but leaving just enough to explore so you want to see what happens next. Now that I'm finished with this book, I think I'm going to pass it along to some of my niblings.

The writing quality is on the average side but on a good level for blossoming readers. While the writing quality is not quite as stellar as I enjoy, I feel the need to remind myself that it's also intended for middle graders, who won't be as picky as me.

This will be a good book for younger readers who love fantasy or are just getting into it. It has flavors of both Sorcerer's Stone and Spiderwick Chronicles, while the characters themselves remind me a lot of the Ever Afters' Triumverate, especially with the dancing lessons Anya gets, which was probably one of my favorite scenes. (Gawsh, I'm such a girl.)

Anya and the Secrets of Cupola will be released November 14, 2015. It's available for pre-order in ebook at Amazon.com and in paperback at www.nacauldron.com/.