Level: Middle
Recommended Age: All Ages
Genres: Fantasy, Adventure
Tags: Magic, Fairy Tale
Mature Content:

  - Mild violence: lighthearted encounters with dangerous villains.

Alex and Conner Bailey couldn’t be more different. Alex loves school and organization and reading, while Conner can’t stay awake during class or talk to a teacher without cracking untimely jokes. But one thing they do agree on is fairy tales. They grew up listening to their father’s stories of far away places and magical people, and with his recent death fairy tales feel like the only thing keeping his memory alive. The twins try to make the best of their 12th birthday, but with just them and their mom it just isn’t the same.

But then their quirky grandmother shows up with presents, cake, and of course her ever present book of fairy tales. She leaves the book with her grandchildren to help them remember their father, and what seems like an ordinary book soon turns into the adventure of a lifetime. Now Alex and Conner must use all of their fairy tale knowledge to stay alive long enough to find their way back home, even if it’s worlds away.

Review:

Chris Colfer has made it clear that despite the fact that he’s well known for his acting career, he has always been a writer. His close relationship with his grandmother and vivid imagination shine through in his writing, and I’m not surprised this series is on the New York Times Bestseller list.

These books are wonderful to both read and listen to, with the author using his acting skills to narrate the audiobooks. They’re great for families to read together and discuss the connections between fairy tales and reality, just like what Alex and Conner’s father does with them. There are some touching scenes throughout the book as both siblings reflect on moments with their father and what he meant to them. That sense of love and loss is beautifully written, and shows how to work through grief while still appreciating life.

The twins try to help each other and their mother through their grief, and nothing quite distracts them from their life like landing headfirst through a book of fairy tales. Alex is enthralled with this land of her favorite stories, and feels like she finally has a chance to be herself. Conner enjoys the adventure but is much more practical when it comes to analyzing the dangerous situations and how kid appropriate they are. He points out funny insights for each fairy tale they encounter, questioning Little Red Riding Hood’s parents for sending their child into a forest full of wolves, and pointing out how dangerous the villains in each story are. He keeps them alive, with Alex determinedly romanticizing her favorite tales of magic and how they made her feel less alone.

But both siblings soon realize that finding a way back home might be the least of their worries. The Evil Queen from Snow White’s story has escaped prison, and she’s searching for the same wishing spell as the twins. And she is not someone to mess with.

It’s a wild journey, and the twins have help from some surprising characters: a frog-man, a knight, a troll princess, and even the Fairy Godmother. They meet princesses and princes, knights and farmers, trolls and goblins, along with plenty of terrifying villains. This is a wonderful love story of fairy tales and how their themes encourage people to be their best, but also warn us of the danger of life. Sometimes, people have an unhappy ending, and as Alex and Conner meet both heroes and villains, they discover that life isn’t always simple, even if it’s full of magic.

The writing style is a bit basic, there’s a lot of telling instead of showing as well as some repetitive descriptions, but it’s meant for children as well as teens and adults. So the simplistic writing and mild content make it very family friendly. This story has a lot of heart and wisdom, with fun moments and spunky characters that make this fairy tale spinoff creative and unique.