Book Review - How to Ditch Your Fairy by Justine Larbalestier

How to Ditch Your Fairy is set in the future city of New Avalon, Australia where many people have invisible fairies who give them certain skills, types of luck, or in some cases a great number of difficulties.  This is the story of Charlie, a sports lover, who is unlucky enough to have a parking fairy.  This means if Charlie's in a car it'll find the best parking spot no matter how busy the place.  She's always being called upon to help her mom, dad, and their friends or being kidnapped by fellow student Danders so he can do his shady business without worrying about finding a good parking spot for a quick get away.  

Charlie absolutely hates her fairy and spends most of the book trying to get rid of it so she can, hopefully, get a cool fairy, like her friend Rochelle's clothes shopping fairy.  Over the course of  the story Charlie makes a new friend in Fiorenze, deals with the ups and downs of first love, learns a bit about fairness, and spends as much time as she can becoming the best athlete possible.  

How to Ditch Your Fairy is written in first person, rather like it's Charlies diary.  I'm not the biggest fan of first person, but I got over my dislike of the tense by the end of the first chapter.   Charlie's a very focused character, her main concerns are sports and how her parking fairy is ruining her chances of being a great athlete.  This makes it very easy for the reader to enter into Charlie's mind and care about the same things she does.  However, it also means Charlie doesn't spend much time questioning the way things are and she can be throughtless and even a little cruel at times because Charlie doesn't spend much time trying to see things from other people's points of view.  This means she doesn't question her dislike of Fiorenze until she's forced to spend time with her and circumstances put Charlie in Fiorenze's shoes.  Likewise, she has a crush on Steffi, a new student, but doesn't try to get to know about him before he moved to New Avalon until he calls her on her self-centeredness.  However, by the end of the book Charlie's gotten a lot better at thinking about other people and what's important to them.

One thing I loved about this book is how Larbalestier shows the relationship between Charlie and Fiorenze.  Fiorenze is cursed with an All the Boys Like You Fairy and it makes Charlie and a bunch of other girls really resent Fiorenze and treat her horribly.  Over the course of the story Charlie realizes how unfair this all is and becomes good friends with Fiorenze.  I think this is very applicable to real life.  I see so many girls and women treat each other horribly because of men. So often you see stories, in songs, TV, movies, and books where the guy the female protagonist is into likes another girl and this means that other girl is a horrible person.  I hate these types of stories and what it teaches young girls, so I was so excited that How to Ditch Your Fairy shows the exact opposite.

One area I was disappointed in was Charlie's relationship with fairies.  The set up of the story seems like Charlie should be learning about how fairies can give people unfair advantages and that it's better to succeed on your own talents and hard work.  Other characters learn this lesson, they're worried about the consequences of what they're fairies get them.  However, even at the end of the book Charlie still wants a cool fairy and is really excited about the one she ultimately gets, even though it dimishes her personal hard work and success. 

So if you want to give your child or student a book about keeping an open mind, the importance of family and friendship, or how we should be considerate of other people and their wants and needs this is a great book.  If you want to teach a lesson about hard work and perseverance, be prepared to talk about Charlie's fairy obsession and her societies reliance on fairies to make things easier.

This book identifies as Young Adult and content wise it is better suited for 12 and older children.  At times it's necessary to think critically about Charlie's opinions and actions and most elementary school children will have a harder time considering this and making judgements.  Reading skills wise, this book can be used to help children work on learning the meaning of words through context.  It is set in an imaginary city in the future so the characters use slang that doesn't exist in the real world.  All of the words are included in a glossary in the back of the book, so even if kids can't guess an accurate meaning they don't have to spend much time looking for the answer.

The books Reading Level, and even the content of crushes, friendships, and getting on a sports team, can be managed by somewhat younger children.  Some of my forth graders are reading this book and enjoying it.  As long as people are Self Extending Readers they can manage the words and content of this book. (More on Reading Levels) I think How to Ditch Your Fairy is a book that sparks conversation so I definately would recommend it for a book club.

UPDATE

The Book List for Women's History Month has been updated.

Book Review - The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan

The Demon's Lexicon is the first book of an urban fantasy trilogy that's set in England and follows brothers Nick and Alan Ryves, siblings Jamie and Mae, and Sin.

Magicians exist in the world of The Demon's Lexicon Trilogy, they blend in with regular humans and most people don't know of their existence.  Magicians have a small amount of power, but they crave more.  Magicians call up demons (beings of air from another world) and give them humans to possess in exchange for greater magical powers. 
Standing against the magicians is the Goblin Market, a loosely allied group of people who work to protect humans from magicians and demons, for a price.

Nick, Alan, and their mother Olivia are on the run from magicians, they have been for as long as Nick can remember.  Olivia used to be a member of the powerful Obsidian Circle, a group of magicians led by Black Arthur.  They drove her mad and she ran away, but Olivia stole something first, and since then all the magician circles have been hunting Nick and his family.  The Demon's Lexicon begins with a magician's attack on the Reeves family; during the clean-up Nick and Alan encounter Jamie and Mea, classmates of Nick, who've heard the Ryve's were the people to go to if you had a problem with demons.

We quickly learn that Jamie has been having nightly visits from a demon, and if you let them in they mark you.  One mark to form a doorway and the demons can follow you always, the second mark to allow demons to enter your dreams and means someone has to die, the third mark is the demon's eye and means you'll be possessed.  Jamie has been marked three times and his death seems certain, until Alan is marked by the same demon.

What follows is an adventure across England with visits to a Goblin Market and a dance to call up demons. Along the way family secrets are revealed.  Nick, Alan, Jamie, and Mea learn the importance of truth and lies, that magicians really can be anyone, and any human can house a demon under the right circumstances.

Nick is the narrator of the first book.  He's an incredibly focused character who only cares about himself and Alan, and the content of the book reflects this.  The story takes a very narrow view with other characters and information only being mentioned when they directly affect Nick and Alan.  This also means that the other characters are portrayed only through what Nick observes them do, he doesn't spend much time thinking about their emotions or motivations.

This changes in The Demon's Covenant where Mea's the narrator.  She's posssibly the most empathetic of the characters and focuses a lot of their emotions and motivations, though no one's all knowing.  Both books focus a great deal on secrets and last minute reveals so the narrators are seem carefully chosen as the people with some of the least information, or who are incapable or uninterested in finding out the secrets until they come to a head.

The Content and Reading Level of this trilogy is young adult.  It deals with romance, making out without much romance, sexual orientation and homophobia, racism, death of friends and family members, and several of the protagonists have to commit murder at different points (some deal with more PTSD like reactions to this than others).   While most 12 year olds can handle the reading level of this series not all of them will have the maturity to understand or appreciate the content.

While The Demon's Lexicon passes the Bechdel Test, even through the female conversations are of the blink and you'll miss them sort, The Demon's Covenant blows it away.  This book further developes the previous minor characters of demon dancer Sin, and Goblin Market leader Merris Cromwell.  It also introduces the reader to Mae's workaholic mother Annabel, and several important female magicians.  This isn't too surprising as Sarah Rees Brennan is an ardent feminist and has written numerous posts about female characters in her blog. (See here, here, and here , and yes here too) The last book in the trilogy casts Sin as the narrator so I imagine it too will have awesome representation of the ladies.

Rees Brennan manages a wonderful blend of heartbreak and humor.  Most of the main characters are sarcastic and call upon a gallows sense of humor to get them through dangerous situations.  Jamie is certainly the standout character though, his response to terror is the make hilarious comments that range from pithy to rambling.  In response to danger Nick grabs his sword, Alan makes plans, Sin does some combination of the two, Mea raises her chin bravely, and Jamie spends a couple minutes cowering and making quips before stepping up and doing what's necessary.  In my opinion this makes him the most relatable character.

The last book in the trilogy, The Demon's Surrender comes out this spring.  I can't wait for it's release.  This is one of the few books I have no problem paying hard cover prices for, even on my small child care provider's salary.

Book List - Women's History Month

UPDATED

March is Women's History Month.  For this month I'm compiling a list of books about famous historical women, historical stories with female protagonists, or books with female protagonists and a focus on female friendship.  The list includes books for all ages.  Books I've read myself and can personally recommend will be marked with a *.  Some books will be ones I have reviewed or I am planning to review, so they might be linked to other entries on this blog.  The list will be updated throughout the month.

Pre-K and Kindergarten
Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkinson (Clara, a young slave, works as a seamstress in the Big House and dreams of reuniting with her momma and running away to freedom.  From hearing other slaves talk Clara gets the idea of turning a quilt into a map of the Underground Railroad.)
* Fancy Nancy by Jane O'Connor (A series that follows the adventures of Nancy, a little girl who loves fancy thigns and words.) Reviewed by me.

Grades 1 - 2
Amelia and Eleanor Go For a Ride by Pam Munoz Ryan (A part fictional and part historical story of a real event that took place in April 1933 when First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and First Lady of the Air Amelia Earhart snuck away from the White House for a night time flight over DC.)
When Jessie Came Across the Sea by Amy Hest (Jessie, a 13 year old Jewish girl travels to New York in the early 1900s, she works at a dressmakers trying to earn enough money to bring her grandma to America.)
* Ivy and Bean by Annie Barrows (Ivy and Bean are opposites, Bean's loud and active, Ivy's quite and creative, and this makes them the best of friends who have wild adventures.  There are 8 books in the series so far.)

Grades 3 - 5
* Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Bao Lord (The year is 1947. Bandit, now Shirley, has just traveled from China to America.  Also recommended last month.)
* Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume (Set in 1970's about a 6th grade girl dealing with new friendships, growing up, family and religion.  Often considered young adult, but several of my 4th graders are reading and loving it.  Just be aware it deals with puberty and first crushes.)

Young Adult
* The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare (16 year old Katherine has just moved to a Puritan community in Connecticut.  This book closely examines the options available to women in Puritan Colonial society and how the society reacted to people, especially women, who stepped outside of that.)
* The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Future distopia where children are forced to fight in the yearly gladatorial Hunger Games.  The trilogy follows Katniss through the games and her fight against the corrupt government.  Deals with violence, death, and PTSD, this YA series is more for high schoolers than 12 year olds.)
* Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse (A story of the Dust Bowl and Great Depression told in stanza form from the perspective of 14 year old Billie Joe.  Winner of the 1998 Newbury Award.)
* How to Fitch Your Fairy by Justine Larbalestier (A story set in the future about a 14 year old girl, named Charlie, who loves sports and hates her fairy, which find the best parking spots.  Great book for showing girls who love sports and having positive female friendships.) Reviewed by me

On a side note, finding quality books for girls and young adults that pass the Bechdel Test (Story must include two named women, who have at least one conversation, about something other than a man/men) is a focus of mine.  So most books recommended here will have female protagonists, or at the very least active female characters.