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A review by jennifermreads
The Lost Fairy Tales by Anna James
5.0
Following Tilly and Oskar’s adventures in The Bookwanderers, the bookwandering community is in an upheaval. Answers may lie within fairy tales and Tilly’s grandparents have warned her that fairy tales are unpredictable and unstable. But if that is where answers can be found, shouldn’t someone venture inside?
Most common question at a library: “Do I need to read this in order?” For this trilogy, a resounding “YES” is the answer. And, honestly, the majority of the time the answer is “yes” for fantasy books. Generally, with fantasy, book #1 lays groundwork: it builds the story’s world and gives readers a foundation into the characters while also telling you a gripping tale. Pages & Co. does this … so READ BOOK #1 FIRST!
Being a huge fan of fairy tales and the many, many YA retellings that have surfaced over recent years (any Lunar Chronicles fans out there?!), I was thrilled to see that Tilly would be wandering into fairy tales in book two. Anna James retains her incredible knack for writing a middle grade novel that is only a “middle grade novel” because her main character is middle grade! The plot is tight, the villains are pure evil, the characters have a spunk that is so true-to-life. Listening to Tilly react to her grandparents’ restrictions is like listening to any determined middle school aged person: she is eager to test her boundaries and she has started to question the wisdom of her elders.
Be forewarned though: this ends on a bit of a cliff-hanger. Luckily, the USA third installment published at the same time as the UK version this time. So, NO WAITING REQUIRED. Well, unless, like me, you are waiting for a library copy. I have my request in and am eagerly awaiting it coming out from cataloguing so I can find out what happens next!
Most common question at a library: “Do I need to read this in order?” For this trilogy, a resounding “YES” is the answer. And, honestly, the majority of the time the answer is “yes” for fantasy books. Generally, with fantasy, book #1 lays groundwork: it builds the story’s world and gives readers a foundation into the characters while also telling you a gripping tale. Pages & Co. does this … so READ BOOK #1 FIRST!
Being a huge fan of fairy tales and the many, many YA retellings that have surfaced over recent years (any Lunar Chronicles fans out there?!), I was thrilled to see that Tilly would be wandering into fairy tales in book two. Anna James retains her incredible knack for writing a middle grade novel that is only a “middle grade novel” because her main character is middle grade! The plot is tight, the villains are pure evil, the characters have a spunk that is so true-to-life. Listening to Tilly react to her grandparents’ restrictions is like listening to any determined middle school aged person: she is eager to test her boundaries and she has started to question the wisdom of her elders.
Be forewarned though: this ends on a bit of a cliff-hanger. Luckily, the USA third installment published at the same time as the UK version this time. So, NO WAITING REQUIRED. Well, unless, like me, you are waiting for a library copy. I have my request in and am eagerly awaiting it coming out from cataloguing so I can find out what happens next!