Review: Fairy Bad Day

FAIRY BAD DAY
Amanda Ashby
Paranormal Young Adult
336 Pages
Speak/Penguin
Available Now
Received from publisher for review

THE STORY
Emma Jones is going to be a dragon slayer. Her mom was one of the best, and Emma has been training to follow in her footsteps since she was little. With her mom's sudden death a few years before earning the title of dragon slayer is even more important, and all she needs is that little slip of paper from her principal to make it official.

When he finally hands her designation over, for a few brief moments Emma feels nothing but bliss. Until she looks at what it says. She's been assigned to fairies. She's a fairy slayer. Tiny, irritating, not-threatening-in-the-least fairies. And Curtis Green has been given her dragons.

Angry, upset, and generally wallowing in self pity, Emma attempts to learn about fairies and how to kill them since all the books at her school are maddeningly devoid of information about them. To her shock, one day Emma sees an enormous creature she thinks is a dragon but is actually a fairy, except no one else can see it and only her two best friends, and surprisingly Curtis, believe her. Soon the boy she's supposed to hate for ruining her life becomes something more, and the two of them team up to destroy a fairy bigger and badder than any dragon.

MY THOUGHTS
Fairy Bad Day is a charming story full of humor and general hilarity, leaving us thoroughly entertained and earning itself a place on our shelves among those stories that are go-to reads when we need a big smile on our faces. The characters are all adorably quirky and have sharp wits they put to good use on a regular basis, their antics making for a fun, light read that succeeds in being memorable despite not being a story that elicits a potent emotional reaction in us. Each chapter brings a delightful coupling of elements–silly humor with serious mystery, giddy attraction with tragic loss, and ridiculous mischief with intense responsibility–thereby undeniably satisfying us on a multitude of levels as we shut the back cover tingling with the pleasant warmth of having finished and all-around good read.

Emma is a young woman with admirable drive and determination, bent on honoring her mother's memory by becoming a dragon slayer and living the life she's always wanted. Unfortunately, the school's tests indicate Emma is to be a fairy-slayer instead, a designation with far less danger and prestige, and one she believes takes considerably less skill. Though we understand her initial extreme disappointment and anger, her whining to anyone who will listen about the injustice of the slight she's suffered begins to get old fast, as does her openly hostile treatment of Curtis. Luckily for us though, Emma does climb her way out of the pit of selfish despair she so dramatically throws herself in at the beginning, shoring up her resolve and embracing her new status as the world of fairy-slaying suddenly proves to be much harder and much more dire than it first appeared.

Curtis is an outstanding male lead, a young man with a talent he doesn't choose to flaunt but rather remains exceedingly modest, his more quiet nature drawing us to him easily as we seek to shield him from Emma's impressive wrath with our affection. While we can tell he's attracted to Emma we're also very aware he's keeping secrets, and though he has fairly perfect looks, the imperfections and vulnerabilities lurking beneath the pretty face are what hold our interest and pique our curiosity. Their relationship is plagued with little misunderstandings, the kind that set our nerves on edge as we puff up in vicarious outrage on behalf of one or the other, and we find ourselves fully vested in every tense silence, every almost kiss, and every casual touch.

Overall, Fairy Bad Day is sweet and funny, taking us on a quick journey through a world of mythical creatures but very human emotions, and is sure to be a joy to read for all those looking to grin foolishly and giggle uncontrollably as evil is fought and love is found.

Rating: 4/5