Charmed

In the second Fairy Tale Reform School title (after Flunked, 2015), Gillian Cobbler, the shoemaker's daughter, sentenced to FTRS for stealing, has gone from rule-breaking rebel to hero both in school and Enchantasia after thwarting evil fairy Alva's attempts to control the kingdom. Gillian's starting to enjoy the acclaim, plus her family's once-dwindling business has picked up. Alva's still at large, still plotting, and recruiting an ever-growing army, however, and until she's stopped, danger persists. Though aided by pals Jax, Ollie, fairy Kayla, and ogre Maxine in the effort, Gillian increasingly thinks it's best if she goes it alone. But with allies and foes harder to discern, and to protect lives and kingdom from untold peril, Gillian comes to understand being a hero sometimes means being stronger together. Gillian remains an appealing, vibrant character, whose first-person narrative, with humorous, dramatic and self-reflective touches, makes for fast-paced, entertaining reading. With its lively, diverse cast, returning and new, further spins on familiar fairy tales and characters, and hints of adventures to come, this is sure to please previous-title readers.--Rosenfeld, Shelle Copyright 2016 Booklist

Gr 4-7-Gilly Cobbler, who spent her previous school year defeating evil, discovers that once again, trouble is brewing. A mole is helping Alva, the wicked queen, take over the land of Enchantasia. Gilly uses the skills learned in her criminal past to help find the spy lurking in their midst and save the kingdom. The story is punctuated throughout by scrolls, the magical equivalent of a blog, announcing important news and events. In the book, these "FairyWeb" announcements appear framed by scrolls, alerting readers to their intent. Listeners would benefit from pairing the book with the audio, to clarify these breaks in the story line. Unfortunately, a bland delivery by narrator Kristin Condon casts a bit of a pall over a charming story. VERDICT Tweens and middle school students who like fractured fairy tales will enjoy this mash-up, though possibly more in print. ["Tweens who are fans of fractured fairy tales like the "Whatever After" series by Sarah Mlynowski and "Once upon a Time" will have no problem getting into this read": SLJ 2/16 review of the Sourcebooks Jabberwocky book.]-Lisa Hubler, Charles F. Brush High School, Lyndhurst, OH © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

In the second Fairy Tale Reform School title (after Flunked, 2015), Gillian Cobbler, the shoemaker's daughter, sentenced to FTRS for stealing, has gone from rule-breaking rebel to hero both in school and Enchantasia after thwarting evil fairy Alva's attempts to control the kingdom. Gillian's starting to enjoy the acclaim, plus her family's once-dwindling business has picked up. Alva's still at large, still plotting, and recruiting an ever-growing army, however, and until she's stopped, danger persists. Though aided by pals Jax, Ollie, fairy Kayla, and ogre Maxine in the effort, Gillian increasingly thinks it's best if she goes it alone. But with allies and foes harder to discern, and to protect lives and kingdom from untold peril, Gillian comes to understand being a hero sometimes means being stronger together. Gillian remains an appealing, vibrant character, whose first-person narrative, with humorous, dramatic and self-reflective touches, makes for fast-paced, entertaining reading. With its lively, diverse cast, returning and new, further spins on familiar fairy tales and characters, and hints of adventures to come, this is sure to please previous-title readers. Copyright 2014 Booklist Reviews.

Gr 4–7—The Fairy Tale Reform School is back in session with another adventure featuring the heroic pickpocket Gilly Cobbler. After stopping Alva, the wicked queen whose curse struck Sleeping Beauty, from taking over Enchantasia, Gilly and her friends find themselves back in another precarious situation. A mole has broken into the ranks of The Fairy Tale Reform School and is helping Alva plot another scheme to take over the land. Gilly goes undercover as a Royal Lady in Waiting to uncover who the mole is and hopefully stop the attacks in time. Fans of Colanita's previous book in the series (Flunked) will enjoy this continuation of the story. New readers will be caught up within the first few pages thanks to a blog-scroll ("Happily Ever After Scrolls") that recurs throughout the book. Tweens who are fans of fractured fairy tales like the "Whatever After" series by Sarah Mlynowski and "Once Upon A Time" will have no problem getting into this read.