Fairy Tale [Hardcover]

Cyn Balog (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 23, 2009

A captivating and witty dark fantasy that will have girls lusting after it.

Morgan Sparks has always known that she and her boyfriend, Cam, are made for each other. But when Cam’s cousin Pip comes to stay with the family, Cam seems depressed. Finally Cam confesses to Morgan what’s going on: Cam is a fairy. The night he was born, fairies came down and switched him with a healthy human boy. Nobody expected Cam to live, and nobody expected his biological brother, heir to the fairy throne, to die. But both things happened, and now the fairies want Cam back to take his rightful place as Fairy King.

Even as Cam physically changes, becoming more miserable each day, he and Morgan pledge to fool the fairies and stay together forever. But by the time Cam has to decide once and for all what to do, Morgan’s no longer sure what’s best for everyone, or whether her and Cam’s love can weather an uncertain future.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up—Morgan Sparks and her football-star boyfriend, Cameron, were born on the same day. Close all their lives, the two are looking forward to celebrating their 16th birthday with a blowout bash. Then, a week before the party, Morgan catches Cameron hanging out with a new girl. It turns out that he is a fairy changeling, and that Dawn is a fairy sent to prepare him for his one-way journey back to fairyland. Pip, the gawky, geeky human who grew up in fairyland in Cam's place, has come with her. Morgan, whose psychic abilities allow her to see through the fairy spell that keeps most humans ignorant of Cam's transition, watches her once-formidable boyfriend sprout wings, shrink, and prepare to become the Fairy King. Some comic moments arise from Cam's changes, as well as from Pip's awkward acculturation into the human world and Morgan's hit-and-miss sassy narration. Underneath the comedy, there is also pathos: Morgan and Cameron losing their first love, and Cameron's coming to accept that the life he thought he wanted is now impossible. The plot is the weakest element: Morgan's plan to save Cam is half-hearted, the final action sequence lacks tension, and the mechanics of fairy magic are never quite consistent. Fairy Tale has a few choice witticisms and touching moments, but Morgan is no Maggie Quinn.—Megan Honig, New York Public Library
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About the Author

Cyn Balog is the race and event manager for Runner’s World, Running Times, and Bicycling magazines. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and infant daughter.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (June 23, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385737068
• ISBN-13: 978-0385737067
• Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 0.9 x 8.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #334,009 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

While the other neighborhood children were out getting fresh air and sunlight playing Zim Zam and freeze tag, Cyn Balog preferred to be locked in her bedroom, writing. When she emerged, with her growth only slightly stunted, she graduated from Rutgers with a degree in Shoelace Tying or something. She'd wanted to major in Writing, but certain "wise elders" in her life told her that career writers must learn to subsist on three Saltines a day, and being part-Italian, Cyn adamantly refused to give up Pasta Sundays.

Cyn now lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania with her husband and daughters. She rarely listens to "wise elders" anymore, still eats pasta regularly and is currently looking for a way to get back her figure, possibly by taking up Zim Zam or freeze tag. Her first novel, FAIRY TALE (Delacorte), is a 2009 RITA finalist in the young adult category, and her second novel, SLEEPLESS, which School Library Journal calls "an interesting, quick-paced, and compelling paranormal romance" and Kirkus calls "a lovely read," released this year. Two more young adult paranormal novels, STARSTRUCK and LIVING BACKWARDS, will be released in 2011 and 2012. Visit her online at www.cynbalog.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fairy Tale, July 13, 2009

By 

S.Banks "mythical luv" (raleigh, nc) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fairy Tale (Hardcover)

I was very excited about this book. I even pre-ordered it just based on the product description. But honestly I was just a little disappointed. The back bone of this story is the two main characters Cam and Morgan are deeply in love and made for each other. Unfortunately, that premis felt forced. I was told a million times in the book that they were in love instead of shown. I felt that Cam's actions constantly seemed the opposite of this statement. Cam spent very little time with Morgan and it seemed that he was just fine without her. I felt like screaming to Morgan in the middle of the book to drop this clown already...LOL.
On a positive note the story is a quick read and if you love a happy ending you wont be disappointed. I would recommend reading this book to anyone who loves this fanatsy romance genre like me but I would suggest grabbing it a library instead of purchasing it because honestly you will probably never read it a second time.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dazzling and suspenseful, June 23, 2009

By 

The Compulsive Reader (Big Rapids, MI, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Fairy Tale (Hardcover)

Morgan Sparks has a perfect boyfriend, and a pretty-near perfect life. She and her boyfriend Cameron Browne share a birthday, and their upcoming sixteenth birthday party is the most talked of event in school. But just a week before the big day, a strange guy named Pip shows up, claiming to be the Brownes' real son. He declares that Cam is really fairy royalty, and next in line for the crown--and that it's time for him to return to the fairy world and for Pip to take his place in the human one. But Morgan won't let go of Cam easily; she's bound and determined to make sure that he stays with her for the rest of their lives...but what if that isn't his destiny?

Fairy Tale is unexpected in many aspects--from Morgan's ability to see into the future to Cyn Balog's surprise ending. Morgan herself is a strong narrator who packs in plenty of wit and sass. Her confidence is refreshing, and her reaction to the many magical events occurring around her is humorous and entertaining. Her psychic abilities aren't dwelled upon for very long, which seems a little curious, but isn't distracting from the novel as a whole.

The idea that the male lead--not the female one--is a fairy is a different one, and the new approach is definitely welcome. Fairy Tale deals a lot with the emotions and fears that accompany change as both Cam and Morgan face the possibility of losing each other forever and grapple with fears of the unknown, which is an issue that many teens will be able to draw connections with in their own lives. At the center of the story is a sweet romance that is touching without being cliché, and realistically complicated and gut-wrenching. Balog's debut is a dazzling one, full of fun dialogue, true-to-life emotions, and a suspenseful climax that will have readers coming back to this lovely novel again and again.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Felt like my own personalized blend of fantasy and reality!, June 24, 2009

By 

Mint910 (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Fairy Tale (Hardcover)

I loved Fairy Tale. It felt like my own personalized blend of fantasy and reality. Sometimes I'm a bit leery that fantasy books will be so much fantasy that I will be lost, I need fantasy that is extremely grounded in our own reality and I found that with Fairy Tale. It made it all the more exciting for me when fantastical elements were introduced. I just loved the way the author crafted her story.

I loved the three main characters. I just got Morgan and her sense of humor. And Cam and Pip, can you say a sandwich of cute/sweet boys!!!! I loved the push and pull between the three of them, and the relationships that grow and change throughout the book.

I also found the book to be really touching, what a dilemma these characters face, no matter what happens if Cam stays or goes someone is going to be losing. I had an inkling as to what would happen in the end and it did make the most sense but I wasn't really sure which way I wanted it to go, I kind of liked both possibilities. The book hooked me in and I basically had to know what was going to happen RIGHT THIS VERY INSTANT! Ultimately I really liked the ending the author gave us.

I think that Fairy Tale would be a great book for someone to start with if they were interested in the Fantasy genre but were a little unsure. I loved it! Can't wait to see what the author comes up with next!