From School Library Journal
Grade 6–9—From the premise that Titania's night with the donkey-headed Bottom-as depicted in
A Midsummer Night's Dream—resulted in a halfling child, Baker spins this modern fairy tale. Although she's used to being different, 15-year-old Tamasin is surprised when wings suddenly sprout from her back and her parents reveal that she was adopted. Meanwhile, in the land of the fey, Jak, another halfling, struggles to fit in with his goblin family. When his uncle sends him to the human world on a special mission to find and bring back a particular girl, he seizes the chance to prove himself. Jak meets Tamasin at school and invites her to a Halloween party. Together they fall through a gate and into the middle of a rebellion in the fairy world, pitting her birth mother, Titania, against his goblin uncle. Jak and Tamasin's friendship grows as they learn about one another and try to remain alive. Readers experience events from both teens' perspectives as the third-person narrative moves back and forth in time, alternating points of view. The author has left open the possibility of further adventures for Jak and Tamasin, but awkward transitions and far too many coincidentally helpful magic abilities make it hard to believe in this particular fairy world.—
Kathleen Isaacs, Towson University, MD Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
By the author of The Frog Princess (2002) and its sequels, this fantasy introduces Tamisin, a high-school student who thinks she’s a little different and discovers just how different she really is. Able to see goblins on Halloween nights and to dance with unearthly grace, she suddenly sprouts wings and learns her parents adopted her as a baby. Meanwhile, a handsome half-goblin is sent into Tamisin’s neighborhood to gain her trust and transport her back to his world. On their journey, Tamisin encounters fairies, a unicorn, and other magical creatures as she tries to learn more about her parentage while avoiding the many treacherous beings who threaten her. With several very different settings, a multitude of characters with their own subplots, and plenty of well-developed background to be filled in, the story loses focus a bit from time to time. But Baker always brings it back to Tamisin, whose identity lies at the heart of the story. Grades 5-8. --Carolyn Phelan
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
