The Thirteenth Fairy by Melissa de la Cruz || Fairy Tales With A Twist

The Thirteenth Fairy (Never After, #1)

Nothing ever happens in Filomena Jefferson-Cho's sleepy little suburban town of North Pasadena. The sun shines every day, the grass is always a perfect green, and while her progressive school swears there's no such thing as bullying, she still feels bummed out. But one day, when Filomena is walking home on her own, something strange happens.

Filomena is being followed by Jack Stalker, one of the heroes in the Thirteenth Fairy, a series of books she loves about a brave girl and her ragtag group of friends who save their world from an evil enchantress. She must be dreaming, or still reading a book. But Jack is insistent--he's real, the stories are real, and Filomena must come with him at once!

Soon, Filomena is thrust into the world of evil fairies and beautiful princesses, sorcerers and slayers, where an evil queen drives her ruthless armies to destroy what is left of the Fairy tribes. To save herself and the kingdom of Westphalia, Filomena must find the truth behind the fairytales and set the world back to rights before the cycle of sleep and destruction begins once more.

Content Tags:

Perfect for readers who want:

• Books about books.
• Fairy tales with an unexpected twist.
• Fast-paced adventure.
• A fun squad of characters.
• Cute family bonds.
• A protagonist who’s an orphan with a wonderful adopted family.

Many thanks to Roaring Brook Press and Turn the Page Tours for a copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

When I saw that The Thirteenth Fairy was from the author of The Descendants books, I knew I had to read it. I have seen those movies at least five times too many because Minion loves them so much, and the book series is one of the few that she’ll actually read willingly and enjoy. So I read this for her, and all the other library patrons like her.

The Thirteenth Fairy is the young bookwyrm’s dream: a character whisked into the world of her favorite book. It’s a world full of twisted fairy tales, adventure, danger, and magic.

Ultimately, I see this being a huge hit among middle grade readers. It’s got action and fairy tale characters and a world they’re bound to love. There were just some moments that my adult brain couldn’t quite get over, but which I don’t think middle grade readers will be much worried about. I’d say this book is written solidly with its target audience in mind, and I think that target audience will love it! I’ll definitely be recommending it for them. I’m not sure I’d recommend it for older readers, though.

Filomena Jefferson-Cho is an interesting protagonist, and there are so many things to enjoy about her.

First, she’s a bookwyrm! Huzzah! Readers who enjoy reading (yes, I realize how that sounds) will likely be able to relate to the way she loves the Never After series. I think young bookwyrms will easily be able to see themselves in her!

Plus, Filomena doesn’t shy away from danger, and it’s fun to have a female protagonist who just jumps in and gets the job done, even if she’s afraid. Also, she rides motorbikes. Super cool, right?

I will say there were things about her that were a little unbelievable because they came out of nowhere (like her sudden ability to fight or ride motorbikes), but it’s the same sort of overblown abilities that characterize middle grade. I think young readers particularly will enjoy being able to see someone their age doing all these grandiose things!

Filomena also happens to be adopted, and I absolutely loved this aspect of the book!

There’s such a touching narrative built around adoption and what makes a family, and my gosh, my heart! I just loved this so much. Plus, the Jefferson-Chos are an amazing family. They’re a wonderful example of the way that parents can be involved and attentive in middle grade without completely derailing the story.

There’s a ton of action and adventure in this story that will keep young readers hooked and turning pages.

The beginning of the book is a little slow, but by around the midway point, it’s almost non-stop action, one thing after another. I absolutely flew through these pages, because there was so much happening and I was so engaged with it! Never After is the sort of world I can see a lot of people (adults and children alike) particularly enjoying, but it’s also a dangerous world. Which means our young heroes had plenty of challenges and dangers to overcome.

Filomena is joined on her adventures by a fun squad of characters, particularly Jack Stalker and Alistair.

Yes, it is that Jack, of beanstalk fame. I absolutely loved the fairy tale twists in this book! Jack is given a bit of a backstory and more depth, some of which surprised me a little.

Also, Alistair is pretty much me, so obviously I loved him. His character was definitely the voice of reason. Filomena and Jack were brave, and Alistair was just like, hey, let’s not run headlong into certain death today, okay? Guys? GUYS?!

I will admit that I didn’t particularly connect with these characters. While I enjoyed their story, I didn’t feel anything for them or worry about them at any point.

There are dragons in the land of Never After! Plus, all sorts of other fun fairy tale creatures.

If you like twisted fairy tales, you will love the world of Never After! Nothing is as you think. We’ve all been lied to all these years and just eaten it up. The Thirteenth Fairy twists all the narratives on well-known and loved fairy tales, and it always kept me guessing! I never quite knew what to expect except that whatever I thought was true obviously wouldn’t be.

The way this is done is so creative! Not only did I find it particularly fun, I’m sure middle grade readers will love it. The absolute best part is that this will be a series in this world, and the ending opens up the possibility for another chapter which sounds super exciting! I’m already curious to know what will befall our three young heroes in the next chapter of their adventure.

There were things that I don’t think middle grade readers will care about or even notice but which made my adult brain stutter.

Since this is my review and experience of this book, I’m going to talk about them, even though I’ve already given my little disclaimer. I’m just going to list them bullet point style, because some of them are just so nitpicky and I’m sorry but my brain breaks easily.

• The narrative switches between past tense and present tense and head hops. I honestly doubt children will pick up on this, but it kept pulling me out of the story. I’d be like, wait, weren’t we just in present tense? Whose perspective is this paragraph from? I had to re-read a couple of sections where I got a little confused.
  
• The rhyming in the beginning of the book starts off particularly charming, but towards the middle and the end, a lot of the rhyming felt kind of forced. This surprised me because I guess I’m used to The Descendants, where the rhyming for spells and such never tripped me up. Though I suppose that’s the show and I’ve never read the books. I know Minion goes around the house quoting the spells all the bloody time, so I know they’re pretty solid, for the most part. Some of the rhymes towards the end of this book were a little sloppy, though, and it sometimes randomly slipped into rhyming and then out again, even in dialogue.
  
• At one point, Filomena tells someone they need a breath mint, and the character’s reply was they’ll make a snack out of her instead. And my brain instantly broke. This one is 100% me and not the book. But omg is a breath mint a snack?! I have devoted waaaaay too much time to trying to suss out my feelings on this. I certainly don’t consider a breath mint a snack. Minion would never say she’s hungry and me be like, “Well, here’s a mint for a snack.” As a matter of fact, I consider it more akin to candy (even if it’s candy with a “purpose”), which I also don’t consider a snack. Someone give me the right answer here before my brain enters a death spiral again!
  
• The bullies in this are so irredeemably mean and the bullying so over-the-top that it kept breaking my suspension of disbelief. I mean, this part of the book takes place in the real world. Bullying is a big issue, and I think books should discuss it. I’m not sure The Thirteenth Fairy’s approach is the way to do it, though. Also, it’s really hard to have sympathy for Filomena when she then turns around and is constantly calling the bullies nasty names in her head and to other people and making fun of them. I’m all for standing up for yourself, which I think people should do, but Filomena doesn’t. She just becomes a bully herself behind her back and then justifies it later in the book.
  
• There’s a random use of “badass” in the second half of the book. I don’t know where it came from or why it’s there. It was extremely unnecessary and unfortunate. For me, I don’t care to let my daughter read it despite that because she hears it at home and swearwords exist and that’s our parenting style. For a lot of the young patrons (and/or their parents) at my library, though, they want clean middle grade, which this book just disqualified itself as. It’s especially unfortunate because I do think kids will love it, but if someone asks for a clean book recommendation, I won’t be able to recommend this one just because of one word.

Like I said, most of these are really nitpicky, and none of them particularly “broke” the story for me. I just think this is one of those books that is solidly geared towards middle grade readers and it might not be as enjoyable for older readers, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Hey, that’s the target audience, after all! It’s an absolutely valid thing for authors to do. Minion has already stolen the book, and I’m more than happy to let her read and enjoy it, which I think she definitely will!

About Melissa de la Cruz

Melissa de la Cruz is the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of many critically acclaimed and award-winning novels for teens including The Au Pairs series, the Blue Bloods series, the Ashleys series, the Angels on Sunset Boulevard series and the semi-autobiographical novel Fresh off the Boat.

Her books for adults include the novel Cat’s Meow, the anthology Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys and the tongue-in-chic handbooks How to Become Famous in Two Weeks or Less and The Fashionista Files: Adventures in Four-inch heels and Faux-Pas.

She has worked as a fashion and beauty editor and has written for many publications including The New York Times, Marie Claire, Harper’s Bazaar, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Allure, The San Francisco Chronicle, McSweeney’s, Teen Vogue, CosmoGirl! and Seventeen. She has also appeared as an expert on fashion, trends and fame for CNN, E! and FoxNews.

Melissa grew up in Manila and moved to San Francisco with her family, where she graduated high school salutatorian from The Convent of the Sacred Heart. She majored in art history and English at Columbia University (and minored in nightclubs and shopping!).

She now divides her time between New York and Los Angeles, where she lives in the Hollywood Hills with her husband and daughter.

Up for grabs, we have ONE (1) physical copy of The Thirteenth Fairy (Never After, #1) by Melissa de la Cruz. This giveaway will run from March 1st to March 8th at 11:59 PM CST and is open to US residents only.

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