My Fairy Fair Godmother

“Aren’t fairy godmothers supposed to be nice and make you feel better about yourself?”
“No, you’re confusing fairy godmothers with sales clerks.”

And that’s Fairy Fair Godmother Chrysanthemum (Chrissy) Everstarfor you. A self-absorbed, mall-scouring, gum-chewing teen Godmother who doesn’t believe in sugar coating the pill. It would have helped if Chrissy had the intelligence and the maturity to back the tough-love. Sadly, it isn't so. There’s a reason why she’s called a “fair” godmother. It has nothing to do with her undoubtedly alabaster complexion and everything to do with the fact that she’s an average student at Fairy Godmother School who botches up her assignments on a regular basis.

So what happens when a slightly ditzy godmother gets assigned an equally ditzy charge?

Say hello to said ditzy charge: Savannah Delano. Despite being one of the prettiest, most popular and obviously not-so-smartest girls in high school, Savannah has to go through the unexpected heartbreak of having her buff boyfriend ditch her in favour of her elder, plainer and quite-a-good-deal sharper sister, Jane. In a fit of despair and in the aftermath of snarfing down too many complex-carbs, she wonders whether she will meet a “Prince of a Guy” who will escort her to the upcoming prom. (Un)luckily enough for Savannah, she is Chrissy’s next assignment. The “I’m –getting-late-to-plunder- the-mall-and-bat-my-lashes-at-hunky-elves” godmother grants the broken-hearted girl three wishes. Whether it’s an inability on Savannah’s part to articulate her deepest desires or it’s sheer negligence on Chrissy’s part, but the three precious wishes go awry. Big Time.

Soon, Savannah finds herself zapped into the middle-ages as she searches for her Prince Charming. She does a bit of unwilling time-travel as she finds herself first as Cinderella, second as Snow White and third, in a dangerous situation of having to rescue a fellow student, Tristan who got transported to medieval times, courtesy Chrissy’s godmotherly shenanigans.
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*Reasons why I loved this book*

1)The protagonist : Kudos to the author for making readers root for the much-loathed cliché of high-school literature – *The Popular Girl*. The perfectly coiffed, super-hot girl who leaves her rather uptight sister in the shadows more often than not gets her comeuppance as the plot proceeds. That’s the way the world rights it’s axis. After years of ardently supporting the wise-cracking underdog, I never thought that I would appreciate a supposedly vacuous bimbo so much. Savannah is a refreshing YA-lit heroine who is the perfect example of superficiality shielding a kind heart.

2)The (is he/isn't he) love-interest : Tristan is the stuff of teen dreams. He is the kind of hero that makes Tumblr. loyalists go into a creative frenzy as they whip up gooey animated gifs devoted to his awesomeness. Shaggy blonde hair, light blue eyes,wicked sense of humour and a willingness to slay the odd ogre/dragon/unwelcome suitor. What more could a relatively heart-whole teenager ask for?

3)Dialogue : My Fairy Fair Godmother has some of the freshest lines to be churned out by a YA-Lit author in a long time . The repartee is crisp, funny and flows with an ease borne of familiarity with teen banter. The author, blessed with five children has used all the dinner-table quips and retorts to effective use.

4)Putting the GRIMm back in Fairy Tales : Rallison’s analyses of the medieval lasses and their seemingly perfect love stories is hilarious. Why didn’t the storytellers of yore ever mention that a Prince had to be more than just handsome, sinewy-armed and broad-shouldered? Why didn’t the old tales ever remember that the middle-ages came unequipped with basic hygiene and creature comforts? The author knocks off the rose-colored glasses with a sassy twitch of her wand and has you chuckling at the real-truth behind doe-eyed (and sadly, dim-witted) maids from the Middle-Ages.

To reiterate, I was truly enchanted by this fairy tale. It tackled stereotypes, employed witticisms effectively, had a sweet love-story waiting to happen and had all the trappings of a first-class adventure.

Read the book and come away with a huge smile etched across your face.