Flashback Friday: The Fairy Rebel

The Fairy Queen strictly forbids fairies from using their magic power on humans. But after Tiki accidentally meets Jan, a woman who is desperate for a baby daughter, she finds it impossible to resist fulfilling her wish. Now up against the dark and vicious power of evil, this fairy rebel must face the Queen’s fury with frightening and possibly fatal results. Quoted from Goodreads

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I realize this book is for younger readers, but it's Flashback Friday, so I get to review this and not feel guilty because it's a younger book.  I think I first read it in third grade and immediately loved it, then read it again a few years later and still loved it, and again in high school. I think.  It's short enough that  it doesn't take long and it's a sweet little story.

This book is sort of a modern throwback to the old fairy tales where fairies flit around flowers and grant wishes. The summary talks about Tiki like she's the main character, and in a way she is, but the book is never told from her point of view (at least that I remember). First we get Jan's point of view, a poor, injured actress who wants to have a baby more than anything, but she can't.  In comes the lovely and slightly crazy Tiki, granting her heart's desire.  

Okay, so she's like a fairy godmother or  something?  Kind of, but not really.  Tiki is hilarious. She's obsessed with clothing (especially pants), has a hard time saving magic, is a bit chubby, and is looking more for another friend than helping someone as a sort of calling.  

The second half of the book is told more from Bindi's point of view, Jan's daughter, who is almost completely normal, but with a bunch of magical blue fairy hairs in a clump on her head, sort of her fairy legacy. Both are fun points of view, but it's Tiki's story that the reader focuses on, sort of a "call me Ishmael" deal where we all know the real star of the book is Captain Ahab. It works for the story because we, as the reader, still get to feel the wonder of discoverly fairies and the glimps we get of their world.  

Of course, every story nees a villain, and the Fairy Queen is excellent. Besides conspiring with humans (going so far as to grant one a baby), Tiki also falls in love with her best friend Wijic (don't you just love that name. It's so utterly other and yet simple at the same time.) which is expressly forbidden. Loving anyone but the queen is illegal.

 I love the inclusion of wasps as the queen's minions because honestly, does anyone like wasps? Bees, yes.  I think most people support bees, but not wasps.  Never wasps. They creep me out, so it's easy to imagine how terrifying they would be to creatures roughly the same size as they are.

This is a fun, quirky book that should be a part of everyone's childhood. I give it a lovely 4.5 stars. Enjoy.