Blog Tour: Bad Luck Girl by Sarah Zettel
I received this book for free from Random House in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Bad Luck Girl
by Sarah ZettelSeries: The American Fairy, #1
Published by Random House on May 27th 2014
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Pages: 368
Format: Paperback
Source: Random House
Buy the Book • Goodreads
Fans of Libba Bray's The Diviners will love the blend of fantasy and jazz-hot Chicago in this stylish series.
After rescuing her parents from the Seelie king at Hearst Castle, Callie is caught up in the war between the fairies of the Midnight Throne and the Sunlit Kingdoms. By accident, she discovers that fairies aren't the only magical creatures in the world. There's also Halfers, misfits that are half fairy and half other--laced with strange magic and big-city attitude. As the war heats up, Callie's world falls apart. And even though she's the child of prophecy, she doubts she can save the Halfers, her people, her family, and Jack, let alone herself. The fairies all say Callie is the Bad Luck Girl, and she's starting to believe them.
A strong example of diversity in YA, the American Fairy Trilogy introduces Callie LeRoux, a half-black teen who stars in this evocative story full of American history and fairy tales.
Praise for Bad Luck Girl:
"All the powers that be want to use Callie's magic to win the war for their side, and nobody cares what happens to Callie, Jack or the Halfers, raising the stakes to frighteningly high levels. Callie and Zettel bring this stellar trilogy to a satisfyingly sentimental conclusion." --Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
"[Zettel's] strong characterizations, historical detail, and carefully constructed fantastic elements create a high-energy literary fusion that fans will devour." --SLJ
Fire and Ice is today’s stop on the official blog tour for Bad Luck Girl. This is book three in the American Fairy trilogy, and having not read the first two, I jumped right in when offered a review copy. Faeries and historical fiction mixed? Yes, please! The book picks right up in the middle of Callie’s involvement in a war between the seelie and unseelie courts. By inadvertently killing a king’s daughter, she is once again in the thick of things. She, her family, and friend Jack are fleeing to Chicago in the midst of the depression. The action is literally non-stop. You will also get a firsthand look at what life was like in America in the 1930’s while reality and magic mingle together.
Bad Luck Girl is a great pick for younger readers because the main character’s voice is on the young end of the spectrum. I would highly recommend reading the first two in the series before picking up book three. While not impossible to catch the drift of the backstory, I think it would be much more enjoyable to really get to know all involved through the separate books. I loved the non-fiction elements blended with fantasy and the ethnic diversity of characters. Thanks so much to Random House for a fun fairy read!
About the Author
Sarah Zettel is the critically acclaimed author of more than twenty novels, spanning the full range of genre fiction. Her debut novel, Reclamation, won the Locus Award for Best First Novel. Her second release, Fool’s War, was a 1997 New York Times Notable Book, and the American Library Association named Playing God one of the Best Books for Young Adults of 1999. Her novel Bitter Angels won the Philip K. Dick Award for best science fiction paperback in 2009. Her latest novel, Dust Girl, was named as one of the best young adult books of the year by both Kirkus Reviews and the American Library Association. Zettel lives in Michigan with her husband, her rapidly growing son, and her cat, Buffy the Vermin Slayer.
