by Janette Rallison
Hardcover, 320 pages
Expected publication: April 12, 2011
by Walker Books for Young Readers
ISBN 0802722369
series: My Fair Godmother #2
4 stars
Tansy Miller has always felt that her divorced father has never had enough time for her. But mistakenly getting caught on the wrong side of the law wasn’t exactly how she wanted to get his attention. Enter Chrysanthemum “Chrissy” Everstar, Tansy’s fairy in shining, er, high heels. Chrissy is only a fair godmother, of course, so Tansy’s three wishes don’t exactly go according to plan. And if bringing Robin Hood to the twenty-first century isn’t bad enough for Tansy, being transported back to the Middle Ages to deal with Rumpelstiltskin certainly is. She’ll need the help of her blended family, her wits, and especially the cute police chief ‘s son to stop the gold-spinning story from spinning wildly out of control. Janette Rallison pulls out all the stops in this fresh, fun-filled follow-up to the popular My Fair Godmother.
Having not read the first book in this series, I would say book 2 stands strongly and beautifully on its own. Janette Rallison does an awesome Fairy Tale mash up of Robin Hood and Rumpelstiltskin with a sprinkle of romance and a cherry on top- the lesson that we all create our own destiny. Her modern day fable starts off with Tansy Miller who just can’t catch a break. Tansy’s little sister seems to outshine her in every way. As she pursues her Broadway career with mom, Tansy is shipped off to live with her father. Daddy dearest and new step family have a life of their own and Tansy feels abandoned. So, when your pathetic-o-meter tells you you are 78% pathetic, why not go for the local bad boy? Little does Tansy know what trouble she is about to get herself into when she hooks up with juvenile delinquent Bo. It’s not long before her sorry tail ends up in the local police station for a crime she didn’t commit. What’s even worse is that the one soul she shares her story with ends up being undercover agent/son of the local Sheriff!
Hudson and Tansy start off on the wrong foot as he becomes the vehicle for Tansy’s newest reputation as a snitch. Not only is she grounded big time, but she’s lost her boyfriend and the trust of her parents. Here is where Chrysanthemum Everstar, fairy Godmother in training steps in to save the day… and fails miserably. With the “help” of her leprechaun sidekick Clover, Everstar manages to transport Tansy and her family back to the Middle Ages. There they are forced to make their way through a muddled wish gone bad. And who should appear as the guard at the prison where Tansy is being held…the boy who turned her in back in the present time, Hudson!
These two have a lot to work out. In the end I loved their story. Tansy needs to find her own moral to the book being written about her life and Hudson faces his inner battle of losing someone he loves. My Unfair Godmother is delightful and charming and it’s a book I will pass on to my daughters as a squeaky clean read. Thanks so much to author Janette Rallison for sending me an ARC. Now if you’ll excuse me…I am off to pick all of her other books!