Happily for Now
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
Fiona wants to fix people's problems--but what if she's the one who needs help? Kelly Jones, author of Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer, delivers a funny, take-charge heroine kids will love.
Fiona may have problems, but she's no damsel in distress. She'd rather be the one wielding the wand in the story: she wants to be the fairy godperson. So when her mom sends her off to stay with relatives in a place called Cold Hope for the summer, Fiona decides it's time to start training for the role.
And wow, do these people need help! Aunt Becky's bakery is failing, Great-uncle Timothy draws but never speaks, and Great-Aunt Alta is the gloomiest, doomiest woman she's ever met.
But helping people in the real world isn't as easy as it sounds in fairy tales. Change is messy. What if she's actually making things worse?
Still, with practice (and some deep breaths), Fiona will discover that sometimes messy is okay. Sometimes things do get worse before they get better. And sometimes trying to help fix other people's problems can help you work on your own...
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Jones (Sauerkraut) delivers a witty play on traditional fairy tales with a healthy dose of emotional maturity. White, red-haired protagonist Fiona would rather help her mother at home than journey to live with unfamiliar relatives in a "creepy old house" in a town called Cold Hope. But when her mom enters treatment for addiction, Fiona—with the help of social worker Ms. Davis, cued as Black—channels her worries about both situations into "fairy-godperson training," which involves helping others navigate their circumstances. Through Fiona's frank narrative voice, Jones offers humorous allusions to familiar fairy tales with a timely slant—about Cinderella, "When you read about some girl going around covered in ashes... it's pretty clear somebody should get that girl some help." As Fiona attempts to work her magic with her tired relatives, who run a failing bakery, she inadvertently starts a war between their most creative alchemist, Aunt Becky, and a competing operation. Whimsical without being treacly, this on-point fairy tale handles its subject matter sensitively as Fiona learns that helping people isn't as easy as it seems. Occasional illustrations by Murphy (Faraway Things) include detailed maps of the town. Ages 8–12. Author's agent: Mandy Hubbard, Emerald City Literary.
