Fairy Tale (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Fairy Tale April Spisak Balog, Cyn . Fairy Tale. Delacorte, 2009 [256p]. Library ed. ISBN 978-0-385-90644-9$19.99 Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-385-73706-7$16.99 Reviewed from galleys Ad Gr. 7-10 Morgan thinks her boyfriend, Cam, is the greatest: he's a hottie, a total football star, and an amazing kisser, and he thinks she's fantastic. Before she can melt from the ecstasy of it all, however, a stranger appears who upends their lives forever. It turns out that Cam is a changeling: Pip, the stranger, is the human son of Cam's parents, but he was stolen at birth to make a space for a fairy baby in the human world; now, sixteen years later, Cam is needed in his true home to be the next fairy king. Not to worry, though, because Pip is going to step into Cam's shoes in every way, and his dramatic physical transformation into Cam's shape begins almost immediately. Although Morgan and Cam claim undying love and concoct increasingly desperate plans to keep Cam in the human world, the futility of it all becomes glaringly obvious once he becomes a tiny, winged being. In the meantime, in spite of her protestations, Morgan can't help noticing Pip's hunky new body, smooth demeanor, and clear affection for her. The hints of fairy culture and customs sprinkled throughout are intriguing and creative, and readers will likely find Cam's pre-switch lessons entertaining. Unfortunately, Morgan, agonizingly shallow and self-involved, is wearying, from her early complaints about her psychic abilities to her mid-book shrieks about losing her man to her swoony new admiration of Pip; secondary characters are mostly clichéd, so they do little to mitigate Morgan's lack of appeal. Though romance fans may initially take umbrage at the boy switch, there's still plenty of attraction here, and fantasy buffs may additionally relish the otherworldly details. Copyright © 2009 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois