ABOUT THE BOOK
Fairy tales can come true. But it’s terrifying when it happens to you.
Grace James thinks having to wear a hand-me-down uniform while trying to fit into her posh new school in glitzy Orange County is bad, but being followed to class by seven little angry men is worse. The dwarfs believe that Grace has stolen the magic mirror, and they want it back.
Opponents become allies and soon Grace can’t tell who is friend or foe and what is real or merely a fairy tale, so she cooks up a scheme that will take her back home to Oregon where life made sense—away from her stingy grandparents and her miniature stalkers. But a frantic cast of fairy tale characters have plans of their own that may or may not include a happily ever after.
This book was formerly published as Grace in the Mirror.
MY REVIEW
What do you get when you have a new girl in town, two tightwad grandparents, a hunky boy next door, and seven stalker dwarves? You get a fun twist on Snow White’s fairy tale.
Angry Grace James is the outsider in Santa Magdelena about to start high school full of rich, spoiled and entitled kids. While Grace’s dad is deployed, Grace, her mom, her brother, Toby, and her wonderful big sis, Heather, are currently living and slaving away in Southern California for their stingy maternal grandparents, Hank and Dorothy. All Grace wants is to go back home to Oregon. Back to real life. Because life here is extremely weird. Seven French dwarves are stalking Grace and demanding that she give them the magical mirror. You know, the “mirror, mirror on the wall mirror”. Apparently, she’s a doppelganger to Blanche Neige (Snow White), and the hot horse guy, Roy Charmant is looking for his princess so Grace gets immersed in a fairy tale that becomes more dangerous and bizarre as time goes on. Luckily she has her own hero to save her.
Then there is the handsome and lonely boy next door, Fredrick “Brock” Fitzwilliam Brockbank, and his eccentric mother, Cordelia, an antique collector/dealer who collects oddities such as talking paintings, magic cabinets, etc. Brock’s life is not a normal one. He and his mother move around a lot and he has seen some strange things in his home over the years. What secret is his mother hiding and how is it tied to Grace and the whole fairy tale thing?
I liked the idea that Blanche is running from Roy because she wants to be independent and not tied down. Her love of housecleaning is hilarious which leads to a great solution for Grace. It’s interesting to see other fairy tale characters and magical items appear as well.
In addition to the fairy tale characters are Grace’s new friends, Gabby, the budding makeup artist, the twins, Oliver and Amy, Chase, the fun guy with a mission to win Gabby back, and Kelly, Grace’s feisty friend from Oregon.
If you love young adult fantasies with complex characters and fun twists on well-known fairy tales, give this book a try.
Thank you to Ms. Tate for giving me the opportunity to read this book with no expectation of a positive review.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Katie Tate is the pen name of USA Today Bestselling Author Kristy Tate. Katie writes speculative young adult fiction. Kristy has written over thirty books in multiple genres.
Follow Katie (Kristy) on her website, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, and Pinterest.
