Review for Summons (Fable Ranger #1)

Blurb: Take care of what you wish for. You just might get it.

Twelve-year-old Casey doesn’t think life could get anymore unfair. Plans for her special basketball tournament are tossed aside by her sister’s change in wedding plans. She even has to be a bridesmaid now, with all the lace and silk and - oh the horror! All she wants is an escape, but she never imagined she’d be swept away to a world of Mother Goose rhymes, fairy tales, stories of Arabian Nights, and oh, by the way, all but one fairy godmother is kidnapped.

Casey learns she’s been summoned as the Fable Ranger to lead the search and rescue of the missing wish-makers. She also discovers she isn’t the hero they would accept. In the world of fairy tales, damsels aren't meant to swoop in to save the day.

Now all Casey wants is to go home, a wish easy to grant if the veil between worlds weren’t on lockdown. Taking fate into her own hands, she embarks on an airship flight to find the phoenix tears that can help open her way home. Her journey would’ve gone as smooth as the perfect layup if it weren’t for that pesky bounty the evil Dovetail placed on her head. Casey refuses to fail knowing it would allow the legends of Arabian Nights to disappear forever and leave her trapped in a world unraveling one fairy tale at a time.

My review:

There is nothing more horrifying than being a bridesmaid in your big sister's wedding. But then twelve-year-old Casey has to miss her basketball tournament as well! Yet when Casey is sucked into a world of fairy tales and children's rhymes, she wants nothing more than to return home to her family. An evil villain has messed up the stories and kidnapped all but one of the fair godmothers. The Fable Ranger was called on to rescue them, but they got Casey instead. Can she be the hero this world needs her to be or will all the fairy tales disappear forever?

A marvelously written fantasy story for young readers that will take them on a great adventure. This is the first book in the series and it sets it up with fantastic world-building. We have a world of fairy tales and Mother Goose rhymes, and the characters all mingle. It's a neat twist to see how characters we all know interact with one another like Little Bo Beep and the Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe! The plot moves fast and the tension is high.

What stands out the most for me about this book is the characters. Casey is a typical twelve-year-old. Though she has her complaints about her family, she loves them dearly and wants nothing more to be back with them. She's a basketball fanatic and loves fairy tales. What's more is she's kind and brave, even when she's absolutely terrified. Charlie-Boy is her companion on the quest, and I love that though he is a child in a fairy tale world, he has normal problems with family and self doubt. These are two highly relatable figures any reader can sympathize with.

I can't wait for more in the Fable Ranger series!

Buy the book here: Amazon

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