Lots of girls play Fairy Princess when they’re little. Megan O’Reilly had no idea the real thing was like playing chess, guitar, and hockey all at once. Megan had known for a long time that she wasn’t an entirely typical girl. But living with ADHD—and her mother’s obsessions—was a very different thing from finding out she wasn’t entirely human. Somewhere out there, in a completely different … world, her father needs help. There’s a conflict, revolving around Faerie seasonal rituals, that could have consequences for humanity—and if Megan’s getting the terminology straight, it sounds like her family aren’t even supposed to be the good guys. As she’s further and further swept up in trying to save her father, Megan may be getting too good at not being human.
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Originally posted on Tales to Tide You Over: https://margaretmcgaffeyfisk.com/category/reviews/
This book throws you in at the deep end of a surreal world until you’re not sure what’s real and what are hallucinations thanks to the main character having some form of an attention disorder. We are first introduced to Megan through her pill regime and her best friend’s concerns about the side effects. We can see the deadening of her personality ourselves, even though we just met her.
That’s not where things get strange, however. No, it’s Lani, her BFF, who gives us the hint things are more complex than it appears when she goes off and talks to a pixie.
Turns out the fantastical elements are not hallucinations at all, which is the start of a wild adventure through human and faerie lands. They are trying to rescue the father who left Megan when she was only two years old. Before you think he’s a human caught up in a fae game, though, we quickly learn he’s the king of the unseelie and the crisis is more than only court politics.
This is a personal story of a band of unlikely friends (Megan and Lani pick up a few on the way) going on an adventure to save the world. The characters are well described by both action and narrative, coming alive in distinct ways. They represent a few cultures, human and not, as well as gender politics and abilities. But before you think this is a politically charged book, one aspect I enjoyed was how their differences came up in context and were normalized even when, for example, a satyress had to explain what pansexual meant to Megan. Humor is also used to make the characters come alive, especially in demonstrating the strength of Megan and Lani’s friendship, a tough task considering Lani has hidden the truth from Megan the whole time they knew each other because of Restrictions.
Beyond the strong characterizations, the world is grounded in the personal backstory of Megan’s mother and Celtic myth, along with mention of other beings connected to different cultures as well. Lani is half menehune, a Hawaiian fae with magic that reminds me of steampunkesque engineering. The fate of both worlds, fae and human, rests on the transfer of power between the sidhe and unseelie (only one of many critical balancing transfers) as the book draws on more than just names from the mythologies. The story also reveals the weight of promises and debts for the fae while hinting at the vast differences between the various types in everything from skills to eating habits.
There are many aspects I enjoyed from the occasional moments of philosophy to the creative solutions to traditional fantasy challenges. Several drawn out battles full of enthusiasm and chaos offer fast-paced action sequences. The backstory is so rich it sometimes felt I had jumped into the middle instead of book one. Then there’s how some traits in the fae mirrored ones from our world, like the brownies who want to work in the background and struggle under the weight of being noticed.
Speaking of creativity, I loved how it was valued by the teens and parents/teachers alike, as well as how it tied into magic. One caution, though. To let Megan reengage with the fantastic, she stops taking the latest pills added to her regime and later ends up in the fae lands with no medication. She is largely more functional on that side of the portal, a common motif but a little sad considering the strength of her portrayal in the beginning. They keep Megan’s mother in the dark about all of this until I still don’t know if she was aware of just who or what Megan’s father was.
The writing style is a bit rough in places, but not enough to hinder my read, and the book ends on a solid note. The end is seeded, so I suspected something coming, but still didn’t anticipate the details. I can’t say more to avoid spoilers, but I really appreciated the layers revealed in the events after the climax.
There’s so much more I marked as worthy of including in the review, but it can’t all fit without making this too chaotic to follow. Bottom line, I enjoyed this tween novel. It is written in a similar style to Tamora Pierce’s Alanna books, and for a similar age group or reading inclination. This would work well in the hopepunk category because it lacks the despair and gruesome nature of much of the young adult novels targeting older teens. The main characters are sixteen but read younger because of their sense of wonder and willingness to believe.
‘Foul is Fair’ is a story that transports the reader from suburban normality deep into the land of the Fae, drawing them into a quest full of challenge, trials and very old magic. That these two worlds coexist and interact is a given, and any imbalance between them could be disastrous.
Well paced and full of action and adventure, this story is very engaging. The plot is original and unpredictable, delivering twists and challenges that build tension and drama but also call upon the protagonists to demonstrate both loyalty and ingenuity, and the ability to work together to achieve particular outcomes.
The characters are interesting and varied, each one having specific qualities that help their allies and hinder their opponents, so that every battle or challenge could, in fact, go either way. The two lead characters are not only engaging individuals, they also provide good role models for young readers, each exhibiting positive attitudes such as acceptance, inclusion, helpfulness, endurance and resilience.
Suitable for young adult and older readers, this is a ripping read that is really hard to put down.
BOOK REVIEW: Foul is Fair By Jeffery Cook
When I was first given this book to read, I knew nothing about the book or author. So here I was started reading it and saw these math equaions and thought this is not the book for me, so I didn’t even make it past the first few pages.
Yesterday I decided to give it a second look, I am so pleased I did. I LOVE THE BOOK
Foul if Fair is about a teenage girl name Megan and her best friend Lani who take on a quest to free Meagan’s long lost father from a prison in the magical faerie world unknown to Meagan.
Megan’s father is the Unseelie king and controller of the cooler seasons has been tramped in a cave of ice and salt of which he can not escape Ashling a disabled pixixe and her counterpart the Count of 18 a black crow are sent to be watcher by the Unseelie king Ricoard to watch over Megan when not with the king.
Megan quickly discovers a world she did not know existed with the help of her best friend Lani who is also half Menehune.
From the very start Lani and Megan are chased through the streets of Seattle by creatures that Megan did not know existed, she meet Cassia and her kittens or should I say leopards who help them escape the red cap chasing them. With the help of Ashling, Cassia and the count Megan and Lani set out on their mission.
Orlaith the queen sets the group on a mission to save Ricoard in time for the Dance and change of leadership, but to also retrieve the sword of light known as Claiomh Solais.
The quest is fraught with danger from all sides but along the way Megan learns about her father’s history and her own, as a half Unseelie she also has magical powers in the form of song and her voice. Megan must face all manners of danger and risk to retrieve the sword and ultimately save her father from his prison.
The author has created an amazing world of fantasy in this series and have delivered a well construction and planned first book that make you just want to read the rest of the series.
It is clear to anyone that reads this book that the author has a passion for writing fantasy and creating worlds that do not exist or do they, they are that believable. The author is that brilliant in his writing that you get swept up in this world you start to believe in pixies,faerie sand magic, you just want to be part of this world.
The author shows that everything isn’t as it seems, Megan is an average teenage girl discovering who she truly is and how she can be the princess of this fairies’ world while at the same time being a loving devolved and dedication daughter in the human world.
This author also addresses many issues throughout this book that society faces in our day to day lives, politic, environment, mythology and general social policies. The author shows how without one thing such as removing the seasons or such a simple thing as passion from lives with have a drastic effect not just on the faeries world but also the devastation it will cause on Earth over time.
He shows how one group think they know what is best for everyone just because the other group is different does not mean either group is better. I just love the messages this author is giving to the reader when you look beyond just the word.
The faeries world has been describing is such detail that it gives the reader a clear scene of the vibrancy and brilliant contrast to what the reader is used to seeing in their day to day life, but though the reader may feel that they want to escape to this unbelievably brilliant wonderful world it also shows the ugliness of people human and faeries alike.
I strongly recommend this book for anyone wanting to step into another world of fantasy you won’t be disappointed