The Fairy Rebel

I grew up reading this book. It was one of my favorites growing up, so I thought I would read it again as an adult to see how it held up. It is sometimes dangerous revisiting childhood favorites, because one risks learning that the book is terrible and wondering what on earth could have been wrong with the childhood version of themselves. This book is NOT one of those cases. It held up incredibly well. It was fun, exciting and just as magical this time around. Granted, I may be biased since I DID love it so much as a child, but I definitely recommend giving it a try!

Jan is a human who desperately wants a child. Tiki is a peppy, punky fairy who's not particularly good at following rules. The fairy helps Jan have a daughter, but that's only the beginning of the story. Tiki is the best godmother EVER--every year, the daughter gets an incredible magical gift. Even fifteen years later, I still remember some of them. But this extraordinary state of affairs can't continue undetected forever, and Jan and her daughter have to go to war with the fairy kingdom to save Tiki from the repressive Fairy Queen.

This is the book that taught me the word "rebel" and probably began my love of oddly colored hair.

I did read this, but based on D's reveiew I must again.
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Well, we all miss the point sometimes. Even D. She wonders about a bunch of stuff in the book, and then complains that it's bland. Well, if she'd read just a bit more carefully, and looked for the answers to her questions, she would have revealed to herself a whole little world of magic, wonder, and, yes, interesting individuals. I will concede that the title is a bit misleading because the fairy rebel doesn't actually get the majority of the pages... but without her courage none of the rest of the story would have happened, and none of the other characters would have been worth writing about (so to speak). Besides, she does have plenty of lines; it's not as if show more she's just a background catalyst.

Anyway, I very much enjoyed my reread and wouldn't be surprised to find myself reading it again in the future. Recommended for 8-11 yo girls and boys, and for anyone who is in touch with their inner 'tween. Especially good for those families who are accustomed to reading aloud together. show less

The Fairy Queen strictly forbids fairies from using their magic power on humans. But after Tiki accidentally meets Jan, a woman who is desperate for a baby daughter, she finds it impossible to resist fulfilling her wish. Now up against the dark and vicious power of evil, this fairy rebel must face the Queen’s fury with frightening and possibly fatal results.

Jan was once a famous dance but she was in an accident and injured her leg. She had a limp after that and couldn't dance anymore. After she got hurt she met Charlie the love of her life. Jan was always a little sad and lonely since she couldn't do much because of her limp. Jan and Charlie wanted to have a baby but couldn't. One day Jan met a fairy in her garden. She did not ask the fairy for a baby but she told the fairy about wanting a baby and not being able to have one. The fairy made her pregnant with her dream baby by using magic on her which was forbidden for fairies to use magic on humans. After this Jan, Charlie, their child Bindi, Tiki the fairy, and Wijic (Tiki's elf lover) come together to fight the fairy queen who turns out show more to be pretty evil. I read this story with my mom when I was very young but I don't remember much about it. Reading it again as an adult was amazing, the story is very elaborate and deep. There is even some sketched pictures in it that make it fun for young readers. There is a lot of big concepts in the story like depression, forbidden love, and dictatorship. This book uses some hard vocabulary but the fairies have their own language and don't understand most feelings that aren't happy so the author uses this as a chance to explain most of the complicated vocabulary that is used. This story was really interesting and I think it would be a fun one to use when getting students interested in chapter books. show less

This book was published in 1985 and it definitely has an older feel to the writing. It's a short book, with a small cast and modest setting. Jan and Charlie are wife and husband. Jan, a former actress, has a leg injury which causes her to limp. Consequently, she doesn't get out much and spends most of her time in her garden. One day, a fairy lands on her toe which is called "being earthed." You can't see fairies unless they touch you. From there a friendship forms, which is against the fairy rules. Tiki is a little bit of a rebel. She breaks the rules frequently. Her most reckless case of disobedience is offering to give Jan a child. The Fairy Queen punishes Tiki but Tiki proceeds anyway. Over the years, Tiki visits the child on her show more birthday, leaving a rose. Eventually the Fairy Queen has had enough of this mingling with humans and sends out her wasps to do them in.

I think kids will still read this today if they know about it, but they will definitely need the most current cover edition. I see this being an excellent choice for a read-aloud, especially as a bedtime story. show less

The only books of this author that I had read was of course the Indian In the Cupboard series. I had been fascinated with the books back then although I don't know how much they would fare if I re-read them at this point.

Anyway this was one of those books that had been sent to me while I was fascinated by the cover work and the summary on the back wasn't too weird. Needing just a book to read and not wanting to get into anything too big I grabbed this one up on the way out to work while I wasn't disappointed by it.

Similarities to the Indian In the Cupboard series: diminutive beings, magic and a simple charm that catches you up so that you want to keep flipping the pages.

Cute, quirky and with a simplistic plot this will also offer show more unexpected twists that will keep you wondering. At times slow it makes up for it, especially with the unforeseen ending.... show less