Reviews
This vividly imagined story will charm readers.
—Publishers Weekly
Charlie is totally likable, smart, and sarcastic, a perfectly self-involved, insecure teen. At its core, [How To Ditch Your Fairy] is a typical coming-of-age story, but the addition of the fairies, the slightly alternative setting, and the made-up slang make it much more. This “doos” (brilliant) fantasy will not be ditched.
—School Library Journal
Larbalestier’s gift for language and dialect comes through as clearly here as it did in Magic and Madness, but this book is a lot lighter, more fun, and funnier, with tons of brilliant little comedy licks arising from the interplay of different fairies in Charlie’s social circle.
—Cory Doctorow, Boingboing
How to Ditch Your Fairy is utterly delightful. As someone who has always loved fairies, I personally would love to read more books set in this world! I liked Charlie a great deal. She was so completely fourteen, alternately anxious/paranoid and aware of herself and others around her, and totally likeable. You wouldn’t ditch this funny fantasy—you’ll stay up to finish reading it!
—Allie Costa (Little Willow, Bildungsroman)
I really loved it. This is so wonderfully original in every way.
—Kira Porton, A Children’s Place, Portland, Oregon
Well, the Advance-Copy-Of-Brilliant-Books fairy has struck again. In a manner most mysterious I have found and read a copy of Justine Larbalestier’s latest literary foray (due out in September) and I saw that it was good. In fact, it is her best novel to date.
—Murex Brandaris, Imperial Purple
Why you’ll love it: First, it’s funny. There is never enough humor in YA, and HTDYF is not only funny, but it’s a smart, sarcastic kind of funny. Charlie is a prickly yet completely endearing character and Justine makes you feel sorry for her fairy plight. She is loyal to her friends but even more so to her personal cause of fairy-ditching, making her a great self-centric teen. (This is a compliment, I swear!) . . . I can see wide appeal in this book. It’s for those who love humor, for those who love romance, for those who love (or hate!) urban fantasy, and for those who really like to see the bad guy go down in the end. This is definitely a book to keep an eye out for.
—Carlie Webber, LIbrarilly Blonde
I really found this world fascinating. The slang was fun (”doos” for “cool” or “good” was one of my favorites), the mild bi-coastal tension was intriguing, and the imaginary sports academy that Charlie and her friends attend was nightmarishly on-target. These teenagers live in a world I don’t inhabit, but they’re still recognizably teenagers, with all the trivial and serious concerns (clothes, romance, sports, and school) that the teenagers I know share.
—Libby, Lessons from the Tortoise
I sat down and started reading this book as soon as it arrived in the mail, and I didn’t put it down until I was finished; I didn’t even notice the time passing, that’s how caught up I was in the story. It’s fun and interesting and has a main character I absolutely couldn’t get enough of! Charlie is seriously awesome, as is this book, and you should all read it as soon as possible.
—Jocelyn, Teen Book Review
Hilarious! Adorable! Really fun! Justine Larbalestier’s fairies are like no others. I love them!
—Holly Black, New York Times bestselling author of Ironside and The Spiderwick Chronicles
Justine Larbalestier has a super-cool writing fairy, and I am vastly jealous! Thoroughly entertaining, totally enchanting, wickedly funny, and 110% doos, How To Ditch Your Fairy had me grinning from page one (when I wasn’t laughing out loud). And as soon as I can figure out how to do it I’m going to ask to swap fairies with Justine.
—Libba Bray, New York Times bestselling author of A Great and Terrible Beauty
Welcome to your new obsession! Not only will you believe in fairies after reading this book, you will know what kind you have. I don’t know how so much fun was squashed into these pages, but I am pretty sure that rules were broken in the process.
—Maureen Johnson, author of 13 Little Blue Envelopes