How to Ditch Your Fairy by Justine Larbalestier

How to Ditch Your Fairy
by Justine Larbalestier

Published: 2009
Genre: Fairies, YA
Hardback: 320 pages
Rating: 4

Description from the amazon:
Welcome to New Avalon, where everyone has a personal fairy. Though invisible to the naked eye, a personal fairy, like a specialized good luck charm, is vital to success. And in the case of the students at New Avalon Sports High, it might just determine whether you make the team, pass a class, or find that perfect outfit.

But for 14-year-old Charlie, having a Parking Fairy is worse than having nothing at all—especially when the school bully carts her around like his own personal parking pass.

Enter: The Plan. At first, teaming up with arch-enemy Fiorenza (who has an All-The-Boys-Like-You Fairy) seems like a great idea. But when Charlie unexpectedly gets her heart’s desire, it isn’t at all what she thought it would be like, and she’ll have resort to extraordinary measures to ditch her fairy.

The question is: will Charlie herself survive the fairy ditching experiment? From the author of the acclaimed Magic or Madness trilogy, this is a delightful story of fairies, friendships, and figuring out how to make your own magic.

My two-bits:
In-a-word: pulchritudinous

Fun read where the fairies are a somewhat natural part of life. Only those who truly believe have a fairy presence. The fairies cannot be seen and each one has a special ability.

I enjoyed the dialog with its special slang and expressions.

Amusing quote:
"Because it's a sports school, Steffi. Sports are all about rules. If you can't follow rules, you can't play sports. Discipline is the most important thing an athlete can learn, no matter what sport they play."

Extras:

Check out Justine's list of fairies.
excerpt:

Good story fairy: Even when bad things happen to you this fairy turns them into an excellent story. When a writer has this fairy they always get great ideas, which is not that fabulous given that writing the good ideas is the hard part, not getting them.

Knowing-what-your-children-are-up-to: Charlie’s mum’s fairy

go for chuckle or two and read more


* this book is flying to France - for Lady Charlotte of The Book on the Hill for her fabulous guest posts

* part of Mr Knightley's Picnic