Book Review: My Very UnFairy Tale Life by Anna Staniszewski

My Very UnFairy Tale Life is the first book in a series for children and tweens by Anna Staniszewski.  Jenny is an adventurer, she travels to enchanted kingdoms and solves the problems of the creatures that live there. A red headed gnome named Anthony is her guide, and her eccentric aunt with more knowledge of animals than children is her guardian since her parent's disappearance. To make things even worse, her friends seem to have forgotten all about her. With all this chaos in her life, Jenny just wants to go back to having a normal life, But when talking frogs come seeking her help against an evil sorcerer how can she say no?

Jenny is a strong, capable girl facing self doubt and a challenging situation. I liked her spunk and witticisms that seem to be her main strength when dealing with big problems. She tries to make the right decision most of the time, but occasionally makes choices that he thinks are in her own best interest instead. She quickly learns the value of doing the right thing, how to face her fears, and her own importance and value to the world. While the just into the story with Jenny already as an established adventurer made me feel like I might have started at book two, the story itself was solid and kept me interested. I also know that a prequel is available, and plan to read it shortly to see how the story all began.

I recommend My Very UnFairy Tale Life to children around 7 years old through tweens. Jenny is a character that most girls can relate to. I think that the book can entertain with the action and humor while still imparting a lesson about having faith in yourself and doing the right thing even when it is more difficult.