charlottehenleybabb's review
4.0
The first book of Conda Douglas's new YA series, The Mall Fairies: Exile describes the struggles of two young people, a human and a fairy, whose lives are tied to the mall. Swoop the fairy lives with her family, a father, a stepmother and a baby sister. Grace, a human, lives with her grandmother who runs a Christmas shop in the mall. Both girls are bending the rules to escape what they imagine their futures will be, building a parallel story which is quite effective.
Since rule one is that the existence of the fairies must be hidden from the humans, Swoop is horrified to learn that her friend has been hanging out with Grace's grandmother. No one believes the grandmother, because she drinks. Swoop' priorities change when her friend, One-Wing, needs the grandmother's help, and the only choice she has is to reveal herself to Grace.
The consequences are dire, and we learn the meaning of exile for the whole tribe as well as Swoop.
The story is beautifully told, the stories braided together while keeping the focus on Swoop, and the conclusion opens the door to the next book in the series, while concluding this one in a satisfying way.
It is a quick read--an hour or two, and deftly written. I'm not usually interested in books written for this age group, but this one had enough development to keep my interest.
I was given a copy to review.
Since rule one is that the existence of the fairies must be hidden from the humans, Swoop is horrified to learn that her friend has been hanging out with Grace's grandmother. No one believes the grandmother, because she drinks. Swoop' priorities change when her friend, One-Wing, needs the grandmother's help, and the only choice she has is to reveal herself to Grace.
The consequences are dire, and we learn the meaning of exile for the whole tribe as well as Swoop.
The story is beautifully told, the stories braided together while keeping the focus on Swoop, and the conclusion opens the door to the next book in the series, while concluding this one in a satisfying way.
It is a quick read--an hour or two, and deftly written. I'm not usually interested in books written for this age group, but this one had enough development to keep my interest.
I was given a copy to review.
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