Review: Fairy Bad Day by Amanda Ashby

Fairy Bad Day by Amanda Ashby

While most students at Burtonwood Academy get to kill demons and goblins, fifteen-year-old Emma gets to rid the world of little annoying fairies with glittery wings and a hipster fashion sense. She was destined to be a dragon slayer, but cute and charming Curtis stole her spot. Then she sees a giant killer fairy - and it's invisible to everyone but her! If Emma has any chance of stopping this evil fairy, she's going to need help. Unfortunately, the only person who can help is Curtis. And now, not only has he stolen her dragon-slayer spot, but maybe her heart as well! Why does she think it's going to be a fairy bad day?

Review:

This was my second novel by Amanda Ashby (the first was Zombie Queen of Newbury High) and I can't wait to see what's next for her. Her novels are always full of fun action, sweet romance, and unique paranormal creatures. Fairy Bad Day did not disappoint in that regard and I had a hard time putting it down.

Fair Bad Day opens when the students of Burtonwood Academy are learning what creature they will be the slayer of. Our main character, Emma Jones, is certain she will get dragons. Not only because her mother was the most famous dragon slayer ever, but because she has shown promise and talent towards killing them in their simulations. Plus, who else could possibly be good enough to get dragons? Unfortunately Emma's world is turned upside down when she learns that mysterious new boy Curtis has been assigned dragons and she is now the first slayer of faeries. And not even dangerous faeries. But stylish, Skittle-obsessed ones.

Emma was a brave and sarcastic character that I would want on my side if I ever had to face any paranormal creatures. She learned a lot about herself and her family as the novel progressed and she was forced to make some difficult decisions. There were a lot of characters introduced in this novel and I liked all of them. Particularly her best friends Loni and Tyler and, of course, Curtis. I loved watching them interact and banter with each other and work together through some difficult situations.

The idea behind Fairy Bad Day was very original. I love boarding school books, but this had so much more. All of the students attending the school have special abilities and I liked how many different paranormal creatures were included in the story. I definitely wish we got to learn more about some of the other species though.

Amanda Ashby definitely got right into the head of a teenager and made Emma and the rest very believable teenagers. Another thing I really liked about Fairy Bad Day was the fight scenes. They were very vivid and intense and had me anxiously reading to find out what was going to happen. It was incredibly easy to fall into the world of Emma and Curtis and before I knew it I was on the last page. There were some fun plot twists that also added to my enjoyment of the story.

All in all, Fairy Bad Day is a sweet and exciting new novel by Amanda Ashby. Emma is a relatable protagonist and the premise of the story was very original. I can't wait to see what Amanda writes next!

Overall: 4 out of 5 stars

June 9, 2011/Speak/336 Pages/Young Adult

Source: Publisher/Author (ARC)

Other books by this author: You Had Me At Halo, Zombie Queen of Newbury High