Fairy Haven and the Quest for the Wand by Gail Carson Levine
Children’s fantasy. 208 Pages. 4 Stars
Synopsis:
In this best-selling sequel to Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg, Newbery Honor-winning author Gail Carson Levine and illustrator David Christiana spin a riveting fairytale about the dangers of dreams come true. The mermaid Soop has sent a flood to Fairy Haven! Water-talent fairy Rani must bring Soop a wand, or the Home Tree and all the Never fairies will be swept away.
But wise Mother Dove isn’t sure which is worse, a wand or a flood. Wand wishes, tantalizing wand wishes, are risky. The most innocent wish can cause untold trouble. And not even Mother Dove knows that wands have hearts and minds-kind hearts or cruel hearts, sympathetic minds or minds filled with spite and mischief.
Rani, Tinker Bell, and Ree, queen of the Never fairies, set out on a perilous quest for a wand, a journey that takes them across an ocean to the palace of the terrifying Great Wanded fairies. Many obstacles stand between the questers and success: Tink’s disappearance, a mermaid’s magical song, wand madness, and even Never Land itself.
Meanwhile, the floodwaters are rising. . . .
My Review:
As with the first book, I love these illustrations! The Great Wandies and the mermaids I think were my favorite in this book. So many colors and so much life. I love the addition of these illustrations to the book and hold them as much a part of the story as the plot and characters themselves. They really bring the magic and the world of Neverland to life.
The plot of this sequel is much more topsy turvy than its more direct and straightforward predecessor. Book 1 is an adventure with obstacles and one clear mission: save the egg, save Neverland! Book 2 starts with a goal: fulfill a promise, get a wand, save Fairy Haven, but we meet that goal halfway through the book and things go all awry after that for the second half. (I did really like the way Neverland hesitated to let them back in and I wish we’d dug more into that line of thought.) While I think this explosion of chaos makes sense given the nature of the plot (and the wand, specifically), it did make for a plot that felt less structured and somewhat aimless at points.
That said, it’s still a fun adventure with quirky Neverlandish magic that creates a whimsical story. And I really liked how all the wishes went awry. Takes the “be careful what you wish for” proverb to new fun, engaging, and illustrious heights. I do love my Never Fairies and their magical world. And getting a glimpse into each fairy’s darkest temptations is really kind of fun. It’s intriguing to see how their wishes played out can go oh-so-wrong and how that teaches each of them to be better fairies in the end. The story has some clever elements to it in that regard and I’m always a fan of that.
I also really liked the Great Wandies and even exploring the bat culture. I wanted to read more in the Wandies world and see a story in that realm of fairies play out. I definitely wanted to see more of their wand picking ceremonies and results there. And I just loved how the story ends so beautifully (although it did feel a little abrupt, admittedly).
This is a cute, short read, great for any imaginative child. I’d recommend 7/8+
More:
The first book in the Disney Fairies trilogy is Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg (4 Stars)
The third book is Fairies and the Quest for Neverland (4 Stars)
I’m currently rereading the series and will update Goodreads with reviews as I do. The books should be read in order.
On GraceBought
Check out my thoughts on the previous book in the series below!
Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg