Flunked by Jen Calonita
MG Fantasy. 244 Pages. 3 Stars
Synopsis:
Would you send a villain to do a hero’s job?
An exciting new twisted fairy tale from the award-winning author of the Secrets of My Hollywood Life series.
Gilly wouldn’t call herself wicked, exactly…but when you have five little brothers and sisters and live in a run-down boot, you have to get creative to make ends meet. Gilly’s a pretty good thief (if she does say so herself).
Until she gets caught.
Gilly’s sentenced to three months at Fairy Tale Reform School where all of the teachers are former (super-scary) villains like the Big Bad Wolf, the Evil Queen, and Cinderella’s Wicked Stepmother. Harsh. But when she meets fellow students Jax and Kayla, she learns there’s more to this school than its heroic mission. There’s a battle brewing and Gilly has to wonder just how good these bad guys really are?
My Review:
Love my fairy tales, so I was curious about this one. Can’t say it was my favorite, but it wasn’t an awful read by any means. It’s pretty squarely middle grade with some fun nods to classic fairy tale elements. Oddly enough, this came out a few months before Disney’s Descendants movie, and the premises are similar.
The cobbler’s daughter, Gilly, steals to help feed her family (Aladdin vibes) and harbors bitterness toward the royals, blaming them for her poverty and need to steal to survive. She gets busted and sent to Fairy Tale Reform School with other not-so-heroic students who are then taught by former fairy tale villains like Cinderella’s stepmother, the Evil Queen, the Big Bad Wolf, and the sea witch from the Little Mermaid.
An interesting concept, but I didn’t love Gilly. Her obvious desire to care for her family was relatable and I think she showed some bravery and courage, though it wasn’t really ever put that way and she’d deny it herself, perhaps. Though her bitterness toward the royalty was understandable, it felt overstated. She bounced back and forth a lot between “I’m a thief that’s just the way things are” and “I didn’t really do anything wrong” with a whole lot of hating on her station and situation. It just felt like playing the victim card a lot. Though it was brief, I did appreciate the subtle nod to the fact that they each have a choice in how they behave. I would have liked to see more of the characters coming to learn that and a little less of the bitterness and sort of faux selfish attitude.
I mean, I see why they did it. It’s the idea of a selfish girl who could become a villain if not reformed. I just didn’t think it was particularly well done. Honestly, we didn’t really see much of her potential to become a villain. It was pretty clear from the beginning that she had a good heart and made poor choices because she felt like she had to, rather than actually seeing her tempted to become cruel or evil.
Either way, it was a cute little read with some fun fairy tale nods. There was one twist that caught me by surprise that was pretty cool. And a few smaller revelations toward the end that made the plot more interesting. I liked her friend group and how she learned to think about others differently. Some subtle themes of not judging books by their covers and all that. There’s a bit of a mystery to be unraveled, and I do enjoy a fun mystery. It definitely had me guessing through most of the book about some of the teachers, so I enjoyed that bit of mystery as well.
All in all, a fast, cute little read. I may or may not read the next one in the series. I’m not really in a hurry to, but I wouldn’t necessarily be opposed to it. I just have other books that are a far higher priority for my time.
No swearing, some mild fairy tale violence and magic, no romance. Suitable for middle grade readers. Thematically deals with the question of what makes a hero or a villain, friendship, found family, and morality.
More:
Book 1 in the Fairy Tale Reform School series is Flunked (3 Stars)
Book 2 is Charmed
Book 3 is Tricked
Book 4 is Switched
Book 5 is Wished
Book 6 is Cursed
Check out the links to find more info on the books on Goodreads.
This series should be read in order.