Never After: The Thirteenth Fairy

Never After is the first book in a new fantasy series. It's perfect for middle grade or upper elementary school readers, or as a light YA or adult read. Filomena, the main character is beloved by her parents but bullied at her California middle school. She visits the bookstore after school to purchase the thirteenth and final installment in her favorite book series, Never After, and finds out, not only is the book not available, it's never going to be released. Walking home disappointed, she finds she is being followed by Jack Stalker, the main character in the Never After series. Filomena is thrown into a world of fairytales, magic and an epic battle between good and evil. Filomena is a brave, clever, witty protagonist who grows in wisdom and strength throughout the story. Never After is imaginative, fast moving and fun, and often laugh-out-loud funny. I liked the interesting characters, non-stop action, and how it moves between the modern and fairy-tale worlds. It is a great addition to the middle grade fantasy genre. #BookishFirst

t is a fun, light read meant for a fairly young audience but I still enjoyed it. I could kinda relate to Filomena and being obsessed with a series of books, waiting excitedly for the next one to come out. I still am that way sometimes. The world of Never After was really interesting, especially when it began to bleed out into the real world. I think this world could use a bit of magic like Never After, but no ogres though! All the fairy tales are mixed up together in this book, from Jack the giant killer (the hero of course with cool vines!), to Aladdin's lamp (and flying carpets), ‎Scheherazade, and even Gretel and the wolves of the wood (cool bikers and not at all the villains!). Filomena of course learns that there is more to her than expected and grows into her role (as expected from a middle grade novel). As this is just the start of a series, it does have a fairly open ending that leads right into the next book.