The Fairy Godmother

Luna

The Fairy Godmother
Mercedes Lackey
2004

The Summary
"In the land of the Five Hundred Kingdoms, if you can't carry out your legendary role, life is no fairy tale...

"Elena Klovis was supposed to be her kingdom's Cinderalla--until an accident of fate left her with a completely inappropriate prince!  Determined not to remain with her stepfamily, Elena set out to get a new job--and ended up becoming the Fairy Godmother for the land.

"But 'Breaking with Tradition' was no easy matter.  True, she didn't have to sleep in the chimney, but she had to deal with arrogant, stuffed-shirt princes who kept trying to rise above their place in the tale.  In fact, one of them was so ornery that Elena could do nothing but change him into a donkey.

"Still, her practical nature couldn't let him roam the country, so she brought the donkey--er, the prince!--home to her cottage to teach him some lessons.  All the while keeping in mind that breaking with tradition can land everyone into a kettle of fish--sometimes literally!

"And so begins a whole new tale..."

The Good
Although I've heard of Mercedes Lackey on several separate occasions, I've been hesitant to read any of her novels as most are set within a series--and, sometimes, I just hate the idea of getting wrapped into another lengthy series--or I've found I'm not immediately hooked by the story.  Sometimes, you just can't find the right book at the right time.

This time, however, I did.  I stumbled across The Fairy Godmother at a time when I was looking for a good fantasy novel and, more importantly, I picked up the first in the 500 Kingdoms series, which serves as a stand-alone novel.  So, lucky for me, I found exactly what I needed at exactly the right time.

Overall, I was impressed by Lackey's novel.  I liked Elena Klovis as a character:  she's sweet, she's brave, and she's hopeful even when circumstances conspire against her.  She has a heart of gold, but she isn't naive and she isn't helpless.  I like that Lackey takes the time and effort to show how Elena grows from a nervous, bedraggled cooking girl to a courageous, competent Fairy Godmother.

Additionally, I liked the twists the story seemed to take.  Godmothers aren't your traditional magicians, rather they're keepers of the Tradition, an undeniable magical force that bends all things to its will to recreate specific "stories" over and over again.  Godmothers--and other sundry wizards, sorcerers, and magicians--are the only thing standing between people and tragic, unhappy endings.

It's fascinating to see how these familiar fairy tales unfold.  Lackey manages to take some of my favorite stories, adapt them, and then throw them together in a creative and, I must say, refreshing way.

Plus, I really liked seeing Cinderella get her chance to shine in the sun as the hero of her own story.

The Bad
Lackey's novel felt like it was missing something.  It was original, it had intriguing characters and creatures and stories, and it even managed to keep me wrapped up in the story.  But there's just something missing from it, like the pacing wasn't quite right or the tone of the story set me off-kilter--something, some undefined quality made The Fairy Godmother less than perfect.

I still enjoyed it, don't get me wrong, but it's not as memorable in my mind as, say, Eragon or Seraphina or World War Z (or any number of wonderful books you find here in my list of favorites).

The Ugly
Fairy tales were not originally meant for small children--and Lackey embraces this tradition wholeheartedly, pulling from some of the darkest aspects of the Grimm Brothers' works.