Book Review and Author/Character Interview: Fairy Tale by Cyn Balog

Morgan and Cam have been dating practically forever, and Morgan can’t imagine life without him. But shortly before their joint 16th birthday bash, Cam starts to distance himself from her, and Morgan discovers he’s actually a fairy who has to return to another world to take the throne as king. With recently returned Pip, the human traded for Cam at birth, Morgan plots to trick the fairies into letting Cam stay in her world.

I haven’t read many fairy/faerie novels other than THE STOLEN CHILD by Keith Donohue (not too impressed) and the ARTEMIS FOWL series (love them). Not sure why. I love fairy tales, but the current glut of fairy fiction never drew me in – until FAIRY TALE (formerly known as FAIRY LUST). It was one of the two books I begged for at last October’s Frankfurt Book Fair.

In any case, it was love at first page. Seriously, this is one of the most perfect first chapters I have ever read. It introduces Morgan as the class curiosity (she’s predicts her classmates futures with startling accuracy), establishes her enviable relationship with football star Cam, and ends on a killer hook.

So I thought – no way can the rest of the novel measure up. It has to start sagging somewhere doesn’t it? Nope. The tension rises so intensely that I was even tempted to do something I haven’t done since I was twelve – take a little peek at the end just to make sure everything works out.

Morgan is a super cool narrator and I enjoyed reading about her great relationship with her parents (“the world’s youngest senior citizens”), her closeness to Cam, and her growing appreciation for Pip. The voice is done so well, giving Morgan one hilarious one liner after another. Take one of my favorites:

“I have absolutely no idea how I ended up a psychic. You’d expect someone with such a gift to have parents with equally thrilling abilities, like telekinesis or the power to see through people’s clothes. My dad can say the capitals of the fifty states in alphabetical order, but that’s where the magic ends.” (p 29-30 ARC version – may not reflect final text).

FAIRY TALE comes out tomorrow. It’s an emotionally-involving page turner with a great cast of characters (even the minor ones shine) and a reality-based fantasy element that even non-fantasy fans can enjoy.

And now…and interview with main character Morgan (who I want to be my new best friend):

Hi Morgan! So your boyfriend Cam is a fairy. The future King of the fairies. You’ve known him forever – were there clues that you can now see in retrospect or did it come as a complete surprise?
Yeah, like, no. I mean, he wasn't exactly the type of being I'd imagine running around, painting ladybugs or taking teeth from under kids' pillows. But in retrospect, he was a little odd. I mean, he's never had a zit in his life, and he could pull off impossible plays, like cutting through a line of defensemen, like magic. So maybe I should have seen this coming.

What about you? Were you ever particularly drawn to fairies? Nurse a crush on Orlando Bloom in Lord of the Rings, perhaps?
Not really. I never really thought about them until Cam told me he was one. I kind of thought of them as overgrown mosquitoes.

When did you first realize you could see the future? And what was your first vision?
I think I was 12, and watching Survivor and suddenly, I knew the order in which every one of the 18 contestants would be voted off. I could see them being voted off, clear as day. And so then I started testing the visions on other people, my friends, my family. And I realized I was never wrong.

Since you could predict who would win football games with 100% accuracy, were you ever tempted to bet on them to earn some extra money?
Yeah, but I'd never hear the end of it from Cam. He is too much of a goody-goody.

Did you ever wow your father by predicting General Hospital storylines?
I really am not very good at predicting what will happen in TV shows, especially soap operas. They're used to dropping completely unexpected bombs on their viewers. My gift has more to do with common sense, because most people don't use enough of their brains to see the obvious. I'm more like one of those British detectives, I guess. My gift is more about seeing human nature, which is why Cam surprised me so much... he's not human.

I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind doing some future predictions for us today. What is in store for Cyn Balog?
She will trip and fall and her dress will go over her head at her book launch party, and everyone will laugh at her.

How about Britney Spears?
I see... growth in her future... of her family and her stomach. She will likely fall head over heels for some other loser and pop out another 4 kids before she's 35.

Obama?
Red socks. He will either wear red socks to his next public appearance, sparking a new trend among his minions, or he will throw out the opening pitch at a Red Sox game.

Um…how about me? (Just say pizza if you see a bunch of Precious Moments figurines, please).
You will win a contest and receive a lifetime supply of Banana Nut Crunch.

Oh YAY - I love cereal! Thanks Morgan for stopping by. Give my best to Cyn and the new baby!

Want more predictions from Morgan? She gives Fairy Fortunes to YA authors every week on Cyn's blog.

This has been a part of Cyn Balog's Traveling to Teens tour. To check out other stops, see the Cyn Balog tour page.