What’s it about?
Take care what you wish for. You just might get it.
Twelve-year-old Casey doesn’t think life could get any more unfair. Plans for her special basketball tournament are tossed aside by her sister’s wedding plans. She even has to be a bridesmaid now, with all the lace and silk and—oh, the horror! All she wants is an escape, but she never imagined she’d be swept away to a world of Mother Goose rhymes, fairy tales, stories of Arabian Nights, and oh, by the way, all but one fairy godmother has been kidnapped.
Casey learns she’s been summoned as the Fable Ranger to lead the search and rescue of the missing wish-makers. But she’s not the hero they want. In the world of fairy tales, damsels aren’t meant to swoop in and save the day.
Now all Casey wants is to go home, but the veil between worlds is on lockdown. Taking fate into her own hands, she embarks on an airship flight to find the phoenix tears that can open her way home. Her journey would’ve gone as smooth as the perfect layup if it weren’t for that pesky bounty the evil Dovetail has placed on her head. But if Casey fails, the Arabian Nights will disappear forever—and leave her trapped in a world unraveling one fairy tale at a time. – Goodreads Synopsis
My Review of Summons by A.L. Brown
Summons, the first book in the Fable Ranger series, is a delightful start to a series that seems to be aimed the 7-12 age range. It carries a wonderful empowering message for young girls that they can be the hero in the stories. They don’t have to wait for a Prince Charming or a valiant male rescuer. Casey, the main character, is what could be lightly termed a tomboy. She loves basketball, horse-riding, and just generally being active. There’s no room in her world for dresses, or being a bridesmaid or anything like that. So it’s being placed in that situation that has her wishing to escape.
When Casey enters the world of fairytales, she quickly encounters the disbelief (as do many young girls in the real world) that she can’t be the hero because “You’re a girl…” At first, she believes that too, but as time goes on Casey realizes that she can do it. She can be the hero. She realizes it almost at the same time that she realizes that dresses aren’t so bad. Such a good thing for young girls to hear, and I’m so pleased that A.L. Brown worked this message of strength into her story.
Summons is an easy read with a quick pace. There are so many recognizable fairytales mentioned, from the simple ones like Jack Be Nimble, to the more exotic ones like Arabian Nights. Even Little Bo Peep makes a few ditzy appearances. The only problem is that while there’s an amazing build up, it’s almost like the story stutters – skips a few chapters – and arrives at the ending. It’s not an error in formatting or anything. The story flowed smoothly enough that I know I wasn’t actually missing anything, but it just felt somewhat like a great ride on a bike that ended abruptly when you realized there was no turn in the road ahead. The road just ended. Still, it was a good read.
Obviously there’s meant to be further stories in the series, and I’ll definitely be seeing if I can get my seven-year-old interested in them. I would love to see Casey and her dad work closely together in the next book to save the day. And I need to know what develops between the Fairy GIT and Robin! Good work by A.L. Brown in crafting this engaging children’s story.
Click here to find Summons (Fable Ranger #1) now on Amazon.
Title: Summons | Series: Fable Ranger | Author: A.L. Brown (site) | Publisher: Dingbat Publishing (site) | Pub. Date: 2016-2-21 | Pages: 151 | Genre: Children’s Fiction | Language: English | Triggers: None | Rating: 4 out of 5 | Date Read: 2016-4-7 | Source: Received a copy from the publisher free in exchange for an honest review.
