Book Review: My Unfair Godmother by Janette Rallison

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Tansy Miller has always felt that her divorced father has never had enough time for her. But mistakenly getting caught on the wrong side of the law wasn't exactly how she wanted to get his attention. Enter Chrysanthemum "Chrissy" Everstar, Tansy's fairy in shining, er, high heels. Chrissy is only a fair godmother, of course, so Tansy's three wishes don't exactly go according to plan. And if bringing Robin Hood to the twenty-first century isn't bad enough for Tansy, being transported back to the Middle Ages to deal with Rumpelstiltskin certainly is. She'll need the help of her blended family, her wits, and especially the cute police chief 's son to stop the gold-spinning story from spinning wildly out of control. Janette Rallison pulls out all the stops in this fresh, fun-filled follow-up to the popular My Fair Godmother. (From Goodreads)

Rallison has written another hilarious novel filled with adventure, romance, and heart. Wishes, mishaps, and fairytale characters are present in the second novel featuring the "fair" godmother, Chrysanthemum Everstar. Rallison has this amazing gift of writing witty lines that leave me in fits of laughter. Her characters, plots...well, pretty much everything about this book is enjoyable.

Tansy was a realistic, flawed (in a good way) character. She feels as though her father abandoned her, and started a new family instead. So, things don't go smoothly when she's forced to move in with them. She starts dating a town troublemaker, and things spiral out of control from there. I thought that her reactions were pretty typical, and that her bad behavior was an attempt to get some attention from her father. I mean, Bo was a pretty horrible boyfriend...there aren't really that many reasons to stay with him. Hudson was a pretty dreamy male lead, but he had substance. He was dealing with the loss of his mother, and it was nice watching him open up to Tansy/ I also loved seeing Robin Hood and his gang. They were completely different from the Robin Hood that we have read about, and that was amazing.

There's some focus on morals in this book. Tansy has to figure out what the moral of her story is, and that isn't easy. So what did I learn from Rallison's newest book? No character is completely good or evil. Well, most characters aren't completely evil (I'm looking at you, Rumplestilskin, and Bo). Even Hudson, the sheriff's son, helps to keep Tansy prisoner in one part of the book.

The only thing that I wish the reader saw more of was resolution between Tansy and her father. Part of the reason why she's dating a "bad boy" and acting out is because she feels neglected by him. Overall, the romance was sweet, but the focus was on the growth of Tansy. I really enjoyed this one, and am eagerly waiting for Rallison's next release.

Plus, the cover is awesome!

My Unfair Godmother
By Janette Rallison
Published by Walker Books For Young Readers
320 Pages
Release Date: April 12, 2011
Rating: A