"Remedial Magic" (Faeriewalker, #0.5)
by Jenna Black
Genre: Fantasy/Faeries
Reading Grade: Young
Adult (short story)
Publishing Type:
traditional
Publication Date:
December 17, 2010
Source: Kindle store
(freebie)
Age Rating: 14+
Having a prodigy for an older
brother is not so fun…especially one who is magic wiz-kid. But
Kimber has a plan to finally step out of his shadow.
My
Review
I immediately took a
liking to this short story. It's told from the POV of a
fifteen-year-old girl named Kimber, who is a wise-cracking genius
college student (already). She is a faerie, but is sorely lacking in
the magical abilities department, so this is a source of pain and
embarrassment for her. To make matters worse, her older brother of
two years, named Ethan, is a phenomenally gifted faerie and attracts
plenty of female admires, much to Kimber's chagrin. Well, he steals
all her friends away because they are female.
So, Kimber gets this
idea to have a faerie tutor come to the house while she thinks no one
is home to help her develop her abilities. The tutor is a college
freshmen, like herself, but she's eighteen, as most college freshman
are. Somehow things go horribly wrong and Ethan shows up only to
steal yet another potential friend from Kimber.
The YA voice in this
story was spot-on and refreshingly hilarious. I could easily hear
Kimber's voice in my head. The drawback is that it is far too short
to really convey a complete story. It's more like the beginning of a
good story, and maybe some of the middle, but none of the end. So, I
can't give it as many stars as I'd like for that. Mostly, the preview
to the first Faeriewalker book is there, right afterward,
demanding to be read.
I had already
purchased Glimmerglass (book 1 of Faeriewalker), before
I obtained this title, but I now believe I'll enjoy it, although the
protagonist is not the same person. Still, I believe in the author's
writing and voice, which are both superb. Recommended for those who
simply want a taste of the Faeriewalker series before
committing to it.
My score: 4 out of
5 stars.
