My Fair Godmother

December 1, 2008
Rallison (All’s Fair in Love, War, and High School
) offers hilarious mishaps from the Middle Ages and modern times as her spurned teen heroine is granted three wishes. After being dumped by her boyfriend, Savannah pines for a prince of a boy who likes the “real” her, even if she is “occasionally late and disorganized.” Not so coincidentally, Savannah’s magical, fair (as in so-so) godmother pops in to make her “heart’s desire” come true. Disasters ensue as Savannah is swept back several centuries. Her next two wishes compound her troubles, drawing an innocent 21st-century bystander (Tristan from the track team) to the age of courtly love and dragon-slaying. They are later joined by Savannah’s sister and ex-boyfriend. Confrontations with an ogre, an invincible Black Knight and an angry enchanted goat are among the trials Savannah must endure as she is taught the inevitable valuable lessons along the way. Along with its delivery of the expected moral, “Be careful what you wish for,” this comedy also allows its protagonist some believable emotional growth. Ages 10–14.