Released today: Extraordinary*: *The True Story of My Fairygodparent, Who Almost Killed Me, and Certainly Never Made Me a Princess
by Adam Selzer.
Which appears to win the prize of "cutest" title in a while. Yes, it sounds like it could be related to Ella Enchanted
in plot devices, but it is modern and may appeal to some of the readers in your life. The cover looks more like a B-Grade movie poster, but I'm not the target audience am I? I know I sound jaded, but the book and its author sound like fun, yet the title and cover are somehow off-putting to me. I'll await more buzz and see if it is liked by its primary audience. Here's the usual:
From the publisher:
Jennifer Van Der Berg would like you to know that the book ostensibly written about her—Born to Be Extraordinary by Eileen Codlin—is a bunch of bunk. Yes, she had a fairy godparent mess with her life, but no, she was not made into a princess or given the gift of self-confidence, and she sure as hell didn't get a hot boyfriend out of it.
Here's the REAL scoop . . .
About the Author
Adam Selzer was born in Des Moines and now lives in Chicago, where he writes humorous books for young readers by day and runs ghost tours by night. (If you can find two cooler jobs than those, take them!) He is the author of I Kissed a Zombie, and I Liked It, The Smart Aleck's Guide to American History, Andrew North Blows Up the World, I Put a Spell on You, Pirates of the Retail Wasteland, and How to Get Suspended and Influence People, and he is just famous enough to have a page on Wikipedia. Check him out on the Web at adamselzer.com.
--here on the blog previously but here is your chance to try it out at a great price if you haven't yet.
, 
for $2.99. The series has only one book left and it has been a fun journey.
by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough has been reprinted and is also available as 
. I own the 
, but haven't read it in years. I have thought about it several times over the last year as I have flirted with Fairy Godmother research and once again after reading last year's 
by Carolyn Turgeon. 
which is my much preferred reading style these days. The title is also available for multiple ebook reader formats at 
) has lots of fun with this concept, she securely grounds her tale by setting it in and around a believable social-services agency in Seattle and by making her protagonist sympathetic and realistic. Rose Samson is neither stereotypically gorgeous nor foolishly stupid, and she willingly joins forces with Felicity Fortune, a "Godmother" who shows her how the archetypes in Grimm's fairy tales are still relevant in our blighted modern world. The two work with, among others, a sweet and smart pair of Hansel and Gretel-like abandoned children named Hank and Gigi, a Snow White ("Sno") who is royal only by dint of her father's rock-star status and "Cindy," who is suing her stepmother for control of her trust fund. In each case, Rose and Felicity attempt to interweave their magical aid with large doses of human initiative and social responsibility. While this narrative blending of conscience and enchantment is undermined by preachiness and a too earnest desire to avoid simple solutions to complex issues, Scarborough's well-detailed settings and the humor implicit in the clash between magical solutions and grim reality make this tale, while not the author's best, both entertaining and compelling. 
(1987). The premise is that a frustrated social worker's wish suddenly endows the Puget Sound area with a real fairy godmother, and because she is real, her powers are limited. She still manages to keep a few serious situations from becoming completely hopeless and to find a man of princely qualities for the heroine. In the process, we are led through witty takes on Cinderella, Snow White, Puss in Boots, and probably several other classic fairy tales this reviewer did not immediately recognize. On the light side, but intelligent, careful, and certain to find enough readers.
and 
Hopefully if enough of the first reprinted book are sold, these will also make it into new editions as well as ebook format.
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